Best easy way to capture analog video, weird Youtube method?
 

Hi,

I am getting ready to capture all my old VHS videos and have started experimenting.
But before proceeding further I wanted to make sure I get the best quality possible I can get.

The gear I currently have:

1. JVC Super VHS ET Hi-Fi VCR Model HR-S3800U sVHS
   Purchased on ebay.
2. Elgato Video Capture Card
3. Macbook Pro 2012

Now I am not sure the Elgato capture is of the best quality I can get.

I came across this youtube "The Best Easy Way to Capture Analog Video (it's a little weird)"

For all the very knowledgeable people on this forum, what is your opinion about the 'upscaler' in the video?

I am very tempted to go ahead and buy this converter to connect on my S-Video VHS output.

Will my Elgato capture result really be improved by using that Converter?
According to the video: Yes.
What do you think?

I also have the option for the HDMI capture to use either:

1. My Macbook Pro + VirtualDub + S-Video/HDMI Converter + HDMI out to USB -> MacBook
2. S-Video/HDMI Converter + HDMI recorder

Is it more practical to use My Macbook + VirtualDub vs the HDMI Recorder ?

Thanks
JM

That VCR is a basic S-VHS model, it lacks the line TBC which is essential for capturing VHS tapes, Elgato? meah, give it a try but with Mac hope for the best.

No, capturing analog video thru HDMI is never the best way and will never be. A Chinese scan converter was never intended for archiving valuable memories.

One last thing, you may need an external TBC or a DVD recorder in line for your Elgato to process the signal without hiccups, otherwise you will be dropping frames, loosing sync and getting video signal drop outs (blue screen).

Thanks for your input latreche.
I am afraid I went too fast in purchasing that VCR player :(. I did not know about TBC.
The good ones available online with TBC seem to be rare ; at least on ebay for Canada.
Any suggestions as where to look ?

So you disagree with the guy in the youtube video ?
The supposed quality improvement isn't true ?

Thanks
JM

What quality improvement? You can do that with a capture software, just pump up the contrast and color if that's what you call quality.

Well, you mentioned "That VCR is a basic S-VHS model, it lacks the line TBC which is essential for capturing VHS tapes"
So if I do not have a TBC, the quality of my capture will be less that if I had one.
Correct?

Can you clarify what you meant by "You can do that with a capture software"
Do what exactly?

JM

In reply to your other post: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...html#post68931
As I wrote there, this won't yield great results, as you've now seen.

That guy known nothing about video, and his method is trash that will ruin your video conversions. That method ends up with distorted video, that crushes darks, blows out highlights, warps colors. The digitized video ends up looking worse than the original VHS tape.

Mistake, wasted money.

Your Elgato is crap. That converter is worse.

Mac cannot use VirtualDub. But Mac was never a capture OS.
It would be great if you could use BootCamp to load an actual Windows.

All of this is correct. :congrats:

Read my other post for more on this: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...html#post68931
Already addressed this.

That 3800 is not useless. Use it for previewing tape contents on TV/etc, rewinding tapes, maybe even nostalgic recording of old shows (perhaps to show the kids how tech used to be). And it can be used in a budget workflow, paired with ES10/15, if needed.

For that low-knowledge Youtuber, having come from Easycap (aka Easycrap) cards, maybe it is an improvement for him? But he's comparing cat food to dog food. And we're trying to place a dinner order. I don't know about you, but I'd like a burger or steak, not 9 Live or Alpo.

What that HDMI converter does is so damaging that software take effort to screw it up equally as nadly.

- Line TBC heavily affects (improves) visual quality.
- Framesync TBC heavily affects the ability for quality capture to even exist, without dropping frames, or audio sync, false anti-copy, sometimes even presenting with visual noise beyond the correctability of the line TBC.

No TBC = no quality, if capture even cooperates.

He refers to damage done by the HDMI converter.

The line TBC ensures each scan line starts at the correct time, and has clean sync pulses. While TV sets are very forgiving of sloppy signals, capture cards are not.

I have a JVC HR-S3x00 S-VHS VCR. It is a basic S-VHS VCR and can do a decent job with good tapes provided the VCR is in good condition. However, you will likely find that many tapes are not all that good and that is where the TBC comes into play. So on the average your captures will be better, more reliable, if you have the line TBC in the VCR.

ebay purchases (and other auction sites and private sales) are generally a risk - one rarely knows for sure what one is getting in used gear. A high end VCR in poor condition is no better than a lower end model in excellent condition, although it may have potential for rehabilitation. All these machine are electro-mechanical devices with typically 20+ years of aging.

Good gear is not cheap, but it can be resold after projects are completed.

Update: watched the guy on youtube touting the HDMI solution. The key takeaway is that his proposed method is better than what he was doing before and thus he is satisfied with his results. That does not mean the results are good in an absolute sense. (Also interesting that his approach crashes Premiere every so often.)

One problem is that computer screens/monitors/graphics evolved separate from broadcast and home video and were based on different standards. It is only recently that attempts have been made to unify the way forward, but that still leaves the issue of coping with legacy material - like VHS.

Got it :)

Ok. It's a shame to mislead people with that kind of information. Bad, Bad!

Lesson learned ;)

:( beginner mistake.

I frequently run different Windows OS under VMWare Fusion very succesfully.
I could run VirtualDub.
But do I really need it?


Got it.

JM

Hi Lordsmurf,

If my Elgato is crap, what is your recommendation for a capture card for MacBooks?
Do you have any recommended VCRs available for VHS capture ?

Thanks
JM

You cannot capture in a VM. Native hardware is required, not via abstraction layer. On a Mac, that means BootCamp.

The ATI 600 USB and clones is seemingly working quite well for 640x480 capturing in VideoGlide. But it depends on the exact OS being used. It works in 10.6, and then either 10.11 or 10.14 (I forget, have mentioned it in other threads/posts), and likely anything in-between. Unsure about newer.