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  #1  
12-01-2020, 10:53 AM
OBPLAA OBPLAA is offline
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Hello all, and thank you in advance for reading/responding

The core of my question has undoubtedly found its way here many times ("what equipment should I get for transferring content from VHS tapes to digital files and/or DVDs?"), but I suspect my circumstances are rather a bit different.

I work in a public library, and the library aims to create a "Memory Lab" station, where (ideally self-guided) patrons can bring in their older media to convert to something a bit more modern. We expect that a good chunk of this is likely to be home movies on VHS tapes, and so I'm looking at that as my starting point. As I continue reading through a lot of the (very helpful!) guides on here, I wonder if any of you might be able to share your thoughts and suggestions with me based on my own particular situation.

Our goals in doing this are 1) to create a means for community members to preserve their media of sentimental value in some form where otherwise it would be lost to time, and 2) help to create a historical account of our community to understand its origins and evolution. I should mention that anything brought in of significant historic value will be directed to the local museum (with whom we are somewhat partnered) and that all patrons will be informed in no uncertain terms that our service is not meant as a replacement for professional video restoration.

With all of the above in mind, could you suggest some equipment that might be best for our purposes? I've spoken with another library that has done something similar, and they've recommended the ("ideally") Panasonic AG-1980, a Burst Pixie-FS Frame Store TBC and the Blackmagic Design Intensity Shuttle for USB 3.0; what do you think? A big concern is initial cost, obviously, but even more so the long-term cost. Equipment that produces a slightly less perfect picture quality but which is less prone to breaking or which can more easily/cheaply be repaired is a better option for us, if that makes sense.
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  #2  
12-01-2020, 01:00 PM
latreche34 latreche34 is offline
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I think Lordsmurf and I bought the Burst Pixie-FS Frame Store TBC from Amazon and turned out to be a bad deal, at least for me, Possibly I got a defective unit, Not sure about intensity shuttle though. Good equipment are obsolete, new ones are crappy so I don't know what to suggest for such a situation of mass capturing, Lordsmurf does this kind of work load so he is the right person to take you to the right direction.
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  #3  
12-01-2020, 01:05 PM
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lordsmurf lordsmurf is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OBPLAA View Post
and they've recommended the ("ideally") Panasonic AG-1980,
Generally, this a nice deck -- though with with caveats.
But for your exact needs it may be a very bad (costly!!) decision.

Quote:
a Burst Pixie-FS Frame Store TBC and the Blackmagic Design Intensity Shuttle for USB 3.0; what do you think?
Terrible advice.

Quote:
A big concern is initial cost, obviously, but even more so the long-term cost. Equipment that produces a slightly less perfect picture quality but which is less prone to breaking or which can more easily/cheaply be repaired is a better option for us, if that makes sense.
This was exactly my line of thought here. My next post in this thread will give more details on exact items you should look for -- and why.

Back soon...

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  #4  
12-02-2020, 09:46 AM
lingyi lingyi is offline
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While perhaps admirable in concept, the logistics of this project, physical and legally are against this being successful or possibly legal.

Are you going to make the VCR available for the public to insert their dirty, molding, physically damaged tapes into, possibly ruining it on the first play?

How are they going to know how to adjust the tracking and select the right settings, e.g. edit mode on/off?

Are they going to monitor their capture to ensure it doesn't lose tracking, video, audio?

Since capture must be done in realtime, most transfers will take 1-2 hours. What if someone brings in an 8 hour tape? That's nearly an entire day for just one person's transfer.

Are you and the staff knowledgeable in the proper cleaning and maintenance of the machines.

What is the liability if the member's tape breaks or because the machine is damaged by the previous member, the next member's tape is ruined?

What if someone brings in their porn collection or worse? The capture process has to be viewable by the member and probably others unless the monitor is in a enclosed room.

What if someone brings in a commercial tape? Fair Use allows an individual to make a copy for their own use. But neither you or any staff are allowed to facilitate the process.

How much time are you and the staff able to devote to helping the members setting up and using the equipment. Anyone younger than 30 likely has never used a VCR.

How are you going to monitor the equipment when it's not in use? There are memes about kids putting PB&J sandwiches in the "mouth" of the VCR as well as numerous true life stories of this and worse. Also, the VHS slot is big enough for little hands to get into and cause damage to both the machine and little hand.

You say "...anything brought in of significant historic value will be directed to the local museum...". Almost all recordings other than home videos, and even then they belong to the person(s) doing the recording, are probably still under copyright. Again, Fair Use. The member may own the physical tape, but they don't own the right to convert it to digital and give it to anyone, even a museum.

I highly recommend checking with the legal department of whatever entity your library belongs to as there's a lot more involved than just setting up a capture system and letting people have at it for free.
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  #5  
12-02-2020, 10:31 AM
dpalomaki dpalomaki is offline
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lingyi raises many good questions/points that need to be answered as part of your planning.

For general public use it has to be idiot proof, or at least to the maximim extent possible. That argues against anything smacking of sophistication, more than one moving part, more than one button to press, or and multiple user settings.

Unless this is intended as a guided and supervised activity staffed by competent "experts" or limited to a pre-qualified community of users, and is backed by a revenue stream to maintain it, it is doomed to fail within a short time for all the3 reasons mentioned. Do you really expect someone who cannot set a VCR clock to do media transcoding/transfers?

I would say the simplest thing is a combination unit that contains a DVD recorder and a VHS player for quick and dirty DIY transfers. Next simplest is a DVD recorder and VHS player. Either way the staff should check it out after each use to provide some protection for the next user. The station should also provide information on how to find services that can do the transfer professionally with choice of media and video restoration.

As to the preferred equipment and software there are many threads on this subject. But it all requires a learning curve on the part of the user and involves legacy equipment which are all problematic in a public access environment.
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12-02-2020, 12:49 PM
latreche34 latreche34 is offline
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I don't think this is going to work in my opinion, Too many possibilities for wrong turns.
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  #7  
12-02-2020, 02:42 PM
lingyi lingyi is offline
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Links to libraries offering digital transfer services. https://www.google.com/search?q=libr...hrome&ie=UTF-8

This is particularly interesting because it provides the detailed instructions for a transfer:https://lapl.org/memorylab/vhs

Imagine how far the average person would get before having to ask questions.
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  #8  
12-02-2020, 05:01 PM
dpalomaki dpalomaki is offline
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And the clock will continue to flash "12:00"
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  #9  
12-02-2020, 07:59 PM
latreche34 latreche34 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lingyi View Post
This is particularly interesting because it provides the detailed instructions for a transfer:https://lapl.org/memorylab/vhs

Imagine how far the average person would get before having to ask questions.
That method is proven to work reliably with no audio sync or dropped frames I personally use it, The only difference is I use the regular BlackMagic UltraStudio SDI to USB3 adapter connected to the BE75 not the PCI 4K version, and QTGMC in fast setting instead of handbrake. The MediaExpress capture app is great.

LegacyBox is a scam, Check vwestlife youtube channel he did two videos on their rip-off business model and shitty quality they provide using Chinese devices.
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  #10  
12-09-2020, 11:17 AM
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There are many things here not being considered. I plan to write a detailed guide on this. I've already started taking note. It's in line with something else I want to do, sort of a library/archive series.

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