VHS capture frame skipping
 

Can anyone help with a VHS video capture issue I'm having?

I'm new to this and very likely doing a million things wrong, but my main issue is this weird "stuttering/frame skipping problem" (see video) that occurs seldomly throughout the tape (that is, the issue is not constant).

It has happened to multiple tapes, so must be a problem with either my capture settings or the hardware I'm using, I suspect. I'm using a cheap Vidbox capture device, a Toshiba DVD/VCR deck, and OBS streamlabs (I know, I know).

I've read some threads about a TBS (?) being needed for frame skipping issues, but the sample video I've watched doesn't exactly match up to what I'm seeing on mine, so I wasn't entirely sure if it was the same problem or not.

Let me know if you need any other info about settings or specific device models. I'd appreciate any guidance with this issue, thanks!

https://youtu.be/lYtiB8dJ13Q

Cannot see the video.

Oops, sorry about that. I changed it, should be visible now.

I ignore if the conditions of the tape is the bottleneck here (the YT bad compression is also present), but I suspect you need a better player, a better capture card and an appropriate capture software.

How does the video look on your TV played directly by your VCR?

The tape looks fine on my TV. By "fine" in this case, I mean it doesn't do that weird frame skipping/repeating thing. That's really all I'm concerned with here. The issue where it looks like the video is repeating frames and sort of jumping around.

Any other compression/quality issues I'm not worried about at the moment, as you've noted, I don't have appropriate hardware to get a super clean capture. I only capture VHS tapes like once or twice a year (if that) for personal use. Like if I find a cool recorded TV VHS tape that I want to save digitally in case the VHS tape degrades, just as a backup. Because of my limited use and lack of excess funds, I can't really drop tons of money of good equipment.

But, if the frame repeating/skipping thing is a settings issue, then I'd love to figure that out. Or if I just need a different VCR, I could swing that probably.

Thanks for the help!

At first guess, the VCR is not an issue then, but also consider that a TV is more "robust" to bad signals than a capture card.

You could try one of the recommended capture cards and maybe add a Panasonic DVD-R recorder in passthrough mode, if needed, for a reasonable price.

Awesome, thanks for the advice! I'll look into those options.

When I step through the video frame by frame, I see individual frames that are completely out of order. That has to be the capture card or the software.

Ah, okay, thanks. I mean, I have that cheapo vidbox plug and play device, so that wouldn't surprise me if that's the culprit. From what I've read, there are no "affordable" options though, right? Like if I wanted to get something good, it jumps into the hundreds?

As for the software, if it's OBS, then it's more likely my fault and improper settings. I'm admittedly a layman with this, but this is the site I followed for configuration: https://timfordphoto.com/digitizing-...pes-using-obs/

One of the cheaper capture devices listed on this site is the Hauppauge 610. Would that be a step up, enough to possibly resolve the issue?

It needs lineTBC correction and a Y/C input, so together with a S-VHS VCR with lineTBC or with a good VCR and a Panasonic DVD-R in passthrough mode.