Convert VHS and Video8 tapes to MP4?

[satimis]

Hi all,

I have old stock of VHS and V8 tapes and need to converting them to mp4 on PC. Unfortunately my VHS tape player and Sony V8 camera are unable to work.

On Internet searching I found following device.

ClearClick Video to Digital Converter 2.0 (Second Generation) -
https://amzn.to/3jSxXpi

Please advise whether it is suitable for my use? Thanks

Regards

[latreche34]

Stay away.

[lingyi]

Read Orsetto's reply from Videohelp. Also quoted here, below.

This is one of the best answers to the endless "How do I digitize my tapes" questions.

I'm not picking on you, just pointing out that Orsetto's post sums up your options very well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by orsetto

You must first choose how much money, effort and time you want to spend on this project. You also must very seriously and honestly decide exactly how important these tapes truly are. What is on the tapes? Old family videos?

[SNIP]

If these tapes are very very important to someone who will demand absolute best quality, or will be broadcast on a television station or put in a museum library, you will probably need to do the work yourself (very few services do work at super high quality level, those that do will have very expensive fees). You will need to find a good working 8mm camcorder or 8mm editing VCR so you can start with the original 8mm tapes again. You will need a good analog>USB capture device for your computer, or if the camcorder has DV output you could capture in DV digital format direct to your PC if your laptop or desktop has a DV/FireWire/IEEE1394 port. There are advantages/disadvantages to both methods.

If capturing the tapes from analog instead of DV, you might need an expensive external TBC box. You will need a huge amount of hard drive space as a working-editing-compositing area so you can add back the music/subtitles and convert the huge captures to smaller, good quality MP4 format. You should also retain all the original pre-MP4 captured material (DV or AVI) plus your music/subtitle data as a backup, in case a different format from MP4 is requested (or maximum quality is need for a specific purpose).

[satimis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lingyi

Read Orsetto's reply at Videohelp. This is one of the best answers to the endless "How do I digitize my tapes" questions.

I'm not picking on you, just pointing out that Orsetto's post sums up your options very well.

Thanks for your advice.

After searching on Internet it is clear to me now. What I need is a VHS tape player, saving the analogue video on computer. A software for converting analogue video to digital video will help me out.

Open Source software such as;
HandBrake
The open source video transcoder
https://handbrake.fr/

will do the job.

I'm running Linux Ubuntu 20.04 here. On its Terminal running;
$ apt policy handbrake

handbrake:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 1.3.1+ds1-1build1
  Version table:
     1.3.1+ds1-1build1 500
        500 http://hk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal/universe amd64 Packages

The software is available on its repo ready for installation.

Alternative:
How to digitize VHS tapes in Linux
https://opensource.com/life/15/6/VHS-conversion-MP4-Linux

Use dvgrab and OpenShot in combination
$ apt policy dvgrab

dvgrab:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 3.5+git20160707.1.e46042e-1build1
  Version table:
     3.5+git20160707.1.e46042e-1build1 500
        500 http://hk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal/universe amd64 Packages

dvgrab is on Ubuntu repo ready for installation.

$ apt policy openshot

openshot:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 2.4.3+dfsg1-1
  Version table:
     2.4.3+dfsg1-1 500
        500 http://hk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal/universe amd64 Packages
        500 http://hk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal/universe i386 Packages

OpenShot is also on it repo ready for install

If I can find an in-expensive second-hand VHS player I'll purchase it to test what I found on Internet.

I suppose I need a connector as shown on attached photo to connect the VHS player to Linux Ubuntu 20.04 PC

Comment and suggestion would be appreciated.

Regards

[lordsmurf]

Old thread, but wanted to give some quick input to anybody else that may come across this...

ClearClick is junk, no avoid.

Orsetto is somewhat of a curmudgeon, always very negative, sometimes hyperbolic, going back decades. (Amusingly, I sometimes have to sound like him, due to how times have changes the availability and condition of gear.) I don't agree with his take that "nobody in the family cares about home movies", so that was snipped when I added the quote. Not only do not agree, but have actual experience to the contrary, dealing with folks for decades. Conversely, I take issue with the suggestion that quality can only be achieved with excess effort or costs. Not true either.

That "How to digitize VHS tapes in Linux" guide is also crap. Yes, DVD recorder, dumped to computer for processing, is possible. But not any random DVD recorder (ie, use LSI based recorders only for tape sources). And Handbrake is pretty destructive on homemade DVDs.

Linux is mostly the wrong tool for video, similar to Mac. Very narrow uses, none of them capturing. At least not with any degree of quality.

Standard workflow is all that is needed here, nothing weird, cheap, or unusual. Or alternatively, as Orsetto suggested (but not stated as well), is to outsource to a reliable shop. For example, this is a service we provide here.