How to transfer old camcorder tapes to digital?

[Brian G Turner]

Currently trying to solve the problem of transferring a stack of old camcorder tapes to the computer, so we can record them to DVD and therefore last longer.

My wife tried some software before, which ran through the old VHS player - but it never worked for her.

So the question is, does anyone have any recommendations of how we can move forward with this, please?

 

[mosaix]

Brian I have a PVR with VHS tape deck and DVD deck that can read / write between the two. I'm away from home at the moment so can't give the model number but I'm pretty sure it's a Toshiba. I'll be able to give more information when I'm home towards the end of the week.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

I have three methods (in order of goodness):
1) A Sony Digital 8 camera. It can play Analogue 8mm tapes or take analogue from VHS via cable. It transfers in MJPEG format (high quality) via firewire. Using it without tape on external video is called a Analogue-Firewire bridge, these can be bought separate from a camera and are a 1/4 of price of a proper professional video capture solution and just about as good.
2) A DVD recorder /player / tuner. It makes MPEG2 DVDs directly at two quality settings. It's nothing like as good as the Sony camera.
3) An Ancient ISA based real video editing card. The host computer though can't manage capturing more than an hour of video. It uses MJPEG format, but lower quality than DV/Firewire.

USB video capture devices are all rubbish. They are web cam 320 x 240 @ 30fps, or if you are lucky 640 x 480 @ 30fps. Few do European 25fps.

VHS is roughly 300 x 576 resolution @ 25fps interlaced in Europe. To avoid aliasing you need to capture at at least 600 x 576i @ 25 fps. S-VHS is maybe about 500 x 576 resolution (for B&W component, colour is about the same). Colour resolution is low on VHS.

PAL (the content on European VHS) is normally encoded at 720 x 576i @ 25fps for best quality, or 544 x 576i on satellite or DTT to save bandwidth.

You need a capture device (HARDWARE) that works for PAL and captures 720 x 576i 25 fps. A Y/C input and a VHS that can play Y/C will improve quality. It will have the capture drivers.

Then you use SEPARATE software to optionally edit.
Then you use yet more separate software to create MPEG4 for youTube/PC/video player, or MPEG2 for DVD, or H.264 MPEG for BluRay or whateever.
Then different software to author menus etc for DVD or BD.
Of course there are free solutions for Linux and Windows. Horribly expensive SW for MAC.
There are "all in one" video packages.

The MOST important thing is decent Analogue Video Capture HARDWARE, that works for PAL not just USA/Japan. I don't know what Microsoft's own free video editor/video format creator is like now, but last time I looked, it only did USA /Japan formats.

Transcoding European to USA frame rate is ghastly, all horizontal movement "ghosts".

 

[Mirannan]

There's always the brute force method; play the tape on a VCR connected to your TV and video the result. You'll need some way of steadying whatever you're doing the videoing with.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

You'll need some way of steadying whatever you're doing the videoing with.

Tripod, curtains pulled and a good quality flat screen

How do you think nearly perfect pirate copies of Bluray, Netflix, etc are done?

 

[chrispenycate]

Brian? Will you be going to Manchester? I too have a DVD/VHS recorder that does transfers, and no tapes - I could bring it up?

 

[Brian G Turner]

Brian? Will you be going to Manchester? I too have a DVD/VHS recorder that does transfers, and no tapes - I could bring it up?

Cheers for the offer, but Manchester is too far for my budget, am afraid.

 

[Edward M. Grant]

How much are you willing to spend? Simplest option would be a DVD recorder, but they seem to be over a hundred pounds these days. I copied my old VHS camcorder tapes to my DV camcorder, then captured them by Firewire, but DV cameras that can record were pretty rare in the EU thanks to VCR taxes.

Which reminds me, I need to finish capturing the last of them to disk before we can't play DV tapes any more.