VHS capture quality is very poor

AAProds wrote on 7/15/2022, 1:47 AM

Ray,

Do not use any isopropyl alcohol as it is not pure enough. Normally isopropyl alcohol pure enough for tape head cleaning of film cleaning is at least 99.9% pure and you get it in 250ml and upwards bottles or cans.

So yes, use IPA at 100%. Easy to buy from your hardware shop.

There are a few synthetic sponge and felt swabs that could be used as well as micro-fiber lint free cloths.

No, not recommended for video heads. Even chamois is not recommended any more. Have you seen a video head?

CubeAce wrote on 7/15/2022, 2:18 AM

@AAProds

Hi Al.

In the UK isopropyl alcohol is never sold as 100% proof as unless the container is glass, (as used to be sold to the film industry) some container material can leach into the fluid over time.

When I had to work with isopropyl alcohol I used to get a pint of milk to drink at the end of the day as those were the union rules. Nasty stuff to be around all day.

Yes. In the past I have stripped down VCRs. I never saw damage then after cleaning but people get nervous as equipment gets harder to obtain. I used to have to clean my parents VCR now and then so my dad could watch Eddy Murphy films 😉.

I remember doing a course at a London college (Morely,South London) where they had Revox machines where they had added additional connector blocks to attach leads to so the phono inputs and outputs would not get damaged.🤣🤣🤣 I still have a good working order A77 high speed half track briefcase machine along with a service manual I constantly lugged around the UK plugging into countless systems. I have had tape heads and guides replaced as well as caps and some variable resistors. Capstan motor and outer rotor motors as good as new although it seldom gets used now. All 400 + 10" reels of audio has been digitized for some time now from various studio sessions.

I also have two VHS machines sitting in the garage (nothing special, possibly one Panasonic and one Ferguson) I haven't touched since we had cable TV and inboard recording from the service providers own set-top boxes. I don't think I would dare plug one in now without first giving it a good once over but apart from two analog TVs also sitting in the garage I have nothing to plug them into that is compatible with my current system. I do have an old inboard TV card somewhere (nvidia I think) but it was on my Win 98 PC.

Ray.

johnebaker wrote on 7/15/2022, 2:38 AM

@cmclernon

Hi

In the import dialog switch the dialog to Advanced view, it should look something like the image below and under the indicated dropdown (IIRC) there is the option to record as MXV.

John EB

cmclernon wrote on 7/15/2022, 10:21 AM

Here's the link to the Video Saver manual as requested:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Nn63UJaYcRVGziFKPwcbTN-AVJoSmPZt/view?usp=sharing

AAProds wrote on 7/15/2022, 11:06 PM

@cmclernon

Thanks. I would proceed as JohnEB has suggested; you want absolutely the highest quality you can get, and MXV should give that to you. After you have your MXV, then you can export it to MPEG-4 as full HD.

It is a pity that these manuals aren't updated; The notes on the "Save movie on computer" screen are nonsense. Full HD video is a doddle for any modern computer, so don't let that scare you from going for the highest quality you can get from VideoEasy. As you can see, VHS quality is bad enough as it is; it needs everything going for it when exporting.

cmclernon wrote on 7/25/2022, 6:19 PM

I've just purchased a Panasonic ES15 DVD Recorder. After some initial difficulties getting a signal with RYVT it worked!: No wobbliness, banding or crosshatching. I could only get RYVT to capture in MXV by setting it for older or low performance computer, Strange as the quality of MXV is the highest.

AAProds wrote on 7/25/2022, 7:35 PM

@cmclernon

Great stuff. MXV is not such a bad option; I think I mentioned it seems to be a lossless-type of format which will give you better quality for editing than MPEG 2. The only downside with MXV is that it cannot be read by external programs, only Magix.

You may find your white areas are slightly overblown; the ES-15 sometimes does that as a byproduct of it's signal stabilisation. It can be corrected pretty well by adjusting the brightness and contrast settings of the capture stick. This is mentioned on page 21 of the manual under "Image Settings", Video Proc Amp. Let us know if you get stuck with that. The idea is to have nice bright whites but so you can still see details in amoungst the white. Similarly with back areas, you don't want totally blacked-out black if you know what I mean.

cmclernon wrote on 7/28/2022, 8:41 AM

Another problem I have is with the audio: there's a humming in the background noticeable in quiet bits. How can I remove / reduce this interference?

CubeAce wrote on 7/28/2022, 10:28 AM

@cmclernon

Hi.

If you hear the hum on the original tape on playback it is on the recording and needs post processing. I don't now how good newer plugins are at removing hum but in the past trying to reduce hum nearly always also altered the audio spectrum and was noticeable as a shift in the overall tone of the result. Maybe another member has a suggestion.

If the hum is only on the transferred video then there is probably an earthing problem in the signal path.

It could be the leads are are not making proper contact or there is a gap in the internal shielding of the wiring or you may have an earth loop between two electronic components or poor shielding of the internal electronics. Normally though, such hums are not that quiet so I think it is probably on the recording. I didn't notice any hum on the samples you gave us though.

Ray.