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10-09-2011, 03:05 PM
dummptyhummpty dummptyhummpty is offline
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I'd like to beging capturing my and my girlfriend's old home movies to digital format to get rid of our space wasting VHS tapes. I was also thinking of offering this service to friends depending on how I do with our tapes.

I currently have the following equipment:
  • JVC HR-S9800U (from eBay) - I'm planning to have a local shop look it over for $25.
  • ATI TV Wonder HD 600 USB - I believe this should allow me to capture in Huffyuv, correct?
  • Apple MacBook Pro (thunderbolt model) - I would be happy to use this for capturing (via VMware), but I don't really want to tie it up for those longer tapes. I plan to use it for editing/authoring.
  • Acer Aspire E380 (Specs although I upgraded the graphics card) - I plan to use it to capture video and I plan to add a few high capacity hard drives for storage. This system doubles as our media center computer and captures cable TV via a Ceton InfinTV. I'm thinking it should be able to handle both tasks if I segregate the data across multiple drives.

A few questions:
  1. Are there any issues with my above plan?
  2. Is the TMC builtin to the HR-S9800U good enought or should I look into an external unit as well? I'd like to do this only once so I don't mind investing in equipment now.
  3. Would a proc amp benefit me?

Feedback, comments and concerns are appreciated. Thanks!
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  #2  
10-09-2011, 07:39 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dummptyhummpty View Post
I'd like to beging capturing my and my girlfriend's old home movies to digital format
Excellent.

Quote:
1. Are there any issues with my above plan?
I'll reply inline...

Quote:
to get rid of our space wasting VHS tapes.
If these are precious home movies -- weddings, family events, childhood videos -- never trash the original tape. There may be next-generation hardware in our lifetime that will allow us to go back and re-digitize the videos to better quality. I've already seen this happen once (minimum) in the past 10 years since I started down that path.

Quote:
I was also thinking of offering this service to friends depending on how I do with our tapes.
This is generally not going to be an enjoyable experience for you -- even with pay. While you can set up a great mini-studio, built around the workflow needed to convert your girlfriend's videos to high quality, you'll often find the next person has videos that need an entirely different workflow. Different hardware, different needs. No two VCRs or cameras tend to record video the same, and it's the main reason a serious video business will have a dozen or more VCRs per workstation. (Or two per workstation, with several custom workstations, which is what I do.) This gets expensive.

There's also the problem of doing business with friends/family. Trust me -- don't.

Quote:
JVC HR-S9800U (from eBay) - I'm planning to have a local shop look it over for $25.
I just hope the "local shop" is competent. Most of them are not. There are four really important things to check:
  1. VCR alignment. A misaligned VCR tends to "eat" tapes.
  2. Head damage. This is the difference between a good picture and a noisy one.
  3. Cleanliness. You don't want a VCR full of mold spores, rust, dust, animal hair, etc.
  4. Condition of replaceable parts. Test the rubber bands and plastic pulley teeth.
Quote:
ATI TV Wonder HD 600 USB - I believe this should allow me to capture in Huffyuv, correct?
Yes -- PAL or NTSC.

Quote:
Apple MacBook Pro (thunderbolt model) - I would be happy to use this for capturing (via VMware), but I don't really want to tie it up for those longer tapes. I plan to use it for editing/authoring.
You can't use use capture hardware through virtualization anywhere. Direct hardware access is required. Since a Mac is nothing more than a standard PC with an Apple version of a Linux OS kernel (Darwin), you have the option to load Windows directly via BootCamp. I personally don't suggest it, but it's possible.

Quote:
Acer Aspire E380 (Specs although I upgraded the graphics card) - I plan to use it to capture video and I plan to add a few high capacity hard drives for storage. This system doubles as our media center computer and captures cable TV via a Ceton InfinTV. I'm thinking it should be able to handle both tasks if I segregate the data across multiple drives.
As long as you're not trying to stream video at the same time you're capturing and/or encoding, you should be fine. Be very sure to refer back to this guide: How to Prevent Dropped Frames and Audio Sync Problems

Quote:
2. Is the TMC builtin to the HR-S9800U good enought or should I look into an external unit as well? I'd like to do this only once so I don't mind investing in equipment now.
Read this: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...time-base.html
That's a long and detailed answer that goes over TBCs, including the differences between internal and standalone external boxes.

Quote:
3. Would a proc amp benefit me?
Only if you find yourself with tapes in need of color tweaking. Generally speaking, many VHS tapes would be improved with a quality proc amp in the chain (an EliteVideo BVP-4 PLus, for example, or a SignVideo PA-100). The competing home movie formats from Sony, however, generally need little to no tweaks. I refer specifically to Hi8 and Video8 (the 8mm tapes). Same for DV -- little corrections needed.

Quote:
Thanks!
No problem.
You should consider upgrading to Premium Member status for $20.

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  #3  
10-09-2011, 10:31 PM
dummptyhummpty dummptyhummpty is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lordsmurf View Post
I'll reply inline...
Thank you for your replies. I'll do the same.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lordsmurf View Post
If these are precious home movies -- weddings, family events, childhood videos -- never trash the original tape. There may be next-generation hardware in our lifetime that will allow us to go back and re-digitize the videos to better quality. I've already seen this happen once (minimum) in the past 10 years since I started down that path.
I did not think of that. I tend to hang on to things unnecessarily and am trying to get away from that.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lordsmurf View Post
This is generally not going to be an enjoyable experience for you -- even with pay. While you can set up a great mini-studio, built around the workflow needed to convert your girlfriend's videos to high quality, you'll often find the next person has videos that need an entirely different workflow. Different hardware, different needs. No two VCRs or cameras tend to record video the same, and it's the main reason a serious video business will have a dozen or more VCRs per workstation. (Or two per workstation, with several custom workstations, which is what I do.) This gets expensive.
Thank you for the feedback on that idea, it's always good to get a second opinion.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lordsmurf View Post
There's also the problem of doing business with friends/family. Trust me -- don't.


Quote:
Originally Posted by lordsmurf View Post
I just hope the "local shop" is competent. Most of them are not. There are four really important things to check:
  1. VCR alignment. A misaligned VCR tends to "eat" tapes.
  2. Head damage. This is the difference between a good picture and a noisy one.
  3. Cleanliness. You don't want a VCR full of mold spores, rust, dust, animal hair, etc.
  4. Condition of replaceable parts. Test the rubber bands and plastic pulley teeth.
I'll bring this list to them when I drop off the VCR. I having a feeling that they used to specialize in VCRs back when they were around more.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lordsmurf View Post
You can't use use capture hardware through virtualization anywhere. Direct hardware access is required. Since a Mac is nothing more than a standard PC with an Apple version of a Linux OS kernel (Darwin), you have the option to load Windows directly via BootCamp. I personally don't suggest it, but it's possible.
I'm certainly not trying to be a know-it-all, but with VMware Fusion I have the ability to directly connect my AIW 600 (remember, it is USB) to my virtualized instance of Windows. I've done this before to use the over the air TV feature. I'd be happy to provide more information regarding this if you are interested.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lordsmurf View Post
As long as you're not trying to stream video at the same time you're capturing and/or encoding, you should be fine. Be very sure to refer back to this guide: How to Prevent Dropped Frames and Audio Sync Problems
I'll make sure to review that. I think I'll give this a try as I'm trying to get rid of the amount of computers in the house. I do have an older Gateway I can use (or I'll just deal with tying up my MPB) if this doesn't work out.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lordsmurf View Post
Read this: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...time-base.html
That's a long and detailed answer that goes over TBCs, including the differences between internal and standalone external boxes.
You know what? I actually did read that and I apologize for asking a question that it clearly answers. Thanks for being patient!


Quote:
Originally Posted by lordsmurf View Post
Only if you find yourself with tapes in need of color tweaking. Generally speaking, many VHS tapes would be improved with a quality proc amp in the chain (an EliteVideo BVP-4 PLus, for example, or a SignVideo PA-100). The competing home movie formats from Sony, however, generally need little to no tweaks. I refer specifically to Hi8 and Video8 (the 8mm tapes). Same for DV -- little corrections needed.
I'll look into these and see if I really need one.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lordsmurf View Post
No problem.
You should consider upgrading to Premium Member status for $20.
I'll consider this, thanks!
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  #4  
10-10-2011, 01:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dummptyhummpty View Post
I'm certainly not trying to be a know-it-all, but with VMware Fusion I have the ability to directly connect my AIW 600 (remember, it is USB) to my virtualized instance of Windows. I've done this before to use the over the air TV feature. I'd be happy to provide more information regarding this if you are interested.
Definitely give some more info.

To be honest, I'm not surprised. Virtualization technology has been getting better every year, due to advances in CPUs and motherboards, as well as the virtualized software itself. The VMs are able to hook into the hardware via the BIOS extensions. Virtualization is slowly evolving to include fewer emulation layers, which is the primary barrier in tasks like video capturing, where direct hardware access is needed. In the land of web hosting, and servers, VMs have revolutionized the way people now hosts sites (VPS hosting is the current popular trend).

Sometimes it's good to be wrong.

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