Does this MP4 recorder work?

bluebutterfly5050 · #1 05-10-2026, 11:12 AM

I have a lot of VHS tapes that I want to copy to digital. I have researched this for many years and rejected most of the ideas, including using a "capture card" or involving my computer to use such things as OBS, etc. None have worked so far. I came across someone on another forum who said that they record direct to USB using MP4 recorder. I had never heard of an MP4 recorder so I looked it up online and saw one that is being sold on Ebay for $52. It uses RCA cables out of the VCR, goes into the MP4 box (recorder) and directly converts the signal into MP4 onto a USB. The user chooses whatever type of USB they want (I presume, some type of high volume that will hold a lot of recording). No third party software needed (apparently), just a direct to USB type of copying. This looks more like what I want but the big question is: would this device work? I can't find any specific reviews of this device. It is NOT a ClearClick. ClearClick apparently uses the computer and relies on software decoding to work. This device I am seeing does not do that, it's straight to USB. I can't find a brand name on the unit. The Ebay listings show it as RCA AV Capture Device To MP4 HD Recorder With USB Save & HD Monitor Out. I couldn't find a jpg of the image that wasn't on a web page so couldn't save it to attach here but you can easily find it on ebay using the listing description. I have three VCR's that I kept over the years and all of them still work and play my tapes so I don't anticipate any issues with quality from the VCR nor do I quibble with lack of perfection on the final product. Just want to save for memories and basic viewing going into the future vs. throwing out all these VHS tapes (most were movies or shows taped from television, etc.)

Opinions on this MP4 direct to USB recorder? Is it a good way to do VHS copying that works? I really don't want to deal with copying to DVD's, plus that format is going away and I'd rather save on USB stick. Thanks!

latreche34 · #2 05-10-2026, 11:12 PM

Any recorder that has the word mp4 in it is junk, Capturing analog tapes in good quality is a process not one recording step.

bluebutterfly5050 · #3 05-10-2026, 11:24 PM

I added a jpg of the device in case anyone else would like to add their opinion on it, as to whether it would work or not. thanks!

Aya_Rei · #4 05-11-2026, 01:03 AM

Yeah totally reeks of those cheap converters that do a piss poor job.

It works but it produces shit so hey, it does it's job correctly.. at producing poor results.

bluebutterfly5050 · #5 05-11-2026, 01:14 AM

Yeah, I was just curious as to how or if it would work. It seems a bit different than other capture devices I've seen which usually involve a computer and some third party software like OBS to convert the analog to digital. This device seems to eliminate the need for a computer, i.e. if you hook your VCR up with RCA cables to the box and then have a USB stick in the box to receive the recording as an MP4, then it's supposedly a direct record from VCR direct to USB via whatever the box is doing to convert the signal. IF it would work, such a device would be better than dealing with computer conversion via software which often fails using such things as EZCap or other similar capture cards or devices.

vwestlife · #6 05-11-2026, 08:24 AM

That's a cheap A/V to HDMI converter combined with a cheap HDMI capture device. Expect to get video with exaggerated contrast (crushed blacks, blown out highlights) that is stretched-out to widescreen. And it looks like it uses a rather low bitrate, as it claims "9.3MB/Minute or 0.56GB/Hour".

bluebutterfly5050 · #7 05-11-2026, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vwestlife

That's a cheap A/V to HDMI converter combined with a cheap HDMI capture device. Expect to get video with exaggerated contrast (crushed blacks, blown out highlights) that is stretched-out to widescreen. And it looks like it uses a rather low bitrate, as it claims "9.3MB/Minute or 0.56GB/Hour".

Okay, thanks for the info. I was just wondering as I hadn't seen a device exactly like this one around. I might or might not try it as I'm not super picky about what the output looks like, just want a backup copy just in case. The price on these particular devices seems to run around $50-70 so they're not super cheap so that would make me hesitate also.

lordsmurf · #8 05-11-2026, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluebutterfly5050

Okay, thanks for the info. I was just wondering as I hadn't seen a device exactly like this one around. I might or might not try it as I'm not super picky about what the output looks like, just want a backup copy just in case. The price on these particular devices seems to run around $50-70 so they're not super cheap so that would make me hesitate also.

"not super picky" would be to get 2% milk instead of whole milk.
This device is sour milk.