How do I get smooth motion video when capturing VHS video?

Smoothness depends a lot on the camerawork.

At the capture stage, it will depend a lot on the quality your VCR. Also, a line time-base corrector will help smooth out video if it's jerky/jumpy. I use a DVD recorder (Panasonic ES-15) as a passthrough to stabilise the video signal before it gets to the capture stick. The higher-end VCRs have internal Line TBCs.

Post-capture, if the video is jerky/jumpy ie poor camerawork, there are tools to stabilise/smooth out the video, but I'm unsure whether Videoeasy has that feature.

There are more complicated processes which involve de-interlacing into double frame-rate video (PAL 50 frames per sec, NTSC 59.94 frames per sec) which helps to smooth out video. I do that outside of the Magix video world and then bring those files into Magix for the final edit.

It would help if you could do a short capture and put it on Google Drive so we can see what you're working with.

How can I put it on Google Drive so that you can see it?

I tried to deinterlace playback using PotPlayer and VLC, but neither helped.

@cmclernon

How can I put it on Google Drive so that you can see it?

Upload it, then in Google Drive, right-click on the file > Get Link

On the dropdown menu, choose "Anyone with the link":

The copy the link and paste it here. then we'll be able to download it.

I tried to deinterlace playback using PotPlayer and VLC, but neither helped.

I've found that VLC Player needs to have it's Deinterlacer set to ON, as opposed to "Auto".

In any case, the best final format for distribution is Progressive, in a MP4 format.

I've uploaded a file, but when I try to get link, Google Drive just blacks out.

Still having difficulty sharing file, but try this:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sWpouJ7WUX2xngTn0Fm7ow_ecT0ArbuP/view?usp=sharing

@cmclernon

Got that. I think I'll be having nightmares tonight! 🙂

The first thing of note is the wobbly right edge. This is a classic characteristic of VHS. It's fixed by using a line TBC, either in the VCR itself, or an external TBC. Those wobbles will also be evident on straight edges throughout the video; have a look at the timecode bouncing around. If your VCR doesn't have a TBC, A cheap TBC solution is to use a used Panasonic ES-10 or 15, as I mentioned above. If you've got more than a few tapes, it will be a worthwhile investment. It will improve the picture stability, which will help your smoothness. You can crop all that edge gunge (green right side, VHS head noise along the bottom, purple line along the top and the black edge on the left) with the Magix Section effect (hopefully Videoeasy has that).

The colours are also pretty wonky at times, with blotches of random colour, especially when the light gets turned off. I suspect that things would be improved if you had a better VCR; an S-VHS VCR is best, which has the added advantage of using the S-Video cable instead of the yellow composite cable. S-Video sends a better video signal to the capture stick.

Of course, the other potential spanner in the works is the tape itself. If that is a second-generation tape, those wobbles may be "baked in" and unfixable.

I also think the "steadiness" of the camera, especially when zoomed-in, isn't helping the smoothness. 😉

That MP4 is already deinterlaced.

Here's my tidy-up of your video. Apart from the cropping, the only effect I've applied is Neat Video noise reduction. It's not cheap, but is pretty impressive in cleaning up noisy video. You can compare yours and mine in two separate VLC windows.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19ZGeC44xZ8cKo5aaTBUP1O0mnVvBnLLC/view?usp=sharing

Analogue video, of course, is all in the eye of the beholder. With $1500 worth of gear and a mind for techo stuff (AVISynth), you can work wonders, and my attempt would be downright despised on some of the other video forums. But if you are happy and the picture looks reasonable, that's all that matters, right?! 😂

A couple of Qs:

1. What VCR are you using?

2. How are you capturing with VideoEasy: straight to MP4, MXV or MPEG 2?

It is better to capture with the least compression possible. In fact, I don't use Magix to capture VHS at all; I use Virtual Dub and capture into a lossless codec such as Lagarith. This results in large files (40gb per hour) but gives the best capture quality to then edit. You can then de-interlace from 25fps to 50fps, which helps smoothness. Magix MXV is an equivalent high-quality capture codec, but it can't be used in any other programs.

Hello again.

Yes, that's certainly an improvement!

1. I'm using an old Daewoo Blue Diamond Model Q812PI with a composite scart adapter cable.

2. I captured using the MXV codec, then exported in MP4 format. This MP4 file is the one I shared with you. I'm surprised its already deinterlaced (I thought that this would result in a smoother video)

The video was originally recorded on a Hi8 cassette, then copied onto VHS (so that the Hi8 could be reused - not a good decision).

I'm still disappointed that I couldn't capture the smoothness of the VHS tape in Magix, which is my main concern. (I suppose I can't get a refund now that the software and the USB video converter have been used).

Yes, I've just read about the virtualdub method, which I may use with my collection of Hi8 tapes. The tracking tends to wander with my VHS tapes (while occasionally the edges of these tapes get chewed up!) so I may get these professionally digitised as I want to preserve these home movies before before the VHS tapes degrade any further.

I would be very grateful if you could you give me some simple instructions for the VirtualDub method. What is a line TBC?

"TBC" is a time base corrector. It tidies up all the dodgy tape signals coming for the VCR. There are two types. The first is a line TBC. This corrects the wavy images (evidenced by the wobbly edges). High-end VCRs have Line TBCs incorporated. A lot of us use certain DVD recorders (Panny ES-10 and ES-15 are the standouts), in passthrough mode, to act as a line TBC.

The second is a frame TBC, which cleans up the frame signals, which improves timing and audio sync. In my experience, especially for shortish home movies where the source video is reasonable, the frame TBC is not really necessary (good ones cost a bomb these days).

Re your Hi8 tapes, what camera are you using to play them?

You might be able to use it as a TBC for your VHS tapes in passthrough mode ie VCR>Camera>Videosaver stick.

Re using VDub, this is a good YouTube:

To actually set it up on your computer, Virtual Dub doesn't "install", per se. You simply extract the zip file to a folder and run the exe file in that folder.

I've put on Google Drive the best version of VDub for capturing (VDub 1.9.11):

https://drive.google.com/file/d/13sW8aBL-HXgCjEeW6beAC73GaMMBSP2e/view?usp=sharing

That file is made up by Lordsmurf from DigitalFAQ in this thread (first post). His is a RAR; I'm made it into a ZIP, which Windows can extract.

http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-conversion/1727-virtualdub-filters-pre.html

And get your lossless capture codec, Lagarith, from here:

https://www.videohelp.com/software/Lagarith-Lossless-Video-Codec

To set it all up:

1. Run the Lagarith EXE file to install that codec

2. Unzip the VDub 1.9.11 ZIP file. Rightclick it, choose Extract All... Then extract it to a location of your choice.

3. To run Virtual Dub, simply go to the folder and doubleclick the Virtualdub.EXE file. The video will show you the rest.

@cmclernon

You might be able to use it as a TBC for your VHS tapes in passthrough mode ie VCR>Camera>Videosaver stick.

Upon reflection, this won't work in your case as you won't be able to have inputs and outputs together.

@cmclernon

Another zero-cost thing to try is another tape, to see if that jerkiness is replicated. If so, that would point more to the VCR as being the culprit.

You could also capture one of your Hi8 tapes to check for a smooth capture. That would further isolate the VCR.