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  #1  
05-20-2019, 02:08 PM
SOXSYS SOXSYS is offline
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I thank first of all SANLYN who guided me step-by-step in the perfect manner (see posts) and also LORDSMURF. Both helped me with very useful advices. They know every little thing.

In order to contribute something back and maybe help out other users who could face my same problems, I would like to share my successful experience in capturing video in WINDOWS 10. I hope this will help some of you.

It is not at all easy to actually buy the equipment, especially hardware, so this might be of help.

All experienced members and professionals will tell you that you should use Windows XP or maximum Windows 7 to setup your workflow. I have tried it really hard, but I was not successful. I got the computer with the AGP slot for the ATI card, but when the card arrived there were not cables included, so it was useless (NEVER BUY AN ATI CARD THAT DOES NOT HAVE ALL CABLES INCLUDED! CHECK WHAT IT MUST HAVE OR DO NOT BUY.), I could not find the PCI ATI card to buy, basically I was out of solutions. Then I have decided to use my Windows 10 workstation and setup the workflow in a different, but actually the same way. It took me many months, but finally I HAVE MANAGED WELL. Here it is.

WORKFLOW SETUP
1) COMPUTER - Dell T7500, double Xeon W5580, RAM 48 GB, nVidia Quadro FX 4800 (1,5 GB), double Dell 27” led monitors U2713HM, Windows 10 Pro (1809 last version) – so an old workstation from January 2010, but working perfectly.
2) PLAYERS - Video players/camcorders, depending on the type of media (MiniDv, Hi8, VHS)
a. For MiniDV - SONY CAMCORDER DCR-PC110E (my own still working well)
b. For Hi8 – SONY CAMCORDER CCD-TR705E (my own repaired for EUR 70)
c. For VHS – PANASONIC NV-FS200EG (basically the same as AG1980 for USA users). Purchased used, completely repaired and with 2 years warranty for EUR 300 from the great guy on eBay. You can find him under charly_rackslider https://www.ebay.it/usr/charly_rackslider. He repairs by himself and I warmly recommend him as a correct and honest guy.
3) As TBC use (not really a TBC) – PANASONIC DMR-ES15 (it is a DVD recorder that costed EUR 35 used, but works well and is really cheap). SANLYN thank you very much for the tip here! 😊
4) CAPTURE DEVICE – MATROX MX02 MINI. Purchased it used for EUR 230. WORKS GREAT ON WIN 10 with VirtualDub. Make sure to install exclusively MTX Utilities 8.0.0.15342 (driver+software) to make it work in Windows 10 and if you buy it used, make sure that you get the credentials to login into Matrox website to be able to download the software. Anybody who faces problems can contact me, I do have it.
You can connect as INPUT: COMPONENT, COMPOSITE, S-VIDEO AND HDMI. OUTPUT works through HOST CONNECTION that is cable connected to the Matrox PCIe Express Card 34 adapter slot (all needed comes with the card in the box, but check it well before buying).
5) CAPTURING SOFTWARE – VIRTUAL DUB 1.104.35491 X64 RELEASE.
Here are the settings (only needed in order):
a. Start the application
b. Menu VIDEO – DIRECT STREAM COPY (absolutely necessary as otherwise you will have many problems with audio and video, any time you open it you must set it again for any action)
c. Menu AUDIO - DIRECT STREAM COPY (it is by default)
d. Menu FILE – CAPTURE AVI
e. (when in CAPTURE MODE) – menu FILE – SET CAPTURE FILE (set the name and destination folder)
f. (in CAPTURE MODE) – menu VIDEO – PREVIEW (so you can see the input stream)
g. (in CAPTURE MODE) – menu VIDEO – CAPTURE FILTER (set desired options like input, frame size, etc.)
h. (in CAPTURE MODE) – menu VIDEO – CROPPING (crop freely any upper/lower, left/right parts of the frame before starting to capture)
i. (in CAPTURE MODE) – menu VIDEO – COMPRESSION (you can set this, I did not I used uncompressed)
j. (in CAPTURE MODE) – menu AUDIO – ENABLE AUDIO CAPTURE
k. (in CAPTURE MODE) – menu CAPTURE – CAPTURE VIDEO (starts actually capturing the video)

MiniDV
It went easy (it is just coping) with really excellent quality through the firewire connection. You must have the firewire on your PC, but then it goes smoothly. Noting much. Setup VirtualDub correctly and it will just go.

Hi8 - VHS
It went also easy (and a long, long time) with really good, what-you-have-is-what-you-get quality. Do not expect miracles. You can get only what you have on the media (cassette) nothing better, and this only if you are lucky that the workflow does not have some intermediate problems like cables, circuits, hidden device problems (everything is used not new), etc. - and have been patient and studied the setup with trying, trying and trying.

This is it. It may help somebody who cannot find old software/hardware to actually do it on Windows 10. Not all hopes are dead and no Windows 10 is not so bad for digitising analog video.

I captured with Huffyuv compression in YUV 4:2:2 (codec YUY2). Expect very big files. I got approximately somewhat over 1 GB per 1 minute. I know it is a lot, but I did not know how will it come up differently and I wanted to presereve as much as possible from the original cassettes.

Have in mind that I made a trial conversion in Adobe Premiere Pro (that is actually the conversion in Adobe Media Encoder) from a 23 GB .avi file (20 min.) I obtained with described capturing method from above the .mp4 (H.264) file that is 1,5 GB of practically identical quality to the eye. At least I do not see differences.

Now the time has come for FILTERING and AUTHORING. With almost 8 TB of data it will be fun and hopefully I will finish it before I die.

BTW, anybody with any ideas for workflow on Windows 10 for FILTERING? Noise, clean-up, colour wise?

Best regards to all of you and special thanks to SANLYN. You helped a lot mate. 😊
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  #2  
05-21-2019, 01:29 AM
latreche34 latreche34 is online now
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I took a similar approach for capturing analog video on Windows 10 environment, I used BrightEye75 instead of Matrox, I have an all in one PC with no PCI slots so I used a SDI to USB dongle to connect the BE75 to the USB 3.0 port of the PC and capture raw 10/8bit AVI 4:2:2, Works with any program without a hiccup.
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  #3  
05-21-2019, 08:00 AM
sanlyn sanlyn is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by latreche34 View Post
I took a similar approach for capturing analog video on Windows 10 environment, I used BrightEye75 instead of Matrox, I have an all in one PC with no PCI slots so I used a SDI to USB dongle to connect the BE75 to the USB 3.0 port of the PC and capture raw 10/8bit AVI 4:2:2, Works with any program without a hiccup.
That's one way of doing it, but wyh get so complicated and expensive just to get what so far looks like inferior results with illegal signal levels? The method offers no means of input signal regulation (which is easy and simple in VirtualDub) and early posts of the results showed badly clipped video that was damaged beyond repair. latrech34 hasn't posted newer samples, so no one can verify that this method actually competes with easier methods. It does seem to require 10-bit calibrated monitors for video work as well as a number of 10-bit/8-bit conversions back and forth. So I think the jury's still out on this one. In what way would this method be preferred over something optimized and more flexible for analog capture?
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  #4  
05-21-2019, 10:49 AM
latreche34 latreche34 is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sanlyn View Post
That's one way of doing it, but wyh get so complicated and expensive just to get what so far looks like inferior results with illegal signal levels?
No, You were looking at MPEG-2 caps made by a D-VHS deck with a bad commercial tape. The setup wasn't expensive nor complicated, less expensive than the Matrox, As a matter fact buying pro gear now is way cheaper than it use to be and the results are more stable than any capture device made by China nowadays.
The results are not inferior and signal levels are not illegal, What comes out is exactly what goes in when toggling the monitor back and forth between source and captured footage.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sanlyn View Post
The method offers no means of input signal regulation (which is easy and simple in VirtualDub)
You can use Vdub if you want to just like any other capture device.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sanlyn View Post
early posts of the results showed badly clipped video that was damaged beyond repair.
Again that was a D-VHS capture where the original tape levels are clipped to begin with.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sanlyn View Post
It does seem to require 10-bit calibrated monitors for video work as well as a number of 10-bit/8-bit conversions back and forth.
Nope, No calibrated monitors needed, You can capture 10bit or 8 bit natively which ever you like. I just like to use a monitor besides the PC screen because it looks cool and I have an output for it a big advantage over a USB capture device.

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Originally Posted by sanlyn View Post
In what way would this method be preferred over something optimized and more flexible for analog capture?
It is precisely optimized for analog video capture, That's why it has TBC and frame sync.
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  #5  
05-21-2019, 05:18 PM
sanlyn sanlyn is offline
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Talk. No video yet. The last we saw was a screen cap of a partial dialog window from MediaInfo (We don't even get the actual text?) If the original source was defective to begin with, where's your proof of concept using a decent source?
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05-21-2019, 06:14 PM
latreche34 latreche34 is online now
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Because it is impossible to send the original video over internet it is recorded on the tape, The only thing you can see is the captured footage so there is nothing to compare it to, and when you see signal problems you automatically assume the capture is bad anyway without knowing how the original tape looks like.

Last edited by lordsmurf; 05-22-2019 at 12:00 AM. Reason: Some replies removed. Be nice! -LS
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  #7  
05-21-2019, 09:25 PM
sanlyn sanlyn is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by latreche34 View Post
Because it is impossible to send the original video over internet it is recorded on the tape, The only thing you can see is the captured footage so there is nothing to compare it to, and when you see signal problems you automatically assume the capture is bad anyway without knowing how the original tape looks like.
Malarkey.
People edit and post video samples of every kind directly into this forum all the time.
There are (literally) thousands of examples.

There seems to be a great deal about basic operations and basic properties that you don't seem to know about and it's becoming more obvious that you've never read into any of these forums. If you think I'm wrong about that, feel free to demonstrate otherwise. Seriously.
"Automatically assume the capture is bad anyway"???? I don't think you know the difference between a "bad" capture and a 'good" one. You're also making the clueless newbie assumption that a "good' capture is a pristine product right out of the player. It doesn't work that way, not with analog. Perhaps you're confusing analog source with digital source. Haven't you ever heard of restoration and repair? Do you know what it's for? Do you know how to capture within the bounds of broadcast-safe signal levels without crushing darks, blowing out brights, and making damaging structural mistakes? Do you know how to edit a short sample of lossless video and save and post it without making structural changes or wrecking the colorspace? Do you know how to take simple steps to prove your case about how great your gear and methods are? If so, what's wrong with demonstrating the practicality and usefulness of what you propose? I've posted my own captures here, and none of them ever looked perfect and they needed restoration work to repair VHS defects, but they did demonstrate proper capture technique. Why not read a few posts here in the capture and restoration forums and find out what's going on?

Last edited by lordsmurf; 05-21-2019 at 11:57 PM. Reason: Be nice! -LS
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  #8  
05-21-2019, 11:55 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SOXSYS View Post
I thank first of all SANLYN who guided me step-by-step in the perfect manner (see posts) and also LORDSMURF. Both helped me with very useful advices. They know every little thing.
In order to contribute something back and maybe help out other users who could face my same problems, I would like to share my successful experience in capturing video in WINDOWS 10. I hope this will help some of you
Thanks for sharing.

Quote:
b. Menu VIDEO – DIRECT STREAM COPY (absolutely necessary as otherwise you will have many problems with audio and video, any time you open it you must set it again for any action)
c. Menu AUDIO - DIRECT STREAM COPY (it is by default)
Odd. Those settings are for the editor only, and should have no effect on capturing.

Quote:
h. (in CAPTURE MODE) – menu VIDEO – CROPPING (crop freely any upper/lower, left/right parts of the frame before starting to capture)
This can work, but more often fails, causes dropped frames. I'd be wary with applying any filtering on capture. While it was possible in ATI MMC, mostly for MPEG capturing, VirtualDub tends to be top-heavy on resources with filters.

Quote:
i. (in CAPTURE MODE) – menu VIDEO – COMPRESSION (you can set this, I did not I used uncompressed)
Lossless is more suggested. Smaller sizes, less I/O (meaning less/no dropped frames).

Quote:
Hi8 - VHS
with really good, what-you-have-is-what-you-get quality. Do not expect miracles. You can get only what you have on the media (cassette) nothing better, and this only if you are lucky
That's not entirely true. Sort of. With a good VCR/camera, you will get every bit of available quality off the tape. With consumer quality VCR/camera, what you see is worse than what existed on the tape. I think you've stated this as a negative, but it really should be more positive. High-end equipment makes the tape look better than most people know was possible. At it's not necessarily because the tape was bad, and is being fixed, but rather than the tape is getting a full playback quality. Most tapes are night-and-day between good and bad VCRs/cameras.

Quote:
This is it. It may help somebody who cannot find old software/hardware to actually do it on Windows 10. Not all hopes are dead and no Windows 10 is not so bad for digitising analog video.
Win10 really fights backs against capturing, and in fact your current version may break at the next Win10 update. But it's good to hear that others are getting successes.

Quote:
I captured with Huffyuv compression in YUV 4:2:2 (codec YUY2). Expect very big files. I got approximately somewhat over 1 GB per 1 minute. I know it is a lot, but I did not know how will it come up differently and I wanted to presereve as much as possible from the original cassettes.
Good choice of codec.
So it wasn't uncompressed after all? That's be 75gb/hour.
Huffyuv is about 35gb/hour.
And Lagarith is about 25gb/hour, but with more CPU overhead, not always a wise choice.

Quote:
Have in mind that I made a trial conversion in Adobe Premiere Pro (that is actually the conversion in Adobe Media Encoder) from a 23 GB .avi file (20 min.) I obtained with described capturing method from above the .mp4 (H.264) file that is 1,5 GB of practically identical quality to the eye. At least I do not see differences.
You can always upload a clip, and get some advice on whether we see issues with it. AME can output quality MPEG and/or H.264, if you're picking settings correctly. No deinterlace, good bitrate, and adjusting some of the other settings. For example, for H.264, picking 4:2:2 and adjusting B frames.

Quote:
BTW, anybody with any ideas for workflow on Windows 10 for FILTERING? Noise, clean-up, colour wise?
Standard advice: Avisynth, VirtualDub for filtering, If you mean DVD Authoring, TAW is simple, but DVDWS2 look better. I use DVDWS2 in Win7, and it merely has no audio preview (and isn't needed, just test output, quick on my SSD drives). Or DVDWS2 in XP VM in Virtualbox.

Overall, what you've done seems fine to me.

Quote:
Originally Posted by latreche34 View Post
I took a similar approach for capturing analog video on Windows 10 environment, I used BrightEye75 instead of Matrox, I have an all in one PC with no PCI slots so I used a SDI to USB dongle to connect the BE75 to the USB 3.0 port of the PC and capture raw 10/8bit AVI 4:2:2, Works with any program without a hiccup.
That probably can work, but it has setbacks.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sanlyn View Post
So I think the jury's still out on this one. In what way would this method be preferred over something optimized and more flexible for analog capture?
That sums up my position on it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by latreche34 View Post
As a matter fact buying pro gear now is way cheaper than it use to be
It really depends on the exact item, condition, and lineage. Not much different from used photography gear. Some is worthless now, while others fetch more than MSRP did.

Quote:
and the results are more stable than any capture device made by China nowadays.
Quoted because it's so true.

Quote:
You can use Vdub if you want to just like any other capture device.
Interesting.

Quote:
Nope, No calibrated monitors needed, You can capture 10bit or 8 bit natively which ever you like. I just like to use a monitor besides the PC screen because it looks cool and I have an output for it a big advantage over a USB capture device.
I used to run external monitors, but it never helped much. I quit doing that about 5 years ago.

Quote:
That's why it has TBC and frame sync.
There have been reported issues with it as a TBC. Not the worst, not the best. I've never made up my mind on how to classify this one. Somewhere between the ES10/15 and the Kramer FC-400. It has obvious weaknesses. It's no DataVideo or Cypress.

Quote:
Originally Posted by latreche34 View Post
Because it is impossible to send the original video over internet it is recorded on the tape, The only thing you can see is the captured footage so there is nothing to compare it to, and when you see signal problems you automatically assume the capture is bad anyway without knowing how the original tape looks like.
Agree on a VHS that both of you have, and then compress it to high bitrate H.264 (also agree on specs), as interlaced 4:2:2. And record the same scenes, preferably something with good sampling of various values and noise tolerances.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sanlyn View Post
Malarkey. People edit and post video samples of every kind directly into this forum all the time.
Great! Be less combative, get a head-to-head match-up going. Maybe I can participate as well.

Quote:
Originally Posted by latreche34 View Post
I just hope what ever bothers you in your life would get resolved soon.
We all get older, we all get grumpier. I'm sometimes guilty, too.

- Did my advice help you? Then become a Premium Member and support this site.
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  #9  
05-22-2019, 08:25 AM
sanlyn sanlyn is offline
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This may be helpful for readers, old and new:


----How to create a short sample in VirtualDub from a lossless AVI capture:

1) Open the video in Virtualdub using Avisynth, or open the file directly in VirtualDub. Lossless compressors normaally used for lossless analog source capture are HuffYUV and Lagarith. UT Video and Magic YUV are also acceptable (both are optimnized for digital HD), but note that the latter two are not recognized by all PC media players and are therefore not as widespread as the other two codecs.

2) A few seconds of YUY2 video with lossless compression will fit within the 99MB upload size limits of the forum. Save 8 to 10 seconds of video with some form of motion -- people or objects moving or gesturing, reasonable camera motion, or some other form of motion so that interlace and other natural frame structure elements can be observed.

3) Use VirtualDub's lower left corner scrolling tools and top-menu edit icons to mark the starting point of your intended edit, then delete the unwanted leading frames.

4) Use the same VirtualDub tools to mark the trailing portion of your intended edit, then delete the unwanted frames.

5) to prevent colorspace, compression, or other structural changes before saving your sample, go to Virtualdub's top menu controls and click "Video..." -> then click "Direct stream copy".

6) Save the edit as a new Avi file and follow instructions for posting in http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/news...ly-upload.html.

There is an example of posting sample videos using one of my own "problem" captures, along with images of the problem and the processing needed to fix various issues, located in post #21 ("Information Overload #5").


----How to post data from MediaInfo and MediaInfoXP:

MediaInfo data can be treated as plain text. Taking screen captures and processing and posting images of the report window is a total waste of time and effort, and in some screens is not easy to read. There are two versions of MediaInfo: There is the no-installer, self-contained MediaInfoXP version and the formally installed MediaInfo. To view and process MediaInfo data as plain text:

1) In the "MediaInfoXP" version, click the top-menu "Application" item and choose "Copy To Clipboard". Then open Notepad or any text editor and edit or select and copy the desired text, then post directly in the forum like any other text. To preserve the original text layout and format in a forum post, select the text in the post with your mouse, then click the "code" icons in the forum's Reply window toolbar so that the start-code marker is at the start of the text and the end-code marker ends the text. Or....you can save the entire MediainfoXP report by clicking "Application" -> then click "Save to file..." and save the report as a .txt file. The .txt file can be posted to the forum as an attachment.

2) In the formally installed "MediaInfo" package, to view and treat the data as plain text click "View" -> then click "Text". All or part of the text in the dialog window can be selected with the mouse and copied to the clipboard, then treated like any other text data as described above. Or...to save the entire report as a .txt file, click "File..." -> then click "Export", and choose any of the umpteen output file choices that pop up. Of course you can just use the "Text" tab and save the file as plain .txt.
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  #10  
05-28-2019, 10:10 AM
SOXSYS SOXSYS is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sanlyn View Post
That's one way of doing it, but wyh get so complicated and expensive just to get what so far looks like inferior results with illegal signal levels? The method offers no means of input signal regulation (which is easy and simple in VirtualDub) and early posts of the results showed badly clipped video that was damaged beyond repair. latrech34 hasn't posted newer samples, so no one can verify that this method actually competes with easier methods. It does seem to require 10-bit calibrated monitors for video work as well as a number of 10-bit/8-bit conversions back and forth. So I think the jury's still out on this one. In what way would this method be preferred over something optimized and more flexible for analog capture?
Hi Sanlyn,
Nice to hear from you. I did not well understnad what did you mean by this replay? I was actually sure that I paid the least possible.
Price - € 335 for VHS+PASS THROUGH and € 230 for capturing card. It is much less than anything else I could find and I could use it on my exsiting system. BTW, it is actually the equipment that you have suggested, only I had to try it on Win 10 as it was impossible to find the old ATI cards. At least for me. So I used it on my system and did not spend a penny more.
Complicated - Really not. It wokred great and after some trials I went over 100 hours of VHS, with results that at least to me look very good.
Have in mind that before capturing, this material was recorded from the Hi8 camera directly to the VHS recorder many years ago and now captured form that VHS cassette as described above. VHS cassettes were much cheaper than Hi8 cassettes. So I would record on the VHS and re-use the Hi8 cassette. I know stupid, but this is what I did then, many, many years ago and this is what I have.
I was not looking for a preferred method to advise to anyone. I just wanted to digitalise my videos and to save them for my children. My post was to help sombody do it on Windows 10, if they could not find other solution as I could not.
My regards and thanks to you again.
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  #11  
05-28-2019, 10:53 AM
sanlyn sanlyn is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SOXSYS View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by sanlyn View Post
That's one way of doing it, but wyh get so complicated and expensive just to get what so far looks like inferior results with illegal signal levels? The method offers no means of input signal regulation (which is easy and simple in VirtualDub) and early posts of the results showed badly clipped video that was damaged beyond repair. latrech34 hasn't posted newer samples, so no one can verify that this method actually competes with easier methods. It does seem to require 10-bit calibrated monitors for video work as well as a number of 10-bit/8-bit conversions back and forth. So I think the jury's still out on this one. In what way would this method be preferred over something optimized and more flexible for analog capture?
I did not well understnad what did you mean by this replay?
That reply was not directed at your posts. I was replying to latreche34. See post #23.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SOXSYS View Post
So I would record on the VHS and re-use the Hi8 cassette. I know stupid, but this is what I did then, many, many years ago and this is what I have.
I understand completely. I've made a few blunders myself. I even posted some of them in this forum.

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Originally Posted by SOXSYS View Post
It wokred great and after some trials I went over 100 hours of VHS...
Glad you're pleased, but no one knows what "great" means, we haven't seen any results. A while back I posted an example of a bad original VHS recording of mine on cheap 6-hour tape with a cheap 2-head 1978 VCR and explained the capture setup and cleanup. I didn't post my opinion of how it worked, but I did post the results so others could make up their own minds.
Uncorrected bad telecine capture sample: liv5a_cut_ep_original_cap.mp4
Restoration results: liv5a_ivtc_cut_ep_playback-sample.mp4
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  #12  
05-28-2019, 11:27 AM
SOXSYS SOXSYS is offline
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Here is the sample. My first video camera. Hi8. Year 1992. I bought it in Hong Kong and made some filming. Hahahaha.
The sample is taken by the Hi8 camera, recorded to the Bang & Olufsen VHS, on a Pro VHS cassette and then captured uncompressed as described above to avi. This sample is H.264 HQ 480p SD encoded matching source.
So besides words, also a video.

-- merged --

I hope you will not kill me now. To me it does not look so bad. Of course MiniDV is really excellent. Hi8, like this not a wonder, but watchable.

-- merged --

Quote:
Originally Posted by lordsmurf View Post
Thanks for sharing.
My pleasure

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Odd. Those settings are for the editor only, and should have no effect on capturing.
Yes I agree. Very odd. But if I would not use that option, I would get a very large .avi file, bad quality, problems with audio and dopped frames. I used a 64 bit version if VirtualDub on Win10 Pro, of course 64 bit. It may be the drivers of the video card (no more updates for mine) or something else. But using this setting solved the problem, so no more bother.

Quote:
This can work, but more often fails, causes dropped frames. I'd be wary with applying any filtering on capture. While it was possible in ATI MMC, mostly for MPEG capturing, VirtualDub tends to be top-heavy on resources with filters.
For me worked really good. Cropped everything from the original video and had not eve one frame dropped. Forgot to say that I used only video preview and no audio preview, to lighten the stream. WIth audio preview on, had some problems.

Quote:
Lossless is more suggested. Smaller sizes, less I/O (meaning less/no dropped frames).
It was lossless, maybe I wrote something worng earlier. Lossless, absolutely.

Quote:
That's not entirely true. Sort of. With a good VCR/camera, you will get every bit of available quality off the tape. With consumer quality VCR/camera, what you see is worse than what existed on the tape. I think you've stated this as a negative, but it really should be more positive. High-end equipment makes the tape look better than most people know was possible. At it's not necessarily because the tape was bad, and is being fixed, but rather than the tape is getting a full playback quality. Most tapes are night-and-day between good and bad VCRs/cameras.
Cannot argue on that and can only take your experience that is much better than mine as good. But what I wanted to say is that the difference in quality between MiniDV and Hi8 is really quite big. I know it is completely different standard, but what I got on the VHS cassettes is re-recodred form the original Hi8. That is probably the reason as well as the original quality of the Hi8 recording.

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Win10 really fights backs against capturing, and in fact your current version may break at the next Win10 update. But it's good to hear that others are getting successes.
Again, cannot argue, but for me worked and I was out of options. IN my opinion PC harware also counts. I use a pro workstation with pro video card and that probably helped a bit.

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Good choice of codec.
So it wasn't uncompressed after all? That's be 75gb/hour.
Huffyuv is about 35gb/hour.
And Lagarith is about 25gb/hour, but with more CPU overhead, not always a wise choice.
Thank you. Yes it was lossless. Absolutely. Did not want to take chance and wanted to have as much data as possible for eventual future clean-up. Technology improves, so probably in the future there will be a solution to clean-up and get better quality.

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You can always upload a clip, and get some advice on whether we see issues with it. AME can output quality MPEG and/or H.264, if you're picking settings correctly. No deinterlace, good bitrate, and adjusting some of the other settings. For example, for H.264, picking 4:2:2 and adjusting B frames.
Just did. Hope that you and Sanlyn will not kick my amatuer arse.

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Standard advice: Avisynth, VirtualDub for filtering, If you mean DVD Authoring, TAW is simple, but DVDWS2 look better. I use DVDWS2 in Win7, and it merely has no audio preview (and isn't needed, just test output, quick on my SSD drives). Or DVDWS2 in XP VM in Virtualbox.
Thank you.

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Overall, what you've done seems fine to me.
Thank you so much. Coming from you is like getting a master in this thing.


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File Type: mp4 Sample.mp4 (56.23 MB, 25 downloads)
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The following users thank SOXSYS for this useful post: lordsmurf (05-28-2019)
  #13  
05-28-2019, 12:23 PM
sanlyn sanlyn is offline
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Originally Posted by SOXSYS View Post
I hope you will not kill me now.
I must have made quite a reputation for myself, LOL!

I understand you're in a learning situation (so am I!), and I believe you adequately explained the problems with the source. The unfriendly atmospherics in the original scene certainly didn't help, but I think you did a decent job of keeping things from looking too grim. You can't do a lot of denoising here anyway because there's not that much detail to work with and you wouldn't have much image left if you went any further. It looks deinterlaced while dropping alternate fields, which I could understand -- consumer cameras would make a disaster out of interlacing with the sample scene. Foggy stuff is low-density data, very challenging. It could withstand some experimentation, but what you've achieved so far with difficult material is better than you think it is. Unfortunately the frame size is too far off-spec for standard encoded formats or web mounting, the aspect ratio is 1:49:1, and many filters wouldn't work with it, but I guess you can fix that later.

Thank you for the sample. Real video is an invaluable tool.
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  #14  
05-28-2019, 01:14 PM
SOXSYS SOXSYS is offline
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Thank you so much. It really means a lot to hear that this is a decent job. Low lighting also did not help and certain material taken in good day light has produced better results. I opted to crop whatever was on the border sides to get the clean and sharp edges of the video. To work that out later would be too much to do, so I didi it while capturing. All my TVs play it and also all my players in the computer. We will see how it will work in FILTERING. But however it is, I now have almost all my analog video (still have to capture the part of Hi8 cassettes that I have in original recording) in .avi lossless and encoded in .mp4 with backups. These memories are the real fortune and I am happy to have them now. That is all that matters to me actually. If I would be good enough to improve them, that would be awesome.
YOU and LORDSMURF, as well as this forum really helped. THANKS!

-- merged --

Here is a MiniDV copied. It looks really excellent to me. But it is copied, so it doesn't count. However it was on Win 10, so it counts a bit.


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