Old VHS. possible to convert

hi!
i have some old VHS "C"'s, some kind of mini vhs tapes that have some photage that is really important to me.
is there a way to get into iMovie so that i can edit it.
Thankful for answers//
Muffler

From VHS to DVD
Give New Life to Old Movies
Click on the link above-That should help a lot! Be sure to notice it has several pages to read...
Sue

Similar Messages

Converting old VHS to DVD

I am in the process of converting some old VHS to DVD. I am running the VHS feed in through my cameras analog input which converts to digital on the fly. The footage seems dull and I am wondering if there is a loss of saturation or maybe just a gamma adjustment that will fix it up. I wasn't sure if it was something I should do in FCP with a filter or if I can possibly just fix it in compressor on output. Any ideas on what is happening on import to dull the footage and what recommended steps I should take?

It will lose a little saturation on the capture, which can be corrected with the CC filter.
It will not look the same, as the video on the computer monitor is only a proxy representation, and the monitor gamma is different. You should hook the TV to the output of your camera and monitor FCP over Firewire. Then you can really tell.
As a side note...If all you need to do is convert VHS to DVD, and don't need any fancy things like menus and such, look at the JVC SR-MV40/45 or MV55 combo decks. They have good quality hardware compression (better than standard Compressor software settings), and are much more convenient. MV-45 can be had for around $400. I recommend it with two thumbs.
tim

Converting old VHS tapes through camcorder to IMovie???

HELP! Have set up VHS and video with output cable to camcorder (Samsung Mini DV). Then firewire from camcorder to IMac and STILL NO LUCK with converting video! Thought I could convert old VHS tapes into IMovie this way, without having to use a Pinnacle Box, etc.....?
Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. This has been an ongoing family "project" I have taken upon myself and refuse to take tape to a professional when I know my Mac and IMovie can do a BETTER job!

Sue, that was not my point per se. I am not rich enough to own two video cameras. For others in my position a tried and tested analogue to digital converter seems a simpler answer, and a lot less work.

Do I even need an analog to digital converter for old VHS?

I'm just trying the most cost effective way to transfer all of my old VHS & HI-8 material to a digital format for better preservation. Since, why I do not know, PE doesnt allow for analog capture, I need a converter like Dazzle to get my analog source to digital. Or do I?? Can I not just use Windows Movie Maker to capture then import into PE? Doesnt my capture card do convert?? I have my VCR hooked up via S-video to the card. Is the card not the same thing as an external converter? I just want to know the best way so I dont waste my time only to have to go back and redo everything. Thanx yall

Thanx y'all. Thats where I'm a bit confused. You mentioned "quality DV-AVI". I'm under the assumption that when I capture an analog signal that I set at 720x480 is a "quality DV-AVI". After I have captured and rendered to an .avi file I then import that into PE. Is that what you are meaning? Or is that an inferior quality video file? The capture card I have is a Legacy capture card that came with Pinnacle Studio ver 9. Pinnacle is a great intro level editor, but it sucks because it's slow, unstable and captures out of sync audio which I have to go in and manually sync. I shouldnt have to do that. I'll spend $100-$200 if thats what I have to do to get the results I want. I'm not looking for HD quality here. I simply want to capture all my old analog media, edit it, and burn to DVD and keep on my HD to preserve it all. I want it to be the same quality as it appears on its original medium.I also want to continue to edit and burn stuff using my Mini DV camera as well. I just want an editor thats above intro level, but not as complex as Premieire Pro. I feel that PE will do the job well. My capture card has S-video, firewire & composite inputs. Is my card not what I'm needing?? Or, do I need an analog to digital converter to get the analog material into a raw digital format thats the same quality as the original?
To help in my endeavors i recently upgraded and built anew PC so that I would have no problems, seeing that video editing does tax a computers resources. My new build is a Quad core 4 gb of RAM system. So my computer power should not be an issue for home editing and what not.

Converting old VHS for iMovie

Dear all,
I am looking for a device that is able to transform my old VHS recordings for iMovie to edit and then burn on DVD with iDVD. My old miniDV camera has AV input and is able to work as a converter directly into iMovie - through the firewire - but I bought a camera for my father and I could not find any model that is able to do that. (They do not have AV input.) He needs editing because the old VHS recordings are full of useless material.
What can I do?
Laszlo

in addition to Lennart's helpful reply:
aside 'expensive' converters, another option is purchasing an EyeTV stick with analogue-IN.. you can use as converter PLUS you are able to watch and record TV.. .. and this opiton is cheaper than converter-only solutions.

Elgato Video Capture to convert old VHS - H.264 or MPEG-4?

Elgato offers two different settings for capturing video...
Video resolution: 640×480 (4:3)
Video format: H.264 at 1.4 MBit/sec or MPEG-4 at 2.4 MBit/sec
Audio: AAC, 48kHZ, 128 kBit/sec
Which one of these would be best for importing into FCPX v10.1?
Thanks!

Thanks... that's what it looked like when I did a test import of some VHS footage using both settings. I opened them up in Quicktime and enlarged them and saw no noticeable difference between the two when comparing the exact same freeze frame. It seems MPEG-4 would be slightly better based on the extra 1 MBit/sec but I didn't see the difference it in the freeze frame.
At any rate, it's a pretty handy tool when connected to a VCR via S-Video and you have hundreds of VHS tapes to convert. I assume that when the video is captured by the Elgato it is doing a conversion that loses quality from the original and then FCP is transcoding it to when it gets imported for more quality loss but I guess that's unavoidable.
Appreciate the reply!

Capturing from old vhs tapes

I want to capture a bunch of old VHS tapes into CS6. I have an analog to digital converter that I'm going to plug a VCR into and a Firewire cable from the converter into my computer.
1.) Can anyone recommend any general settings for making sure I get the highest quality possible?
I'm looking at using the following settings:
Sequence Preset
DV - NTSC
Standard 48kHz
and then going to:
- File > Capture
- Press play on the controller at the bottom of the window
- Press record on the controller at the bottom of the window
Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

There are a few ways to take care of this. One is to crop the 2 pixels from the top and the 2 from the bottom from the source when you export. If you do that, you can scale it up a bit to take care of it, or stretch to fit. Either way, it is unlikely to be noticeable since the analog wasn't picture perfect to begin with. Or, you can just leave the black above and below. Hardly noticeable at all - depending on how you display it. If you put it full size on a white web site then it is a problem. Playing it out on a DVD is not problem at all. Nobody sees that far to the edge on most TVs anyway. Although more and more they show the entire picture.
Basically, I suggest that you capture a few seconds of video and play around with it before you get too far into the project. You might not even have the noise.

Logging old VHS/Beta tapes to FCP. Best route for picture quality?

Logging old broadcasts recorded on VHS. Most look very good for the time from, some have slight "ghosting" and other carious imperfections. I am using one of the best VCRs and Beta Machines ever made in Sony Super VHS and Super Betas. Both have S-Video outputs. Logging with Formac Studio and I also have a Canopus ADVC-100. Shall I go this route because the picture quality won't get any better? Or any other suggestions? Thanks.

I have an AJA IO, which is an older capture device, and have done quite a few jobs like you are describing. The IO (or another high-quality capture device) allows you to input S-VHS, or another analog signal, such as YUV component video, which many beta decks have, and capture the material to an uncompressed 8- or 10-bit QT, thereby preserving the maximum quality possible. Converting to DV compresses the footage, which can't be undone later down the pipeline, so if you are planning to output to another compressed format, such as MPEG-2 for DVD, you will compress it yet again and lose even more quality. I guess it all depends on the deliverables you need.
-van

Export old VHS to DVD. Best Quality?

I am fairly new to FCE4. I copied all my home videos from VHS to my computer via Sony DCR-HC30. They became ".dv" files. Now I am finished editing/fixing the first video and I am ready to export it. All I want to do is to be able to make a dvd out of it and watch it on a hdtv. I know it will be very hard to get the old VHS quality videos to HD, but what would be the best setting under "Export" to get the best quality out of them. I tried to do a HD export watching a youtube video and after I did it it said it would take 11hours, thats way too long for me. Any help would be great.
Also, I have done a few projects on IDVD as far as creating the dvd menu and chapters. Is there a way to do that on FCE or is it better after export to run it through IDVD to get my dvd menus and give it an actual dvd feel when I insert it into a dvd player?

Hi
DVD is limited as standard to SD-video (Standard definition) (old CRT-TV quality).
There are no practical/working HD-DVD versions at all.
Neither iDVD or Roxio Toast™ will help.
DVD-Studio Pro got a HD-DVD function - BUT this only play back on some few Toshiba players.
Only way to get HD - is via Blu-Ray - require Roxio Toast™ 10 Pro incl BD-component
and BD-burner + BD-disks - AND BD-Player
I've made a list on this.
*DVD quality*
1. iDVD 08 & 09 has three levels of qualities.
iDVD 6 has the two last ones
• Professional Quality *(movies + menus up to 120 min.)* - BEST
• Best Performances *(movies + menus less than 60 min.)* - High quality on final DVD
• High Quality (in iDVD08 or 09) / Best Quality (in iDVD6) *(movies + menus up to 120 min.)* - slightly lower quality than above
2.Video from
• FCE/P - Export out as full quality QuickTime.mov (not selfcontaining, no conversion)
• iMovie x-6 - Don't use ”Share/Export to iDVD” = destructive even to movie project and especially so
when the movie includes photos. Instead just drop or import the iMovie movie project icon (with a Star on it) into iDVD theme window.
• iMovie’08 not meant to go to iDVD. Go via Media Browser or rather use iMovie HD 6 from start.
3. I use Roxio Toast™ to make an as slow burn as possibly eg x1 (in iDVD’08 or 09 this can also be set)
This can also be done with Apple’s Disk Utilities application.
4. There has to be about or more than 25Gb free space on internal (start-up) hard disk. iDVD can't
use an external one as scratch disk (if it is not start-up disc).
5. I use Verbatim ( also recommended by many - Taiyo Yuden DVDs - I can’t get hold of it to test )
6. I use DVD-R (no +R or +/-RW)
7. Keep NTSC to NTSC - or - PAL to PAL when going from iMovie to iDVD
8. Don’t burn more than three DVD at a time - but let the laser cool off for a while befor next batch.
iDVD quality also depends on.
• DVD is a standard in it self. It is Standard Definition Quality = Same as on old CRT-TV sets and can not
deliver anything better that this.
HD-DVD was a shortlived standard and it was only a few Toshiba DVD-players that could playback.
These DVDs could be made in DVD-Studio Pro. But they don’t playback on any other standard DVD-layer.
*Blu-Ray / BD* can be coded onto DVDs but limited in time to - about 20-30 minutes and then need
_ Roxio Toast™ 10 Pro incl BD-component
_ BD disks and burner if full length movies are to be stored
_ BD-Player or PlayStation3 - to be able to plyback
The BD-encoded DVDs can be playbacked IF Mac also have Roxio DVD-player tool. Not on any standard Mac or DVD-player
Full BD-disks needs a BD-player (in Mac) as they need blue-laser to be read. No red-laser can do this.
• HOW much free space is there on Your internal (start-up) hard disk. Go for approx 25Gb.
less than 5Gb and Your result will most probably not play.
• How it was recorded - Tripod vs Handheld Camera. A stable picture will give a much higher quality
• Audio is most often more critical than picture. Bad audio and with dropouts usually results in a non-viewed movie.
• Use of Video-editor. iMovie’08 or 09 or 11 are not the tools for DVD-production. They discard every second line resulting in a close to VHS-tape quality.
iMovie 1 to HD6 and FinalCut any version delivers same quality as Camera recorde in = 100% to iDVD
• What kind of movie project You drop into it. MPEG4 seems to be a bad choice.
other strange formats are .avi, .wmv, .flash etc. Convert to streamingDV first
Also audio formats matters. I use only .aiff or from miniDV tape Camera 16-bit
strange formats often problematic are .avi, .wmv, audio from iTunes, .mp3 etc
Convert to .aiff first and use this in movie project
• What kind of standard - NTSC movie and NTSC DVD or PAL to PAL - no mix.
(If You need to change to do a NTSC DVD from PAL material let JESDeinterlacer3.2.2 do the conversion)
(Dropping a PAL movie into a NTSC iDVD project
(US) NTSC DVDs most often are playable in EU
(EU) PAL DVDs most often needs to be converted to play in US
UNLESS. They are plabacked by a Mac - then You need not to care
• What kind of DVDs You are using. I use Verbatim DVD-R (this brand AND no +R or +/-RW)
• How You encode and burn it. Two settings prior iDVD’08 or 09
Pro Quality (only in iDVD 08 & 09)
Best / High Quality (not always - most often not)
Best / High Performances (most often my choise before Pro Quality)
1. go to iDVD pref. menu and select tab far right and set burn speed to x1 (less errors = plays better) - only in iDVD 08 & 09
(x4 by some and may be even better)
2. Project info. Select Professional Encoding - only in iDVD 08 & 09.
Region codes.
iDVD - only burn Region = 0 - meaning - DVDs are playable everywhere
DVD Studio pro can set Region codes.
1 = US
2 = EU
*unclemano wrote*
What it turned out to be was the "quality" settings in iDVD. The total clip time was NOT over 2 hours or 4.7GB, yet iDVD created massive visual artifacts on the "professional quality" setting.
I switched the settings to "high quality" which solved the problem. According iDVD help, "high quality" determines the best bit rate for the clips you have.
I have NEVER seen iDVD do this before, especially when I was under the 2 hour and 4.7GB limits.
For anyone else, there seem to be 2 places in iDVD to set quality settings, the first is under "preferences" and the second under "project info." They do NOT seem to be linked (i.e. if you change one, the other is NOT changed). take care, Mario
TO GET IT TO WORK SLIGHTLY FASTER
• Minimum of 25Gb free space on Start-Up hard disk
• No other programs running in BackGround eg EnergySaver
• Don’t let HD spinn down or be turned off (in EnergySave)
• Move hard disks that are not to be used to Trash - To be disconnected/turned off
• Goto Spotlight and set the rest of them under Integrity (not to be scanned)
• Set screensaver to a folder without any photo - then make an active corner (up right for me) and set
pointer to this - turns on screen saver - to show that it has nothing to show
Yours Bengt W

Miglia Director's Cut Take 2, old VHS source - vertical sync offset problem

I'm using a 20" iMac G5 and a Miglia Director's Cut Take 2 to import old family videos from VHS.
Some of these tapes are up to 21 years old, so they aren't exactly in the best shape. Still, I'm doing everything I can to get them in shape for capturing (including using the original tapes from the VHS camcorder, and exercising the tapes by fast forwarding them to the end then rewinding to the beginning before capturing).
Unfortunately, I'm having problems with the Director's Cut losing vertical synchronization whenever a worn out bit of the tape causes picture to be glitchy for a few seconds. The Director's Cut doesn't ever "fix" the sync on its own, until the next "glitch" in the tape happens to put it back in sync (or further out of sync).
This offset basically causes my captured video to have the bottom half of a frame on top, then the VHS head switch noise (which should be on the bottom of the video, not in the middle of it), then the top half of the next frame on the bottom. The VCR's on screen display, when I enable it, is offset too (this happens with both of the VCRs I tested). This means that the sync offset is NOT due to a VCR failing to properly syncronize the video (not to mention the unlikelyhood of that being the problem, due to the way that the VHS standard encodes pictures onto the tape).
What I find especially strange is that the vertical blanking interval doesn't appear in the middle of the video, right after the VHS head switch noise. The vertical blanking interval lasts for about 30 field lines (60 frame lines once the fields are combined in iMovie), so it should be quite prominent. This leads me to believe that the Director's Cut has managed to sucessfully capture the frames WITH proper vertical synchronization - which is then broken again somewhere between the Director's Cut and iMovie. My theory is that the Director's Cut isn't smart enough to change the read offset in its buffer between its analog to digital converter and its DV encoder. Another possibility: iMovie isn't doing the same thing between its Firewire interface and its DV decoder.
I can force the Director's Cut Take 2 to "restart" and regain sync by stopping input capture/monitoring in iMovie then starting it again, which also flips the DC2 between "Capture" and "Export" modes. Unfortunately, this is not a real solution for me - I don't want to babysit the computer while I'm importing all these long tapes. Plus, this causes me to lose a few seconds of video.
I've also tried to find ways to fix this problem using iMovie effect plugins. The closest I've got is using the "Vertical Hold" effect from the free Effects Pack 2 plugins (http://yorgle.cis.rit.edu/Software/iMovie/#dload) by Jerry Lawrence. Unfortunately, this plugin is really only useful for simulating, not correcting, vertical sync problems. It doesn't reference the previous or next frame in the DV file to get the top or bottom half of the picture. This results in a tearing effect, because, after I apply the filter, half of the picture is still from a different "frame" on the VHS tape.
Is my Director's Cut Take 2 defective, or is this normal behavior for the converter? If this is an unavoidable problem with the converter, is there any iMovie effect plugin that could correct it?
(If they would be helpful, I can post framegrabs of the DV file, and also framegrabs of the results of trying to use the "Vertical Hold" effect plugin.)
imac g5 (isight) 2.1ghz (base configuration), miglia director's cut take 2 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Hello, dbloom,
Is there a particular reason you are using Miglia for VHS conversion/capture?
I captured my old VHS tapes the way the other poster suggested by recording them onto DV tapes in my camcorder. (My computer setup is not convenient to do any direct connections from a VCR with a converter).Then, I imported the DV tapes to iMovie directly from the camcorder. I had no stoppages of imports/capture; the importing continued as long as my DV tapes, some of which were 80min.
This method also gives you a digital copy of the original VHS tape. I don't know about yours, but some of mine were getting to be pretty bad. I like having the DV tape of the raw footage to save. The DV versions are actually quite a bit better than the VHS tapes.
I have made iMovies of our family movies and photos of 15 years so far, burning the final edited versions to DVDs. I think I have made at least 40 movies so far, most of which are nearly 2hrs long. I also save the final movies back to DV tapes so that I have multiple backups of our family movies.
Just to add my 2 cents worth

Capturing old VHS tapes via Dazzle DV Bridge issue

Hey Guys!
I am capturing some old VHS footage (>20 years) in hopes to restore it digitally as much as possible but on one tape I've run into an issue. When using the playback on the DV bridge to my TV, the audio and video are great. However, in FCP after I have captured, I am noticing several audio and video "jumps" and distortions. I checked other segments of the capture and they seem to be fine, so I am assuming it may be the tape but since my playback on the TV was excellent, I'm not sure what to consider. Any ideas?

The tape has light physical damage. You need a converter that has a built in Time Based Corrector, such as [this one|http://desktop.grassvalley.com/products/ADVC300/index.php]. Expensive if you only need it for one tape, but you should be able to hire a unit.

How do you suggest I best import and edit many portions of old VHS?

I read the recent postings on digitizing the multiple DVD's and found that to be quite interesting and enlightening. I have searched through the archives but didn't run into a posting with exactly my question and I apologize because I know there are bound to be others with the same question. This is what I have and want to do: Vista with an external Seagate attached via USB 2. I have Adobe Premier Elements 3 but I am willing to purchase another form of software and another form of external drive. I do have a Firewire port.
I have a box of old VHS tapes of my kid's dance recitals, ball games, etc... the tapes are very long but often only have small portions of interest on them and now that my kids are older they are only interested in the 5 minutes of themselves. I would like to import the video and burn to dvd the pertinent portions of the VHS.
I need to know both the suggested hardware to use to hook to the computer... and what software do you suggest that I use to edit the footage.Or, maybe you have some other suggestions.
I have used Premier quite a bit. I have never used enormous files like an endless dance recital so I hope that you tell me there is a way I could perhaps find a device that would allow me to view and only digitize the portions I want... or, perhaps it would be better to take these tapes somewhere and have them made into a DVD and then would there be a way to only import a portion of them that way? These are NOT world class videos...(in fact, 20 years later I realize how badly I was wasting my money!! HA!)
Have I been clear in what I need and the kind of advice I am asking for?
Thank you for any advice you might offer me.

Here's what I did, more as an accident, rather than a thought out process to spend big bucks, or get the best possible quality on conversion.
I had a bunch of old analog tapes, just like you, and always thought it would be very kool to get them in a format I can use and loaded onto my PC.
When I purchased my DV Handycam, one of the options I looked for was "Analog Passthru" capabilities. This basically allows you to hook up an analog device like a VCR and copy video to your Handycam.
Desktop "DVD Writers" typically have analog hook-ups and basically can do the same thing.
With this capability, I then slowly went thru the process of moving all my old tapes onto my PC.
Did it work, yes it did.
Was it easy, yes it was (as far as cable hook-up).
Was it tedious and somewhat time consuming, yes, yes, and yes.
But over time I did get all my old tapes onto my PC and in a format that was primed for editing. (You can also do some bulk editing of source during the conversion).
As far as quality, considering the video source and conversion method, I was quite pleased with the end result, and anyone who views the clips (on PC or TV), has a hard time seeing the differences between the end product and the source.
Would a dedicated HW device like Canopus have given better quality, most likely yes, but for my purposes, the one time use to just move my tapes was not cost effective. The purchase of a Cam with passthru, or a DVD Writer, worked just fine and could be used for other things.
(One caveat, with Canopus or a HW bridge setup, the process is much quicker as it allows going from analog directly to DV-AVI. And DV-AVI is the format goal for easy editing with PE7).
One thing for sure, my family and friends get a hugh kick out of seeing themselves (as they've grown older over the years).
And no one ever complains about the quality of the videos...

Restoring old VHS

Does anybody have some good tips/techniques for restoring old VHS footage? I've got all the footage on my HD through a ADC (analog to digital converter). Just wondering if there are any good techniques to make it look more like film.
Thanks
-Caleb

very simple explanation:
http://www.sparkysworld.co.uk/tbc.htm
example of a best of breed manufacturer:
http://www.for-a.com/subhtml/pproduct/fa115.html
try to buy one second hand there are so many out there and you will save a mint
Gary

Emac OSX 10.3.9 Possible to convert to Linux OS ???

Folks,
I have two pretty much pristine emac's that are running fine. Probably 5-6 years old. I am curious as to whether it's possible to convert these to Linux OS. How would this be done (internet?). Anyway at least one of is destined for donor or recycle. The others maybe too, if I can't find a good use for these. We now have 2 MB pro's, 2 emac's, a IBM PC, and a gaming pc and I wish to simplify / cutback on this clutter.
Regards
Jim Svarz

If a mac can run OS X, it can also run Linux. See http://lowendmac.com/misc/06/0918.html
 Cheers, Tom

I'm looking for software for my iMac to use to copy old VHS movies onto DVD and old records (digital turn table) in CDs. Recommendations please?

I'm looking for software for my iMAC to use to copy old VHS movies from a VCR into DVDs and records from my digital turn table into CDs. Any recommendations?

For the VHS movies, try googling Elgato - they make a number of USB devices that are supposed to be able to do this, but check what formatting options they offer : you will want a device that converts directly into .MOV files (to play in QuickTime), or into H.264 for iTunes / iPods, etc.
As for the vinyl records - first you need a device that will convert the analogue output (phono) into a digital form and will connect via FireWire or USB. The Griffin iMic is one such USB device (if still available?). From there you can use the free Audacity download to read in the signal and convert to a suitable format, e.g. MP3. (You will need to use SysPrefs / Sound to switch to an external audio device, instead of your Mac's built-in mic.)
(Wait - you said "digital turntable" - software already on your Mac? How do you use a virtual turntable to play vinyl?? Unless what you really mean is an analogue turntable that has a CD writer in it, or a USB connection to connect the turntable's DAC output to a computer?? In which case, either use your turntable to burn CDs, or connect via USB and the free Audacity software to convert the signal to music tracks and output as MP3.

Old VHS. possible to convert

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