Capture software for digitising VHS, camcorder tapes?

[GrantM]

Hello,

I've started to digitise my family's collection of camcorder and video (VHS) tapes.

However, the sound on the tapes is not loud enough when I do the 'capture' recording on my laptop.

The tapes themselves seem to be fine, as I played them on the TV, so I'm wondering if it's the software.

Before I click the 'record' button in the software program, the sound is good. But as soon as I click the 'record' button, it almost vanishes.

I'd be grateful if anyone could suggest anything, please.

I live in Scotland, so it is PAL settings, and I am using Windows 10 OS, and the capture software is the Video2-PC Transfer Kit.

Thanks!

Grant

[Diopter_Doctor]

I'm over in NTSC land, but Virtualdub and ATI MMC would probably work better just from reading everything on this website.

[GrantM]

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, have downloaded VirtualDub, but am a wee bit overwhelmed by it - not sure where to start!

I'll go and have a look at ATI MMC.

Cheers,
Grant.

[BW37]

Grant,

ATI MMC is for ATI devices. It won't do anything with your Video2-PC hardware, nor will it work at all on Win10.

VirtualDub might work better than the Video2-PC software, but maybe not. Probably worth a try but a bit of a learning curve due to its power and complexity.

Win10 is its own problem and may be why the Video2-PC software is having audio issues. Every Win10 upgrade seems to break another formerly working device. Maybe there is a new driver for your Video2-PC that can fix it but more likely not.

Sadly, your Video2-PC is an "Easycap" clone. They are not a preferred capture device even at their best. I only found one previous post on them on this forum, but it's worth a read. Do a search for "Video2-PC" and it should come up.

BW

[GrantM]

Thanks for that, BW.

Aye, VirtualDub is a learning curve for sure!

Think I need to move away from the Video2-PC software, as it's not reliable. I've tried a few camcorder tapes now via the TV and they play fine, so think it's the software.

Yes, I had to made some changes to Win10 before even using the Video2-PC software. And have noticed that Windows upgrades often cause problems.

Thanks, I'll go and have a read of the other post about Video2-PC.

Guess I'm looking for a reliable and user-friendly easy capture program, but seems to be a holy grail.

Grant.

[lordsmurf]

Playing on TV means nothing for capturing. Not the same.

VirtualDub, not VirtualDub2.
And 1.9, not 1.10

ATI MMC only for ATI AIW cards, WinXP required.

Win10 problem OS for capture.

Video2-PC is cheap Chinese junk card sold on Amazon/eBay. Cheap in quality, not price. Those cards cost about $2 to make, and sell unbranded as $4. So you overpay for the "brand name" versions. So even if it "worked", you'd have issues.

You're also missing any TBC whatsoever, and that won't work. Some form of TBC required, ideally true TBC, but at worst TBC(ish) ES10/15 type recorders for passthrough.

VirtualDub is reliable. The problem is that Win10 and Easycap is not.

[GrantM]

Thanks for all that info!

Looks like the best thing to do is learn VirtualBub, then.

Yes, Win10 seems to be not very good for capture. I recall doing a capture (using the Hionetech Deluxe software) a few years ago with Windows Vista and it was straightforward.

Yes, Video2-PC is very inconsistent. The footage is usually fine. it's the sound that's the problem.

Sorry, what's TBC?

[ffmpeguserss]

TBC = time based correction

Lots of info on this forum, you'll need an external one to correct frame timing and one in the VCR to correct the scanline timing.

[GrantM]

Thanks for explaining what TBC is.

This is all new to me! I had no idea that there was so much to this process.