How to transfer VHS to DVD using VirtualDub2, Hybrid?

[oldenough]

Hello, I am wanting to start a local business transferring people's VHS tapes to DVD and USB drives. I'm new to it all and have fallen down many rabbit holes, and there is so much I don't understand.
I can't afford to buy equipment right now and want to use what I have and scale up as I make money.

Right now I'm using:
- Toshiba v393su2 VCR/DVD combo
- Vidbox USB capture device
- VirtualDub2
- Hybrid

Computer specs:
- Windows 10
- AMD Ryzen 7 5800
- 16GB RAM
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Graphics Card
- 64bit

I plan on saving up for an IO Data GV-USB2 or a Hauppauge USB-Live2, and I plan to thrift multiple VCRs, ideally at least one with built in TBC, but I'm not holding my breath.

Anyway, here are my main questions (and there are many, so apologies in advance and if even just one can be answered it will be helpful):

- I'm capturing at 720x480. I'm following a YouTube tutorial to upscale to 1440x1080. Is this a bad idea/is this reducing quality? Is this necessary if I want to put the files on a DVD for them to play full screen?

- I need these files to be small so I can put them on DVD and USB sticks for people. The .avi files from VirtualDub are massive. When I deinterlace, is exporting to x264 okay, or do I need to export to ProRes and then convert to .mp4 with Handbrake? When I export to x264 with Hybrid it takes the files size from over 30GB to under 1GB and that seems sus.

- I keep seeing that 640x480 is the standard for VHS, but I need to capture to 720x480 to avoid information being lost. What does this mean in relation to Hybrid and deinterlacing?

- Is there a simple guide you can point me to for this VHS>VirtualDub>Hybrid>.mp4 files? There are many tutorials and guides but they contradict each other and the forums are filled with people arguing over what is best.

- Is there a simpler software to use to deinterlace than Hybrid?

- Is it worth it to offer Topaz upscaling to customers? Can I get a similar result with Hybrid?

- What's the difference between upscaling to 1440x1080 with Hybrid and upscaling the video with something like Topaz?

I want to deliver excellent quality to people wanting to transfer their VHS tapes to digital, but I'm not worried about a method that will deliver an extra 1% quality boost. I'm open to suggestions but please understand I'm a noob in the beginning stages of understanding this stuff. Thanks in advance for any responses!

[vwestlife]

It depends on what you mean by "business". Something you do on the side in your free time, to earn a few bucks here and there to support your already-existing video equipment hobby? Sure, go right ahead.

But something you're starting from the ground-up as a full-time job, and expecting to turn a sustainable profit? Oof... the people who have done that can tell you it's really challenging, especially when you're up against the massive marketing budget of LegacyBox and other large-volume "puppy mill" mail-order conversion services. You basically end up feeding off of the people who got burned by them and had their tapes rejected for being moldy/damaged, which will now become your headache to deal with.

[oldenough]

Yeah, I'm planning on it being just a side hustle just to make an extra few bucks every month, starting with the people in my neighborhood and possibly around the city if there is a demand for it. I enjoy messing with old media like this so at least it will be something I enjoy doing, and I will learn a lot along the way. I've heard a lot about the LegacyBox-type businesses and they will definitely be hard to compete with since a lot of people don't know they suck. I'm planning on having to learn how to clean moldy tapes, tinker with VCR internal mechanisms, etc. to get a good picture for people who were burned by such companies. It's very possible I'll be in over my head, but we'll see!

[DarrylInCanada]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldenough

- I'm capturing at 720x480. I'm following a YouTube tutorial to upscale to 1440x1080. Is this a bad idea/is this reducing quality? Is this necessary if I want to put the files on a DVD for them to play full screen?

Most clients don't want a DVD dics. They want a video file they can upload to YouTube or share with family via Google Drive.

Also, DVD-Video is a particular combination of video codec (mpeg2) at a particular bitrate and a particular resolution, and saved to a DVD disc in a particular way. Video codecs used for final distribution video file have improved and the H.264 is a better final video format, but it doesn't go onto a DVD-Video disc. So, unless someone asks for a DVD-Video disc, suggest they get H.264 video files (mp4) on a USB flash drive or better still on a Google Drive so they can download to their computer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldenough

- I need these files to be small so I can put them on DVD and USB sticks for people. The .avi files from VirtualDub are massive. When I deinterlace, is exporting to x264 okay, or do I need to export to ProRes and then convert to .mp4 with Handbrake? When I export to x264 with Hybrid it takes the files size from over 30GB to under 1GB and that seems sus.

The preferred lossless capture format is HuffYUV or Lagarith. Bring this file into Hybrid to deinterlace and, if you wish, do some de-noising. Everything beyond that is icing on the cake. Export as an H264 (mp4) file and give that to the client. Will be much smaller than the raw video.

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldenough

- I keep seeing that 640x480 is the standard for VHS, but I need to capture to 720x480 to avoid information being lost. What does this mean in relation to Hybrid and deinterlacing?

This is the most confusing part of video capture because math. When videotapes are digitized, the video file saves the image using sort or rectangular pixels. But all modern screens assume the digital video file will have square pixels (like the way digital camcorders and DSLRs and smartphones record video). So, when you capture video at 720x480, and then crop 8 pixels from left and 8 pixels from the right, you are left with the 704x480 video resolution BUT with those weird rectangular pixels. You can get Hybrid (or Resolve or Premiere or whatever) to change the rectangular pixels to square ones. And when you do, you end up with a video resolution of 640x480.

Or to put it another way: 704x480 (rectangular pixels) = 640x480 (square pixels).

To make sure your video output ends up with square pixels, you have to tell Hybrid what the original video pixels are (ie, Input PAR) and what you want the exported pixels to be (ie, Output PAR). For yoru type of capture device, in North America, the Input PAR is 10 x 11. And the Output PAR should be set to 1 x 1.

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldenough

- Is there a simple guide you can point me to for this VHS>VirtualDub>Hybrid>.mp4 files? There are many tutorials and guides but they contradict each other and the forums are filled with people arguing over what is best.

There are many steps and settings and software. So most guides tackle parts of that. I've tried to explain those parts on my VideoCaptureGuide YouTube channel using what I learned here and the other forums.

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldenough

- Is there a simpler software to use to deinterlace than Hybrid?

In April 2026, I released a beta software of VCD Deinterlacer to do just that. It deinterlaces, which is the main thing you need. But if you want to upscale, then Hybrid is the way to go.

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldenough

- Is it worth it to offer Topaz upscaling to customers? Can I get a similar result with Hybrid?
- What's the difference between upscaling to 1440x1080 with Hybrid and upscaling the video with something like Topaz?

In my tests, Topaz Video is much simpler to use. It is best on MiniDV quality footage. With VHS home video footage, you need to be very conservative settings. Don't overdo it or else people will notice the people look plastic-like.

The best upscaler in Hybrid is believed to be NNEDI3. It doesn't have the same wow factor as Topaz, however, it is a very safe choice. If the VHS/Video8 tapes are high quality with outdoor scenes and natural light, I will use Topaz Video. If it is indoor or poor quality, I tend to use NNEDI3.

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldenough

I want to deliver excellent quality to people wanting to transfer their VHS tapes to digital, but I'm not worried about a method that will deliver an extra 1% quality boost. I'm open to suggestions but please understand I'm a noob in the beginning stages of understanding this stuff. Thanks in advance for any responses!

Since clients won't have anything to compare yoru work to, they won't know how much effort you put into it. But you will know. And given the importance of old home movies to families today (and descendents!) you should do as much as possible. Most important equipment is a VCR with SVideo output, and a LineTBC device in the VCR or if you cannot find one then in a passthrough device like the Panasonic ES-15. Then a decent capture device. And some basic work deinterlacing with software.

[oldenough]

Seriously, thank you so much for the detailed response. I’ve actually been watching your videos on YouTube and they’ve been super helpful! It’s relieving to know people probably won’t want DVDs, that seems like a hassle. Another quick question that I can’t seem to find a straight answer to: just in case a customer wants a DVD for video playback, is deinterlacing necessary before putting the video onto a DVD?

This is the most confusing part of video capture because math. When videotapes are digitized, the video file saves the image using sort or rectangular pixels. But all modern screens assume the digital video file will have square pixels (like the way digital camcorders and DSLRs and smartphones record video). So, when you capture video at 720x480, and then crop 8 pixels from left and 8 pixels from the right, you are left with the 704x480 video resolution BUT with those weird rectangular pixels. You can get Hybrid (or Resolve or Premiere or whatever) to change the rectangular pixels to square ones. And when you do, you end up with a video resolution of 640x480.

Or to put it another way: 704x480 (rectangular pixels) = 640x480 (square pixels).

To make sure your video output ends up with square pixels, you have to tell Hybrid what the original video pixels are (ie, Input PAR) and what you want the exported pixels to be (ie, Output PAR). For yoru type of capture device, in North America, the Input PAR is 10 x 11. And the Output PAR should be set to 1 x 1.

Yeah, this really gets confusing. With your deinterlacing program you have on your site, does that automatically do the change from rectangular to square pictures/704x480 to 640x480? Or would I need to resize in Hybrid it after using your program to deinterlace?

[DarrylInCanada]

If a customer wants a DVD for video playback, then deinterlacing is not necessary as DVD-Video. It is technically possible to save an MPEG-2 as a progressive (deinterlaced) but not advisable for a lot of good reasons. The DVD player or Blu-ray player will be responsible for deinterlacing the video on the fly.

So, while you might think that makes your job easier, there's another thing to learn: how to properly convert the AVI file to MPEG2. And just any MPEG2 file, but one that respects all the rules for an MPEG2 file that will live on a DVD-Video disc. There's a specific standard. In the early 2000s, where I used to output home videos to family on DVD-Video, I used TMPGenc, which converted the files perfectly AND created the other files needed as part of the DVD-Video disc. Bottom line: if you plan on offering this service, you may need to invest in this software.

Regarding PAR and SAR and all that stuff, yes, the VCG Deinterlacer detects if the video is (1) NTSC or PAL, (2) SD digitized or DV digitized, and (3) TopFieldFirst or BottomFieldFirst. And based on this analysis, it sets the correct settings to take the rectangual pixels and change them to square, crop 8 from either size, and outputs a video file in the 4:3 aspect ratio with square pixels. See screenshot below.

VCGD-004.jpg

[Gary34]

You will not be able to edit or anything on your Windows 10 PC while you are capturing on it. Capturing will tie it up. You can get a pretty cheap Windows 7 PC and use it to capture while your Windows 10 PC edits in Hybrid. The requirements for a capture PC are not that high. https://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vid...xps-730-a.html You will want at least 3 SSDs in your Windows 10 PC. One for OS, one for media, and one for scratch/cache. You can use these to swap HDDs between PCs. https://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vid...s-capture.html The hot swap bays are nice to have. They save a lot of time.

The tough part about doing this as a business I think would be getting customers that appreciate the fact that you are capturing to a losslessly compressed codec then editing and encoding in Hybrid instead of just using an Elgato to capture straight to H.264 at a low bitrate. It's kind of a fight against consumer awareness.