VHS -> Digital

[SarcasticDwarf]

Where I work (government agency) we are running into a problem where we need to convert a number (we do not know how many yet) of VHS tapes to a digital format to be served to the public. The catch is that we need to have it in two formats, an archival master for long-term preservation that is the maximum quality and then a lower quality version to be shown online (mpeg/divx/whatever). I am having trouble tracking down any info as most discussions of this topic center around converting to DVD.

The only solution I have found that *might* work is Pinnacle's Dazzle device. Anyone have any thoughts/

 

[DaveSimmons]

The VHS tape is low-quality 320x240 video so you don't need some HD capture card.

AVSForums would have people who know more about it than me, but I'd assume you could just:

- get a VHS deck with s-video out and if possible auto-tracking and digital frame processing to fix dropouts (I had a nice JVC S-VHS editing deck that did this)
- capture to very high bitrate MPEG-2 for archiving, possibly at DVD resolution "just because"
- use some software package to re-encode as low-resolution web video. Nero maybe?

I used a Hauppage PVR-150 to convert a few laserdiscs and tapes, it worked reasonably well for this but the bundled software didn't support the "make web videos" step you'll need.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Why not get one of those recorders that has a VHS and a DVD burner built in? Insert VHS tape, insert blank DVD, hit Play and Record, go take a break.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
Why not get one of those recorders that has a VHS and a DVD burner built in? Insert VHS tape, insert blank DVD, hit Play and Record, go take a break.

That would probably work well enough for the archive video too, though you'd still need a package to convert DVD MPEG-2 to lower-resolution/quality web video.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
Why not get one of those recorders that has a VHS and a DVD burner built in? Insert VHS tape, insert blank DVD, hit Play and Record, go take a break.

Um, because we have NO REASON to ever put them on DVD. These files will NEVER, EVER go to DVD format. All that kind of player would do is make it so that we would have to burn a dvd, then rip the dvd, then re-encode.

 

[FP]

I am doing something similar now. I am converting all my VHS tapes to raw DV (AVIs) for archival purposes and then encoding them for DVD playback.

Quality VCRs are hard to come across these days. I am using the following equipment...

JVC SR-MV45U S-VHS/DVD combo deck
ADVC 110 analog-to-digital converter

I then capture/edit/touch up/encode/master the videos with...

WinDV
VirtualDub
AVISynth
CCE
DVD-Lab Studio
Nero WaveEditor
EncWavToAC3

You will need a ton of hard disk space for backup. Capturing raw DV consumes about 15GB/hour.

It is a lot of work but I would guess it is worth it if they are paying you to do it!

I would guesstimate 1 hour of VHS footage takes me 4 hours to capture/process/master.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
Why not get one of those recorders that has a VHS and a DVD burner built in? Insert VHS tape, insert blank DVD, hit Play and Record, go take a break.

Um, because we have NO REASON to ever put them on DVD. These files will NEVER, EVER go to DVD format. All that kind of player would do is make it so that we would have to burn a dvd, then rip the dvd, then re-encode.

Maybe, but doing it this way would still be easier than all the steps that others are mentioning.

VHS to DVD....insert DVD in whatever computer you want the date stored on, use whatever program you need to rip it there. Done.

To me, it seems the easiest way to do the hardest step, which is getting the data off the VHS tapes and onto something a computer can read.