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Ripping VHS

SMOGZINN

SMOGZINN

Lifer
I have some VHS tapes I would like to rip.
I have about 20 tapes that need ripping, it is better to pay a service or get some dedicated hardware?
 
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I think it is up to you to be honest. The services may be able to do a better job, but it may be pretty expensive. With only 20 tapes I think you are in that between area where it would be worth it for you to purchase a decent capture device. While a capture device does not cost much anymore, you still need a decent VCR that can playback the tapes, and the time to start/stop the captures and possibly some minor editing of the captured video (i.e. set the start and end times for the actual content, and not the buffer between when you hit the record/stop button for your capture device and the play/stop button on the VCR).

At one point about 5-6 years ago it was pretty easy to find dedicated stand-alone systems that would convert from VHS to DVD. I have not seen these devices in a while, nor know how good of a job they did in terms of the image and audio quality (I am sure that depended on the device and the number of heads on the VHS playback, analog to digital converters, etc.).
 
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Fallen Kell said:
I think it is up to you to be honest. The services may be able to do a better job, but it may be pretty expensive. With only 20 tapes I think you are in that between area where it would be worth it for you to purchase a decent capture device. While a capture device does not cost much anymore, you still need a decent VCR that can playback the tapes, and the time to start/stop the captures and possibly some minor editing of the captured video (i.e. set the start and end times for the actual content, and not the buffer between when you hit the record/stop button for your capture device and the play/stop button on the VCR).

At one point about 5-6 years ago it was pretty easy to find dedicated stand-alone systems that would convert from VHS to DVD. I have not seen these devices in a while, nor know how good of a job they did in terms of the image and audio quality (I am sure that depended on the device and the number of heads on the VHS playback, analog to digital converters, etc.).
Click to expand...

I have a really good VCR (well it was top of the line 10 years ago) it has component output as well as S-Video. After reading your reply I did a search and found that I can get a video capture device for $20.00 from Monoprice. At that price it is worth trying.
 
I bought a device to convert my 8mm camcorder tapes to digital... from Honestech... that would work just as well if you have a workable VHS player. It wasn't very expensive if I recall, although the product website lists the new version for $80. I know I didn't pay that for mine...

Smogzinn, Link to said monoprice gadget...?
Click to expand...

I'm going to guess this. It would be neat if it works!
 
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All this depends.

If movies are what you are trying to back up, then find out if the movie has been re-issued on DvD (as most have) then rent the movie and "rip" from there (ie, DvD).

If it's personal stuff, probably the best yu will do is to use a "Go Video" VHS to DvD copy machine, but even with that there will be some loss even when using the highest quality mode.

Most of the reviews of inexpensive A to D translators indicate that, one-way or another, they are problematic. If you do try to use one, then select something that uses SVGA.


- Jack the Ripper
 
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C1 said:
All this depends.

If movies are what you are trying to back up, then find out if the movie has been re-issued on DvD (as most have) then rent the movie and "rip" from there (ie, DvD).

If it's personal stuff, probably the best yu will do is to use a "Go Video" VHS to DvD copy machine, but even with that there will be some loss even when using the highest quality mode.

Most of the reviews of inexpensive A to D translators indicate that, one-way or another, they are problematic. If you do try to use one, then select something that uses SVGA.


- Jack the Ripper
Click to expand...

I used to be a camera man for several production companies. I no longer have the masters, most of it is B-roll that never got used but was transfered to VHS for test reel. I own the copyright to the VHS copies that I do have. At least some of it is from HBO's Real Sex series and was too explicit to be used with what was aired. This makes me hesitant to use a service.
 
I'd also be interested in a VHS->DVD solution. My dad recently asked me to look up some options for him to convert old family movies, and I was torn between a standalone device vs a capture device and software. If I find anything solid I'll reply to this thread...
 
I worked on several projects similar to yours, a few years back. Around 2004, I bought a device called ADS InstantDVD. Many people complained about it, but I was able to finely tune the settings (with assistance from the folks at videohelp.com), and I digitized many VHS and Video8 tapes with it. In fact, once I had the proper drivers and I knew how to tweak the settings, I was able to use that same video capture device on several WinXP machines, in both North America and Europe.

I even tried comparing my resulting MPEG2 (DVD) files with DVDs created from the same source by a Liteon standalone DVD recorder. My files had richer color and contrast. So I know a thing or two about VHS to DVD conversion 🙂

Now back to your question... I would advise you to try something like this: Hauppauge USB-Live-2 Video Capture ($39.99) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815116048

It's a bit more than the one you saw on Monoprice, but I guarantee it will give you better results.

You see, there are two types of USB video capture devices. Some of them have onboard chips, which perform an "on-the-fly" conversion to the desired format. Some of them simply pass the audio/video signals, which then get transcoded by your machine's CPU (and software suite).

The device I recommend has its own digitizer, and considering Hauppauge's long history in this field, it's sure to be a good chip. Of course, at this point most CPUs will be able to transcode MPEG2 in real-time, but why bother?
 
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I have one of the USB devices installed but disconnected from my system when it's not being used. It otherwise remains connected to my JVC (purchased around 2000) which remains in its own "sleep state" when I'm not ripping a VHS.

I tried the unit on a couple movies. It works "OK," but cuts the (non-HD or SD) off slightly on the right side of the screen.

I was using the Roxio capture application to work with the device.

I also have an Hauppauge HVR-2250 -- integrated for OTA HDTV with my SiliconDust HomerunPrime for Media Center. The HVR 2250 has "multiple tuners," and I could probably get it to work for this purpose. All the extra "red-white-yellow" AV cabling has been installed for the 2250.

I've grown a bit leery experimenting with this SB-K multi-purpose system, because I depend on it (the difficulty of "multi-purpose", although I've determined to meet all challenges). If I determine to add something "new", I spend a lot of time researching the options, looking for problems people have and making sure I have a registry backup so I can reverse misbehaving software.
 
Not sure why the USB device cuts off some of the image... but the Hauppauge HVR-2250 card *should* be able to encode "on the fly" any MPEG-2 signal, and since you've already installed it in your system, I don't think there's anything else you need to do?
 
Do you have access to an older digital camcorder circa 2002-2004? Nearly all of the consumer ones I encountered (serveral Canon, two Sonys) had onboard ADCs. And the Canon ones had VERY high quality analog to digital conversion.

There was a dongle you attach to the camera that accepts composite input and the camera will record it to DV tape or use it as a live source to output digitally via Firewire. I never tried the latter, but we used it to quickly copy VHS and 3/4 inch videotape content and were VERY impressed with the quality.
 
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