Advice on VCR to PC connection, USB video shaky?
 

Hi, I need advice for something I want to do with VCR to PC image transfering.
I have bought a video capture usb (RCA to usb) but there is a problem with the image... It's shaking right and left.
Firstly, let me tell you that when I connect the VCR to the TV the image is fine.
Also when I connect a DVD player (a device way newer than the VCR) to the PC through the same usb, the image is also fine.
So, something must be wrong when the analog-to-digital signal converting is happening.
It's like the TV sees this problematic image and has a way to fix it somehow.
On the other hand, the usb doesn't have a way to fix it, so I have this shaking image.

So, my questions is...
What are the possible explanations/causes for this??
Usb device quality?? VCR quality??
What system has a TV to fix a VCR shaking image??
Is there a software or some settings for PC that do the same fix a TV does??

Thank you.

(if you don't know about video capture usbs, can you please give me a link with people who know more about these devices?? Some digital engineers maybe??)

Welcome. You're at the right site for getting help with this. :)

First things first --
1. What brand/model of USB capture device do you have?
2. What brand/model of VCR are you trying to use?
3. Can you upload a sample clip? Attach to the forum. (If needed, read this: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/news...ly-upload.html)

1. It's a cheap one. EasyCap.
Yeah, I know it's a fake, but as soon as it works with a DVD player (through RCA connection), I just wonder if I can make it work with my VCR too.
2. It's a SONY, an old one, SLV-F990.
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwtqqhVU0I4

Analog video is chaotic, and needs to be stabilized. Cheap products are guilty of over-marketing to the point of lying, as you cannot capture video so easily. It takes more than an old VCR and cheap USB doodad, including Best Buy or Walmart "brand name" junk.

You're problem is 3-fold.

1. That is a known-terrible capture card. It has many problems, including the issue you're seeing (which is a timing error, or timebase error, technically known as jitter).

2. That VCR isn't going to work. Sony is known to output problem signals. The transport is terrible, and has lots of timing jitter as a result. This is magnified by cheap capture card. This is why JVC S-VHS decks are so popular, as the built-in TBC usually corrects image issues (though not the underlying signal issues).

3. You cannot escape using a TBC (timebase corrector). It fixes the signal issues.

Capturing video takes several hundred dollars in hardware. Noting that you can buy it used, use it, and then resell it. So it's not a permanent cost. All it then takes is time to learn what to do, then do it. The needed gear is in the Marketplace subforum, and note that I have some in there for sale as well.

With the right hardware, this process is relatively easy, and looks better than you'd have ever thought possible (as your old VCR was not playing the VHS tape to its maximum quality potential).

So, basically it's a hardware quality problem (VCR or USB or both of them) and I can't solve the problem by using software methods. Am I right??

Thank you very much for your detailed explanation. :congrats:

No, software has nothing to do with it. Software cannot address this.
It's purely a hardware issue.

You need a quality workflow: VCR, TBC, capture card. Get known-good hardware, and you'll be good to go.