vhs tapes to computer / digitizing

[dhream]

Hi sorry if this has been asked before, but my searches here did not find answers...

I would try Google, but many of you have large VHS collections as fellow raincoaters, and its known that raincoaters are 'early adopters' of the latest and greates in image manipulation, so...

What software or hardware is best to get all my lovely classic porn off my aging VHS tapes and into your download engines where they belong?

I have a DVD player and a DVD recorder, and a VCR but I understand there is a box I need to get to convert the signal. please guys, help! I want to be a part of this community and give a lot back!

Thanks! D.

[bluenoise]

I'm not sure I understand the question. You would seem to have everything you need. Connect your VCR to your DVD recorder and copy the tapes to DVD. Then put the recorded DVD into your computer and rip to the desired format. You don't need any more hardware. Am I missing something?

[DubSalute]

VHS recorder > SCART > HD/DVD recorder.

Thats most easy you play your VHS have the VCR connected to the DVD recorder and then record first to the HD and then copy from HD to DVD-R. or also possible directly to DVD-R, personally i use to HD first so that when something goes wrong or not perfect you will not loose a DVD-R.

[bluenoise]

I think it's going a little far to assume that dhream needs a SCART cable. Many don't have a SCART connector, in which case all that's needed is two or three coax cables, probably with RCA connectors (one for composite video, two for audio - assuming stereo). DubSalute is on the mark about recording to the HD first, though.

[DubSalute]

Originally Posted by bluenoise

Many don't have a SCART connector, in which case all that's needed is two or three coax cables, probably with RCA connectors (one for composite video, two for audio - assuming stereo).

Could be i'm only familiar with SCART.

One remark on the side: i noticed with my DVD recorder is that its best to use the -R and -RW DVD's to write to when you want to edit/convert the VOBs on your computer i had problems with the format that was writen to the +R/+RW disks, somehow its different to the data writen to the - format on my set-up.

[zorin]

As bluenoise said, you basically have everything you need to start out with.

One thing to keep in mind is that analogue signals are affected by the quality of the connectors (i.e. the plugs) and cable used to interconnnect the equipment with. In general the cables supplied with a VCR or DVD recorder are of medium to low quality.
A good quality cable will cost you a bit (in my neck of the woods around 60 euros) but the result is noticable (IMO).
In general a good cable will be noticeably thicker than the cables supplied with your equipment and have gold plated connectors (better connection, better signal quality).

Personally I favour using a PC video capture card for transferring analogue video to digital because the driver software allows me to tweak the settings for each and every capture.
A DVD recorder will use the same generalized settings for each and every capture which will yield acceptable results in most cases.

Video capture cards can be external (USB or firewire) or internal (PCI). Canopus and Pinnacle are among the most well known brands.
For external video capture cards I would advise going for a firewire version (if your PC has a firewire connector) as its transfer speed is higher than usb.

When capturing video to PC it is best to capture to avi format and not mpg as avi is easier to edit.
After capturing you can edit and polish up your video via VirtualDub (that's a video editing program not DubSalute's digital alter ego ). There's a wide range of filters available with which you can brush up your video before posting it here at VEF

Z

[groovesection]

Originally Posted by zorin

When capturing video to PC it is best to capture to avi format and not mpg

Thats not true,mpeg is the better way to record,
mpeg is interlaced (two fields) the same as analouge/digital TV,VHS tapes and also DVD

mpeg recordings WILL be nuch better quality,
If you want to convert to avi its better to do post recording.
record it as an mpeg then when using Virtualdub you can de-interlace to blend the two fields.



Another point i should add regarding VHS to DVD is..
You have to be aware some VHS tapes have macro vision protection on them,so connecting the VHS to a DVD recorder will be useless,you`ll start the recording and after 10 seconds you`ll get a "this is copy righted" screen
You will need a (hardware) device
http://www.xdimax.com/dvd/dvdredpro.html
to remove this
or a hack for the DVD recorder (firmware update)
Cant add a link as i dont know your DVD recorder`s brand and its illegal lol

[bluenoise]

Originally Posted by gs1

Another point i should add regarding VHS to DVD is..
You have to be aware some VHS tapes have macro vision protection on them,so connecting the VHS to a DVD recorder will be useless,you`ll start the recording and after 10 seconds you`ll get a "this is copy righted" screen
You will need a (hardware) device
http://www.xdimax.com/dvd/dvdredpro.html
to remove this
or a hack for the DVD recorder (firmware update)
Cant add a link as i dont know your DVD recorder`s brand and its illegal lol

Nothing the slightest bit illegal about it. The copyright laws are quite clear about permitting you to make backups or copy to a different format for personal use.

Yeah, you may run into problems with macrovision. I didn't buy an extra box to strip it off, though. I found that if I pass the video through my Handicam (it's a Sony Digital-8) en route to the DVD recorder, the copy protection disappears. I go composite from the VCR to the camera, and firewire from the camera to the DVD.

[groovesection]

You have mis-understood me bluenoise,
i was refering to the hacked firmware (for the dvd recorder) as being illegal

I know you can legally back up any cd/dvd you physically own,you can even do it with your OS

[bluenoise]

Originally Posted by gs1

You have mis-understood me bluenoise,
i was refering to the hacked firmware (for the dvd recorder) as being illegal

Oh, okay. Is that a DMCA thing? If so, I think it would fail if tested in court. If it's legal to copy (e.g. xfer from tape to disk) for one's own use, then it cannot be illegal to enable the recorder (via hacked firmware) to make that legal copy. That's just common sense.

Maybe under Obama the US will begin to return to sanity a little and we'll see the repeal of the DMCA, one of the dumbest laws on the books.