x

[pianoforte]

edit post removed

[Synthestesia]

Smile

[Cupz]

Now I'm curious what this was.

[pianoforte]

Now I'm curious what this was.

Just a link to an eBay listing for a VHS camcorder which I bid on. I realized that the price was very low, and since I have been looking for one of those forever, I thought it probably wasn't a good idea to invite competition - especially since there's still quite a bit of time left in the auction!

I hope nobody minds.

[Cupz]

Post a picture and some video if you win

[pianoforte]

Post a picture and some video if you win

Oh, absolutely! Happily, I am the highest - and also the only! - bidder at the moment.

I can post a picture right now -



In regards to video, I have a massive collection of dusty worn-out VHS tapes to record over ( ) so rest assured I will be taking loads of footage with it. My problem is more finding the best method to transfer a VHS tape to a digital form with minimal quality loss; standalone DVD recorders are quite expensive, so I've been looking into a device called an "iGrabber", which unfortunately requires one not be a Linux user. Luckily, my dad is running Windows 7, so I could just use his laptop for the capture process. That, however, brings up the question of how to encode 720x480 raw DV footage on Windows...

But I digress. The short answer is, there's a picture, and I will post video as soon as I can transfer a tape or two's worth.

[Guido]

That's pretty cool. I just watched some footage of VHS camcorders on Youtube and it looks pretty sweet, I definitely want one too now..

Does the camcorder that you bid on take VHS or VHS-C tapes?

Btw, you have a knack for posting images that don't load .

[pianoforte]

That's pretty cool. I just watched some footage of VHS camcorders on Youtube and it looks pretty sweet, I definitely want one too now..

Does the camcorder that you bid on take VHS or VHS-C tapes?

Btw, you have a knack for posting images that don't load .

Straight, pure VHS in all it's lo-fi glory (Luckily, my grandmother has a big stockpile of 20-year-old dusty VHS tapes that she is afraid of putting in her VCR. I think I'll take them off her hands...)

In regards to the images: try a direct link. http://s18.postimage.org/vy3bfxvlj/T2e_ ... _60_58.jpg

Oh, and thank you!

[Betacord]

My problem is more finding the best method to transfer a VHS tape to a digital form with minimal quality loss; standalone DVD recorders are quite expensive, so I've been looking into a device called an "iGrabber", which unfortunately requires one not be a Linux user. Luckily, my dad is running Windows 7, so I could just use his laptop for the capture process. That, however, brings up the question of how to encode 720x480 raw DV footage on Windows...

Yep, rarely entirely straightforward...

Incidentally, on Windows I capture an incoming stream via Firewire connection (with a convertor between the VCR & PC, to digitise the signal) using WinDV (free software), writing to a drive with enough free space.

The DV bitrate is high so as to ensure little to no quality loss, and the Firewire connection in my experience is more reliable than most PCI capture cards by a long way...Not sure how it compares to USB, may be similar.

From experience, running the signal through a PC is more likely - but not certain - to introduce the odd bit of minor instability, more than you might see going straight to the TV set on playback. But DVD recorders can also create similar problems (and with the extra issue of heavier compression to DVD, prone to going 'blocky' during fast motion), so all methods are liable to present different obstacles. When it comes to the editing of the DV, that's different again - depends on the format the final video needs to be in, I guess.

[zeitgeist]

My dad shot over 50 LP-speed VHS tapes of my brother and I growing up. He bought a DVD transfer box for the TV that he has somehow managed to figure out (he's 65), but he's always upset with the bad quality. I have only gotten marginally better results than him with a USB capture device into Premiere, investing about 5 times as much work and time to get him a final DVD than he must do on his box.

I'd either buy a standalone converter with some decent specs like he did, or try the firewire route as Betacord mentioned. At least I believe firewire can give you computer-control of your camcorder so you don't have to keep your hands on 15 buttons at once, and clean post-editing is much more straight forward on a computer.

One huge tip I learned that I recommend to get the best results possible is to fully fast-forward the tape to the end, then rewind it completely to the beginning before tracking to whichever part you want to capture. With age, especially depending which way the tapes are stored (store them flat, not on their edge), the tape reel slackens. So when you go capture, your chosen device may feed the tape real poorly or snap it all together.

Good luck!

[pianoforte]

wow, thanks for all the help, you two. i will read through your respective responses more thoroughly this friday...

i wanted to stop by and mention that i won the auction! yay! juicy details on friday........