VHS video to PC capture

[stevensaaron]

Any good recommendations for a video capture device or card to plug my VCR into my pc to record/digitise my old vhs videos, and have since been asked by a few friends also to do theirs too, so want something decent, either internal or external.
Would an internal capture device be better quality conversion??

Thanks in advance

[Nomad]

I don't think it really matters with modern computers. Now I have a USB 3.0 HDMI capture device with a video / digital camera. In the past I had a $60 older PCI (not PCI Express) TV tuner card which had a video in port and I used the audio into the motherboard to digitise VCR recordings. Doesn't seem to much availability now thou, they do have some very expensive (professional) ones or unbranded ones from China .....

[psycik]

May not be worth it any more....I'm not aware of any analoge PCI-E tuner cards, they all quickly dried up when DVB-S and DVB-T turned up as it was easier to suck down a broadcast signal and convert it to a disk file, than to convert an analogue video signal to an MPEG2 file.

May want to price up if you can find hardware to do it, vs paying someone with the hardware already.

[stevensaaron]

Yeah it’s older technology, tho i still see a few around from Haupage,
I guess looking on PB Tech
There’s this USB one

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/TVN...capture-for-PC

Or this PCI-e card
https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/TVN...e---Analogue-V

Or even this extra step up one:

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/TVN...ss-High-Defini

Will there be much benefit of the internal vs USB version, the thing is the USB is only USB 2, and I know sometimes even trying USB 3 with these sometimes doesn’t work properly, I do have a couple of USB 2 connections available so it’s not an issue.
But thinking if I do this a bit more long term, and do a bit more conversions for friends and family.

[psycik]

Depends how permanent you want to do it....and what the bitrate of conversion is from analogue...I assume it's not over the usb bus speed.

I certainly saw the usb one was recording a mpeg2....then you're convert to mp4 after if wanted

[wainuitech]

As Phycik said depends on the Quality. Had to do similar for the inlaws last year, wasn't going to spend a lot of money on devices that would only be used once or twice so ordered a USB from Aliexpress, SIMILAR to this one, no idea where it is now, its around someplace

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32982356219.html Worked OK, cheap enough if it doesn't work. The Quality was the same as the original VHS tape. That Ones about $15 NZ. That one has a video on its site that shows how it works as well.

Things are taking 3-4 week from Aliexpress at the moment ( std times) On saying that got two packages through in under two weeks, one some new sunglasses, and 2 USB 3.0 To Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 LAN (10/100/1000) Mbps Network Adapters

[dugimodo]

We forget how bad VHS is, seemed ok back in the day but put it on a modern big screen TV and it looks terrible. Pretty much any capture device can do better than VHS quality and shouldn't degrade the original too much, just avoid re encoding as much as possible as you lose a little bit every time and there wasn't much to begin with. I'd just try one of those USB devices if it was me, and try to capture directly to the final format you want if you can for the best possible quality.

I did quite a lot of this back when DVD was taking over just using an analogue TV tuner and captured straight to MPEG2 DVD compatible format, that way I was able to use DVD authoring software and set it not to re encode the files (So it just cut them up into VOBs without changing anything else) and burn to DVD without further loss of quality. They looked as good as the originals, which was still terrible. I don't know whatever happened to those DVDs though, never ended up watching any of it.

[Nomad]

We forget how bad VHS is, seemed ok back in the day but put it on a modern big screen TV and it looks terrible. Pretty much any capture device can do better than VHS quality and shouldn't degrade the original too much, just avoid re encoding as much as possible as you lose a little bit every time and there wasn't much to begin with. I'd just try one of those USB devices if it was me, and try to capture directly to the final format you want if you can for the best possible quality.

I did quite a lot of this back when DVD was taking over just using an analogue TV tuner and captured straight to MPEG2 DVD compatible format, that way I was able to use DVD authoring software and set it not to re encode the files (So it just cut them up into VOBs without changing anything else) and burn to DVD without further loss of quality. They looked as good as the originals, which was still terrible. I don't know whatever happened to those DVDs though, never ended up watching any of it.

Well to be fair. If one were to watch the video in a smaller window it was quite OK. I remember back in the day with a CRT monitor the VHS digitised files were better than what I saw on TV or on the VHS tapes. Analog video or analog photo film that some still get into, they are going to look different to digital. If one really wants that cleaner look it is really just using the digital method.

After paying $900 for a DVD player, we waited yonks and got a freebie BlueRay player off Flybuys. Only remember putting thru 1 rental disc - The Hobbit. Now the machine is packed away.

[1101]

We forget how bad VHS ..

this :-)

The results are going to be crappy, so I wouldnt get to spendy on what you buy
The tapes themselves somestimes are in really bad condition , making the result even worse . If the VHS was recorded off TV signals , then can be even worse again .

What I do , is use my old DVD Recorder (a DVD TV recorder, not the PC DVD ) , I use that to burn a DVD from the VHS machine.
You could then copy that DVD to PC
DVD TV Recorders arnt that expensive used on trademe , being old obselete tech :-)

You also may need to sit through each tape , watching it, to stop it when the recorded portion of the VHS finishes, or you may record 2 hours of blank tape after what you want.
or go through & edit each conversion to get rid of the blank & unwatchable corrupted bit

Try PB tech . Surely they will have some sort of RCA/SVid to USB capture device .

[Zippity]

Once I have copied my VHS to my HDD, I edit the video (removing any ads etc) using Wondershare DVD Creator and burn to DVD.

I still have over 200 Formula One tapes to convert to DVD

To record current races, I use Debut Video Capture Profeseeional by NCH Sotware, and capture from Spark Sport.