Before I begin...
Answering this post took a few days longer than normal because I wanted to dedicate some computer time to it, as opposed to quick iPad time. I've edited your post to space things out properly. All of the line breaks were gone. Did you copy/paste from Notepad or Word? I'm curious what may have caused loss of line breaks. Or maybe you typed it on a tablet or mobile phone?
On to the questions/answers and comments ...
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First, I just wanted to say that you have a great website and forum. From what I have read, you have a wealth of information within these pages.
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Thanks much.
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Now, on to my problem, err, my challenge.
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I like your attitude already. Exactly the kind of person that's enjoyable to teach.
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I was hoping to get some advice on converting 200 hours of family analog videos to digital files which would be stored on several multi-terabyte external hard drives. These are full sized VHS tapes, mostly recorded (from late 80s to 1999) by a Montgomery Ward Signature 2000 VHS Camcorder Model 10687
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A standard type of project. All you need is good/proper equipment to make it happen in a quality way, which is why you're here, and I'll be glad to instruct you on what specifically is needed for this kind of workflow...
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several multi-terabyte external hard drive
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Hard drives are NOT a reliable archiving method, when used alone, and in singular fashion. By "alone", I mean that the only copy is on hard drive -- not still on archived/kept tapes, not on discs (DVD or Blu-ray versions), etc. By "singular", I mean you don't have mirrored copies of the hard drive, and on drives from a different manufacturer. For example, a good backup policy on a hard drive would be to have a "master" 2TB Western Digital drive, and a "backup" copy of that 2TB WD HDD on a Seagate or Hitachi 2TB drive. Backups are required, and in redundancy. Yes, it costs a few bucks -- currently $100 per 2TB drive -- but you'll thank me later.
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(probably a very low end camcorder).
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Cheap 80s cameras have a number of issues dealing with ghosting, flares and color accuracy. Be aware that these are considered "shooting errors" and are largely irreparable. While you may be able to correct some of the color with a proc amp and/or good editor (NLE like
Adobe Premiere Pro), there's little that can be done for these sorts of shooting flaws. Archive as-is, keeping in mind that "fixing them perfect" is not your goal.
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Almost all of the tapes are in very good condition. I assume they are in SP.
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Inspect the tapes physically, too -- for mold (white on tape), crinkling, missing oxide (flaking black), etc.
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According to the VCR manual, it says the video signal is EIA Standard (525 lines, 60 fields) NTSC color signal. The video recording system used a helical scanning system with 4 rotary heads. Audio used 1 track. Pick-up system is sequential color difference, field reverse system.
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Standard technical specs -- nothing too important to know for the purpose of the project itself.
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I currently have a quad core AMD processor based system running Windows Vista. It is about 2 years old. I installed USB2 ports.
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Good hardware. The "quad" core doesn't mean much. The per-core speed matters more for video work.
Vista poses a nuisance on some tasks, but we've documented most of them quite well on this site, so your waiting to do this project was in some ways beneficial to you.
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My plan is to buy a nice S-VHS VCR based on your recommendations. Since no one makes these models anymore, I could really use your help locating a good one that isn’t already damaged.
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Everything you need to know is here:
http://www.digitalFAQ.com/forum/vide...ing-guide.html
There's nothing I can add beyond that.
Well, unless you want to post some eBay links, and seek advice on "which one should I get" -- but even then, that thread is thorough.
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I also plan to buy an external TBC, probably an AVT-8710.
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I have one DataVideo TBC-100 left, new in box, for $300 + shipping, guarantee to work perfectly. (I tested it thoroughly, which is the only reason the box was opened.) I bought out the final stock at a liquidation sale of a video store that went under last year. $300 is cheaper than they were new, and only slight more expensive than the AVT-8710 that is undergoing some sort of manufacturer chipset issue (meaning a new AVT-8710 could be bad).
Let me know ASAP if you want it. I've been offering these new, one by one, to people on this forum -- rather than selling the on eBay or whatnot. I wanted to be sure I had enough for "my people" instead of just random people. I'm down to three, and plan to keep two for myself.
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In addition, I will need a capture card. I was considering buying the AIW 600 USB2, but if you think I should buy something different, please let me know.
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For your computer, I think this is best option. Get the ATI 600 card.
Amazon is suggested:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B0035BJGYW
Less risky than eBay.
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Or MPEG -- but AVI lossless is generally better.
However, you can split the difference, and go for a high bitrate MPEG-2, in the range of 15Mbps (or more, with Matrox codecs in
VirtualDub).
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I assume I should use 720*480 to ensure the best quality.
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Depends on the content. VHS is way below 720x, and then most cameras have lousy optics, so even 352x was a challenge on the resolved detail. Either is fine, to be honest. 352x fits more a disc, with the same visual quality as 720x. In fact, sometimes 352x helps hide various "detail" noise (small noise that isn't really detail, just noise).
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I guess that would mean 8K bit rate?
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Lossless AVI has no bitrate to choose from. "8K" (betting that you mean 8Mbps) is an MPEG-2 bitrate measurement.
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I am not worried about the size of the files. 30-40Gig per hour is ok.
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Huffyuv is lossless quality, and ~35GB/hour on average.
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I have a reasonable amount of money to spend on these items.
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Good. Being cheap leads to diminished quality.
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If I read this site’s advice correctly, then I believe the process would go something like:
Step 1 – put VHS tape into S-VHS player. Connect S-Video cable from S-VHS player to the external TBC.
Step 2 – connect a second S-Video cable from the external TBC to the capture card.
Step 3 – download, install and then run VirtualDub.
Step 4 – play VHS tape in VCR and start capturing with VirtualDub.
Please let me know if this process makes sense. I would appreciate any help you could give me.
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That is it -- perfect summary of what will be done.
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Texas or Virginia?
