VHS to digital produces green lines recording?

[AFGIV]

Hey everyone,

I hope this is the best place to ask this. I'm sorry if it isn't.

I'm brand new to VHS to digital conversion. I'd really love to digitize my family videos before it's too late. I'll get to the point.

I bought this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I know I probably got what I paid for, but I plugged it into my old VCR, a Sharp VC-A542: https://www.ebay.com/itm/324513690015.

I can it up and running via OBS. Some videos produce only sound. Some videos produce picture and sound. However, the one consistency is that there are these green lines that overtake all of the video as seen in the attachment.

I'm not sure what to do to correct this so any assistance would be great. Additionally, I hate to ask, but please try to explain it as easy as possible. I'm new to all of this and have tried to look up solutions and have had absolutely zero idea what I was reading, as much as I wish I could.

Thank you to anyone that reads this and tries to help!

[lordsmurf]

That's essentially the worst possible way to transfer video.

cheap Chinese Easycap (with earned the nickname Easycrap),
> into a random low-grade VCR,
> using the digital streaming software that treats your VCR like a webcam

You got exactly what you paid for: problems, unwatchable captures, low quality even when "good".

That's what has happened here. There is no way to fix it, aside from return it (or throw in the closet), and get better gear.

It's not your fault, these horrid methods are parroted by the slimy budget companies, and repeated by fellow newbies (aka Youtube "experts") that don't know any more than you do. They just happily tell others how to make awful video, clueless that better methods exist.

So ... let's start over.

The Easycap has to go (junk), OBS has to go (wrong tool/software).
The VCR is meh, Sharp can be one of the better of the low-end, and adding ES10 will help.

The biggest issue is you lack any form of TBC, and that's a no-go, some form of TBC is required. Even the minimalist TBC(ish) of the ES10/15 at very worst.

A video gear budget should match your computer gear budget. Not your lunch budget. Even minimally passable video gear costs more than cheeseburger. Think desktop. You can spend a few hundred for a Celeron-type mini PC that might sorta-kinda work, or you can spend $2k+ for a system (gamer, CAD, Photoshop, etc). It's really comparable for video.

[AFGIV]

I appreciate you telling me how it is. I wasn't sure about this and had no idea what I was getting into.

Can you please recommend something that won't break the bank or share the link to a guide that might be able to get me a video conversion?

Truth be told, I'm not looking to get involved in this long term (despite it seeming like a cool community) and am just trying to think ahead for a sentimental Christmas gift for some older relatives. I think they'd really love to see these videos again.

So any recommendations for someone trying to not go full force into this would be super helpful.

Thank you again for the assistance.

[lordsmurf]

Video isn't as easy as most people think. It's more like opening the hood of your car, and changing your own oil ... or replacing the head gasket, or something else that requires basic specialized tool and parts. Video is not like using the remote to find what's on Netflix.

The tools are what makes or breaks this endeavor. You can cheap out, and waste more time attempting to make the cheap tool work, than actually using it. Or you can buy better tools. Buy it, use it, resell it. Quality gear/tools holds value, junk is yours forever.So initial costs are recouped.

Most people are very task-based, and are not in this long-term as a hobby. I completely understand this, which is why my mantra is "buy it, use it, resell it". It's not a sunk cost, something you toss in a drawer when finished. For me, it's about keeping the quailty tools available, not to have more disappear.

If you have self-imposed deadlines, like "by Christmas" really necessitates getting good gear. You want to use it, not futz with it, miss the deadline, and give the plan-B/runner-up gift. And FYI, Christmas is actually much closer than you think, in video capture terms, and a lot of us quit taking "for Christmas" projects in Oct/Nov.

You need a workflow. Did you see the marketplace forum yet?

[AFGIV]

I totally get that, and the marketplace is definitely helpful.

I'm just looking for a beginner's jumping off point in terms of what I should look for that can get the job done when it comes to transfer device, software, and VCR. The marketplace will definitely come in handy, but I'm not even sure what I should be looking for since what I started off with wasn't what I thought it would be.

Are there any specific specs that you think I should start off with to begin this process?

[lordsmurf]

The most basic formula is

1. quality VCR
2. some form of TBC
3. non-crap capture card, use VirtualDub (never OBS)

At minimum, that Easycap has to go, and something must be added as TBC(ish).

The VCR is meh, but salvageable with ES10/15.

I realize this is all new, but it just takes some reading. I don't yet have the Video 101 aka Guide for Dummies/Newbies up now.