Best video cable, Blackmagic, and ES10?

[johnEtna]

Hello, I've just discovered this forum, so I'm sure you can help me.

I'd like to digitize all my family memories, and I studied a lot to do the best I can.
I have a LG w904p as VCR, and Blackmagic Intensity Pro (not 4k).

1) My VCR only has a SCART output, so I'd like to know if it's better to use an adapter to S-Video, or if there's a way to use the RGB signal SCART port should be able to provide.

2) Do I really need an ES10/15 as TBC passthrough? I watched some sample on Youtube, but it seems to flat the colors. Do you have some tips or link to past conversation to answer my doubts?

3) What program do you suggest to use QTGMC? Everyone looks so complicated. I tried this easy solution https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/...-QTGMC-Easy%21, but it seems to make faces slightly more yellow.

Thank you so much

[lordsmurf]

Those Blackmagic cards are awful with SD sources, being made for HD. SD was a lousy afterthought feature, and BM even admits this. They themselves state that TBCs must be used. But even with TBC, it's an overpriced wrong tool for the task. But at least with a TBC, it functions (just not great, both in quality or usage).

The ES10/15 is really a minimalist item, with strong+crippled line TBC, and non-TBC frame sync. There will still be errors, and a quality drop, but nothing as nasty as no TBCs whatsoever.

That low-end LG VCR combo unit will not help matters. So again, ES10/15 is really a minimum requirement for the work to not completely suck. Not to be great, or good, just "not suck".

Vastly better is to use a quality VCR with line TBC, chased by an actual frame TBC. Yes, that has some costs, but all tasks/hobbies have costs. A video gear budget should not be alunch budget. And then buy it, use it, resell it, quality gear holds value. (Because the gear we need is failing, and all you can find now is cheap/wrong gear, I've been refurb'ing it, and that gear can be found in this forum's marketplace.)

Separate from the capturnig discussion is deinterlacing. QTGMC is excellent, the best, but the default settings tend to soften video. Slower is the worst at overall quality loss, even at the benefit of less alising artifacts. The faster preset tends to be better most times, but not all. Sometimes you have to not use a preset, and set the custom switches for the source at hand.

[johnEtna]

Thanks for your reply.
I agree with you, it is better to spend money on something I can always resell.
But before I buy something, I'm considering the idea to convert my workflow to VHS-decode.
What are your thoughts? Which VCR I should buy to proceed with VHS-Decode?

[latreche34]

VHS-decode is not a plug and play product, Even when setup, you will still have to do a lot of tweaking for each tape/scene to get it to produce a proper capture, If you are struggling with QTGMC then keep in mind that VHS-decode is more complicated than that, it's script based, not GUI.

[lordsmurf]

vhs-decode is very misleading to newbies. It requires a deep understanding of video to get any results (and even then, those results may not be usable), and requires a lot of drive space (a magnitude of multiples beyond lossless conversion). And as stated, all script based. You'll spend more time trying to make it work, as opposed to completing a conversion project using a standard workflow.

You're really going he complete opposite direction now, and not in a good way.

[johnEtna]

Thank you, I was just curious.
I'm going to buy a better equipment!