Hi8 analog-to-digital video conversion errors?

[phriq]

Good Morning! I am new but glad to be here! I am trying to convert old 8mm and Hi 8 tapes of home videos to digital. I am running into an issue where I get lines and blur as if the video is either out of sync or copy protected when trying to capture digitally. I have used both a Samsung and Hitachi camcorder and have tried output through both S-video (my preferred method) and composite. I have tried running both into either a Hauppauge HD PVR or a Diamond Dongle that I have. I have been using TotalMediaExtreme 2 (not a fan, but Vegas Pro will not seem to recognize my devices). Any suggestions on how to rectify this?

https://ibb.co/tKdb17t (This is a link to the image error I am receiving.)

[lordsmurf]

Please attach images to the forum, don't link to other sites.

That looks like a typical anti-copy error, lack of TBC. Anti-copy is an artificial video error, and natural errors can appear the same to the detections. So a tape with no protection will still cause issues, without using TBC.

Hi8 and Video8 are actually uglier than VHS, signal-wise. (It's ironic, since V8/Hi8 tends to look better than VHS-C/S-VHS-C.) The formats are drop-happy (dropped frames), and often give more trouble than normal.

You need to capture with VirtualDub, not an NLE (Vegas), not some crappy Chinese software (Arcsoft).

[phriq]

Thanks for the reply! I will try virtualdub. I believe I tried it in the past but was not certain how to fully use it. I will look into more and let you know how it goes! Thanks again!

[lordsmurf]

Even with VirtualDub, the issue is likely lack of TBC.

But I just thought of another problem: Win10
Are you trying to use Win10 to capture? Because it's a terrible capture OS, and similar errors can happen there as well, even with TBCs, good signals.

[phriq]

I have tried on both Windows 10 and Windows 7 64 bit computers. Is there a way to rectify Time Based Capture?

[lordsmurf]

Read this: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...time-base.html
It needs more updates, but a good quick primer.

To "rectify" the need of a TBC, you get a TBC.
See the marketplace subforum: http://www.digitalFAQ.com/forum/marketplace/

[hodgey]

Do you get the same effect if e.g putting camcorders in camera mode. That may help tell you whether it's due to lack of tbc or something else. Also, what's the model/name of the camcorders?

[phriq]

The image does not blur when direct to a TV or played through the camcorder screens. I believe it has to be something when converting to digital because of that. The Camcorders are a Hitachi model VM-H955LA and a Samsung SCL750

[latreche34]

I believe it's a display capture driver issue, I've had this before when I use to use Vdub for capturing, I remember flipping between overlay and preview or vise versa brings the picture back, It has been years since I've experienced that so not sure.

[phriq]

So, I was able to record a tape in full using my Diamond VC500 (I had to use Microsoft WDM Image Capture (Win32) (VFW) as the device and then select the Diamond as the Source). However, now my audio is WAY out of sync. By the end of the tape (2 hours) it nearly 40 seconds off. I plugged the file into Vegas Pro and it stretched so they started at the same time but ended about 40 seconds apart. Also, the audio was Peaked on volume and was distorted sounding from it constantly clipping. Suggestions?

I imagine the best fix is getting an external TBC? If so, are there ones that will not break the bank (100-200 USD)? If I were to invest in one, I imagine I output the camcorder video/audio to the TBC, then into the capture device, then capture with VirtualDub? In research I have come across the AVToolbox AVT-8710 Time Base Corrector, any input on that device?

The site selling the AVT 8710 is here:

http://www.omegamultimedia.com/av_toolbox_avt_8710_time_base_corrector.html

Is this reputable?

[lordsmurf]

No.

1. That's a stock photo from 15+ years ago.
2. They don't have any TBCs, that a ghost listing from almost a decade ago.
3. The price shown was the clearance price on the flawed black units back in the mid-2010s.

TBCs were never $100-200.

Maybe 20 years ago, the green AVT-8710, at some retailers on sale, but it quickly rose into the $400s -- before being replaced by the black unit (and then it was clearances out at whatever the retailer could get for it, because it was junk). All other TBCs were about $500 to start, well into the $1k range.

Nobody likes buying TBCs. Nor lawnmowers, washing machines, etc. Everything has costs. But at least with a TBC, you can buy it, use it, resell it. It holds value. A TBC is the tool required for this video conversion task in which we wish to partake. There are some crutch methods, "poor man's TBCs", what I refer to as TBC(ish), but those still exceed $100-200. A bare minimal ES10/15 is in that range, but it has a fail rate, and it doesn't really address audio sync. The ES10/15 is only a strong+crippled lines with a non-TBC frame sync, not an actual frames sync TBC. The TBC(ish) has a fail rate, some tapes will still refuse to capture, either without issues or at all.