Digitized videos using ClearClick have vertical bounce/chop?
 

I have digitized all of my home VHS collection using ClearClick and a Sony multi-system VCR. The original VHS tapes have been discarded. All I have now are the mp4 files created by the software.

The problem is when I play back the mp4 files, in certain places they start to chop (vertical jumpiness / jitter). What software can I use to eliminate the vertical choppiness of these mp4s?

The ClearClick is infamous junk that butchers video. Your tapes should never look that terrible. It's a meat grinder of a capture card, especially when fed from low-end VHS VCRs without any TBCs.

Why were the tapes trashed? That was a terrible idea! Now you're stuck with trash encodes, literally nothing can be done. You're screwed.

This is the perfect case where you don't throw away your tapes, Trying to fix a compressed lossy video with a lot of problems is not that easy, You had a chance of doing right and you missed it, Post some samples to assess the damage.

I really feel bad for you about this one. You can warn other people. Make sure they don’t make the same mistake. They can try to help but the options are limited with that device compressing like that on the capture then dropping who knows how many frames but maybe they can halo some. That sucks.

It may be the same problem explained (and solved) in this thread.

Capturing your tape with less than optimal hardware is better than not capturing it at all. As photographers say, "f/8 and be there."

I always hated that quote. ClearClick is like "f/8 with lens cap on".

If you want to post a sample of problem parts of your tape it might make this a better warning thread. maybe no one will talk smack about your decisions here or maybe not. Ow well, it’s just people on the internet. I mean you did goof up pretty bad on this one. At least you have something though.

The issues you are having most likely could have been fixed with better hardware. If you are dropping frames those frames are gone. That’s caused by lack of equipment before the clearclick. I’ve seen some clearclick examples that are awful and i think they could be fixed with better hardware. People just don’t wanna pay what it cost but then some of them end up paying more than they think they will by going cheap. I’ve seen really bad deinterlacing with those and color issues.

When they manufactured that they were thinking we want to make this as cheap and easy for people as we can. They weren’t thinking quality like the people that made the gear that these guys use.

All of these garbage products and services have soo much marketing behind them. Plus a lot of people my age and younger are making some YouTube video promoting them.

China has allowed bootleg and product mimicking since the start of its industrial revolution, They'll take any product in the market and make one that looks like it with bare minimum of operation, Back in the 80's when I was a teenage growing up I remember some of the brand names Chinese manufacturers would copy, I've seen boomboxes and other products in the following brands, Panasoanic, Suuny, Soony, Soni, Sanyu, Tochiba, interNATIONAL ... Having said that, China did make some products of their own design in other industries but took advantage of the electronics and home goods because it was a growing business back then.

Those Clearclicks really have a tough time with yellow. You can see the red and green it’s trying to add to make yellow in RGB. Idk if it gets any worse as far as deinterlacing. https://youtu.be/99Zb7IQtsMo?si=MJeCOy5r5RZoeNLi

Gary & others, I appreciate your feedback.

What do you recommend as the optimal combination hardware/software to capture my old Video8 / Hi8 tapes? I purchased a Sony Camcorder to use with the tapes. Now, for the capture, based on your warnings, I will avoid using ClearClick. But what should I use in its stead? My plan initially was to hook up the AV to the ClearClick to capture my videos.

Please advise on the optimal hardware / software combination. Thank you all.

You have the doing it yourself option and another good option is hiring someone from this site. I wouldn’t go with anybody that has only been a member for a year or two.

It’s a good idea to look around the site and read the guide.

Like what Gary34 said, your best bet is to either learn how to DIY, or instead find a reputable person to transfer your tapes for you. While the DIY method will be costly and have a learning curve, it wouldn't be impossible to do once you've got done viewing this site and understanding the correct advice on what to use and how to use the right gear to convert these tapes properly. With lordsmurf having a few workflows left that provide you the right equipment to DIY.

I've gotten comfortable enough with knowing how to transfer tapes correctly equipment wise, physically handling them and looking out for mold and VCR wear is another story and something I am trying to prevent from happening by checking whatever VHS tapes I come across to see if the black tape looks covered/dirty.

While this site does take transfer orders, I'm unsure if lordsmurf is accepting any at this time. I myself am not as I really only plan to use my gear to transfer tapes from family and close friends, so I apologize that I won't be much help.