vhs capure

[stevenic1956]

Is there a way to capture vhs onto your hard drive,like you capture dvds eliminating any dycryption similiar to the dvd dycryptor program?

thx
steve

[Revgen]

Use a TBC. It'll clean up the macrovision.

[drcl]

use any cheap BT8x8 card

[stevenic1956]

Thanks

whats a TBC?
and where can I get this?

[cwk]

A TBC is a time-base corrector. Essentially it is used to stabilize video coming from a VCR. People use them when making copies of VCR tapes or when digitally capturing tapes, as you are suggesting.

If your tapes are home movies, you may not need one, although placing one between the VCR and your PC may improve the quality of the captured image. If your tapes are studio productions, you will probably need one to defeat the encryption--Macrovision in this case. In either scenario you will need a capture card for your PC to digitize the analog signal coming from the VCR.

As for where to get a TBC, look on EBay. DataVideo, Leitch and For-A are common names.

cwk

[stevenic1956]

Thanks
checked out some prices for the TBC, very high, starting around 175-1500. Ill check out the BT8x8 cards.

steve

[scharfis_brain]

saa based cards are newer and offer a better quality. they are similar priced.

saa7134 is common.
I got a Terratec Cinergy 400 and am very happy with it.
It produces a much more stable image than my 878 based card.
Saa chip also offer a motion adaptive comb filter, which helps eliminating luma/chroma crosstalk and intreases image detail significatly!

[drcl]

http://www.nxp.com/news/content/file_770.html

I just know you can use the btwincap drivers with any bt848/878 card and the macrovision "encryption" is ignored.

Or you can use the virtualdub/Dscaler/BT8x8 Tweaker - burst delay adjustment if you want to use VFW drivers?

[stevenic1956]

Id like to try the virtual dub method, but im not sure how to do this, and im lost when you said, tweek it. lol

steve

[drcl]

you still need a tv cap card with a BT848 or BT878 decoder chip.

you will find plenty about the tweaker method if you :search: but its easier to use the BTwincap drivers and a new version of virtualdub that supports WDM drivers. I use version 1.6.15.

[setarip_old]

@stevenic1956

Hi!

Do a Google search for "video stabilizer". Such items are typically priced in the $35-$50US range...

[scharfis_brain]

why do all people around still recommend 8x8 based cards, even if saa7134 based cards are more stable and easier to handle? pricing is nearly the same!

[Surf]

Cuz you're not very convincing with your avatar :D

I too have a saa7131 made by Kworld. Works.

So what's in 7134? Hardware mpeg? 3d comb?

[scharfis_brain]

saa7134 has a very good 3d comb filter that offers you nearly twice the image detail comared to a 8x8 based card.

there is no MPEG at all with saa7134. saa7134 is just a capture chiop. nothing else. it just puts out uncompressed YUY2 data.

[Chainmax]

Has anyone around here tried the Compro capture cards (VideoMate Ultra and X800)? I can't find a good review of the latter anywhere.
Also, is it a good idea to leave TBC on at all times or could it harm video quality on some cases? If so, which would those cases be and how would video quality be affected?

[DSP8000]

Has anyone around here tried the Compro capture cards (VideoMate Ultra and X800)?

Yes, I've got VideoMate DVB-T300, it is based on Philips SAA7134 chipset. I've done some captures (VHS, that is) & to my eyes they look decent. IMO, if you get one, don't use the MPEG capture for analog source, instead capture with PICVideo MJPEG Q18/19(as described in the analog capture guide).
I haven't found a way how to control the noise reduction 3D Comb Filter feature on analog sources yet(maybe it's not even possible to adjust it for analog).

saa7134 has a very good 3d comb filter that offers you nearly twice the image detail comared to a 8x8 based card.
scharfis_brain, what is your experience with the 3D comb filter?
Can you use it on analog sources?
I'll do some tests today.

DSP8000

[scharfis_brain]

the comb filter is not adjustable and is only active for composite inputs.

[DSP8000]

Yes, composite video in is what I'm using for VHS capture.
Now, capturing with VirtualDub latest version, under video tab there is noise reduction setting with options for "enable" & "threshold" ??? And it is adjustable after enable !!!
I wonder if this is the 3D Comb filter of my card?

Pitty how the slider is grayed out when capturing composite(capturing with Compro Software that is), only the deinterlacing threshold slider is active.

DSP8000

[scharfis_brain]

these are features of Virtualdub. these aren't functionalities of your capture device!

don't every use them. they only will degradeyour video compared to a processing that can done using avisynth after capturing.

also I recommend VirtualVCR to capture videos..

[DSP8000]

these are features of Virtualdub. these aren't functionalities of your capture device!

Yeah, I figured that out after a cap today :sly:

don't every use them. they only will degradeyour video compared to a processing that can done using avisynth after capturing.

Oh yes, I know that, I was just a bit curious about the quality of the 3D filter if my card.I use VirtualVCR already :)

Tnx. for your answers.

DSP8000

[stevenic1956]

Hi
Well I got a BT878 chip on my tunner card, seems to work pretty good. Can I get a better end result using virtual vcr of virtual dub? My recordings are, ill say a 6 out of 10.Would like alittle better quality.

Thx
Steve

[drcl]

what aspect of the capture arent you happy with?

vhs is not high resolution to begin with and will always look bad on a monitor. its not recommended to capture through RF

you will get similar results with either application. its more dependent upon the driver than anything.

the BTwincap drivers are pretty good but you almost certainly wont be able to use the extra software that comes with your card if you use them.

[AVIL]

Hi,

To capture, I prefer virtualVCR over Virtualdub. I think their captures are somewhat crisper (I have btwincap drivers installed). But this is my opinion. Better you try the two programs and do your own tests.

Good luck

[jggimi]

Read our FAQ and our Guide for assistance in improving your results.

The difference is not in the capture software, particularly. Rather, it is in your chosen capture resolution, colorspace, codec, and post-processing choices.

[zappa1957]

A question to "Scharfis_Brain"

Are you able to capture Macrovision encrypted VHS with your Terratec Cinergy 400 ?

As far as I understood, saa7134 chip is Macrovision Copy Protection compliant.

Thank you in antecipation for your comments.

Zappa

[scharfis_brain]

a device being macrovision compliant anly mean that it is able to read MV signals and able to send a flag to the application whether the content is MV protected or not.

But that doesn't mean that the application (in this case VirtualVCR or VirtualDub) interpret this flag at all.

So there is no problem recording MVed Tapes.

[drcl]

The macrovision signal is merely pulses on the VBI which confuses the automatic gain on the recording device. If you cant disable the auto gain on a tv card then you will have problems i think.

[Chainmax]

How can a TBC remove macrovision?

saa based cards are newer and offer a better quality. they are similar priced.

saa7134 is common.
I got a Terratec Cinergy 400 and am very happy with it.
It produces a much more stable image than my 878 based card.
Saa chip also offer a motion adaptive comb filter, which helps eliminating luma/chroma crosstalk and intreases image detail significatly!

I am about to buy a Compro Videomate X800 (http://www.comprousa.com/New/en/product/X800.html) very soon, have you heard about it? If so, what's your opinion on it?


[edit]Lol, I just realized I posted this question earlier in the thread, my bad :o.

[olyteddy]

Hauppauge PVR USB2 removes MacroVision too. IIRC most of the Conexant encoder chips can.