VHS transfer

Simplest (and best) method for getting video from VHS tape into Final Cut Express?
Thanks,
Terry D

Hi
Depends on
• Simple = Cost's more
• Tedious = Cheaper
Simples:
I use a Canopus (Grass Valley) ADVC-300 an A/D-box that convert from VHS-VCR directly via FireWire into Mac and FinalCut.
• As my VHS tapes are old and often recorded in LP-modes the drop outs are many.
• By using this device - it has TimeBase correction = it mends small drop outs AND KEEP AUDIO in perfect sync. even on bad tapes
• BUT it's far from Cheap.
Tedious
Get a cheaper A/D-box or Record to Camera with Analog in
• If there are drop-out's on Your tape You'll have to keep on Importing as FinalCut halt's after each drop-out and audio needs to be edited into right place as it will slowly go more and more out of sync.
A few drop-out's might be OK - but after a few hundred one start's to re-consider.
Yours Bengt W

Similar Messages

VHS Transfer quality

I transfer my VHS tapes through my camcorder to my computer. What can i do to get good quality when it's time to burn the VHS transfer to a DVD-R.

I captured the VHS footage to DV tapes first, and then imported them to computer. I thought the quality was better that way. Some of my VHS tapes are over 20 years old, and I was surprised that they looked better on DV tape.
My DVDs were the same quality as the DV tapes.
You will probably find that your DVDs look better that the footage in computer. I found that iMovies from my VHS footage looked darker and blurrier than the DV or DVD.
But, as pointed out, VHS tapes are just not good quality.

Fixing a 'line' in a VHS transfer

I have a VHS I need to transfer to DVD and it has a white line running through parts of it (drop out or crease or something of that ilk). I'm wondering what the best way to fix it is. A search has come up with a few filters (such as one in the TMTS Free series), but as this is for a client, I'm wondering if anybody has suggestions as to the best way to restore (or at least highly diminish) this flaw.
Thanks!
Jonathan

A crease or a serious dropout does not manifest as a white line. If you can get the video on a scope, check it carefully. I think you'll see the white line is baked into the video. Or we need more precise information like is it white or is it snowy, does it move or is it in the same place when it appears?
A crease travels from top to bottom and distorts the audio when it hits the edge. Drop out indicates missing oxide.
There are many possible approaches but which one you choose largely depends on the nature of the line.
You can waste days on this: place two copies on top of each other and use a soft edge matte to cut a hole where the lines appear. Apply a bit of blur to the underlying copy so it shoes through the hole.
bogiesan

VHS transfer is getting interuptted...

Hello all -- using FCE 4.0.1 and the Canopus box. Transferring video from VHS into FCE. Everything works fine, except, after there is a 'fade-to-black' in the video, the 'Capture' of FCE will drop out a number of seconds of footage, and then pick up again ... I've tried unchecking various checkboxes in the Pref's, but I can't seem to 'fool' FCE into doing one long Capture. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong? Thank you in advance.
Nick

If you are using an ADVC-100 or 110 and are in the US, then all the DIP switches should be off. The exception is DIP switch #2 which can be off or on - it only controls the default input mode at power-up; you can always toggle between analog & digital modes using the button on top of the ADVC. Of course you do want it to be in analog input mode if you are capturing from a VCR.
You need to select an Easy Setup in FCE before you attempt to capture video. Again, if you are in the US, you should use DV NTSC DV Converter easy setup. After you select this easy setup, create a new sequence; then capture your video. You will need to use Capture Now (the Now button) in the capture screen. It is best if you already have the VCR running before you hit the Capture Now button.

Anything NEW in "bridge" devices for VHS transfer to digital?

I still digitize a lot of old family VHS tapes -- the hard way. I take a LINE OUT out from the VCR deck and INTO my Sony digital cam. Once it's digitized on Sony Hi8 tape, I can then out the tape INTO the Mac and iMovie. Works fine, butt one step too many. Awhile back there companies selling "bridge" devices that claimed to skip the middleman and let you output from VHS directly into the Mac. Most of them sucked. (Dazzle, anyone?) Anyone know of new devices that do the job? A friend told me he's been able to use his digitalcam as such a bridge, but I can't figure out how to do it on Sonycam (it has RCA inputs and an S-video input). I connect the VCR to the Mac via the Sonycam camera as the bridge. No luck. The videocam display instantly goes into "DV-IN" mode -- as if it thinks it's supposed to bring the video in from the Mac instead of from the VHS. (The Sonycam's DV firewire port is labeled "DV In-Out") Any help out there? Surely by now there's an easier, quicker way to convert from analog tape to digital..? -- David C

The videocam display instantly goes into "DV-IN" mode -- as if it thinks it's supposed to bring the video in from the Mac instead of from the VHS. (The Sonycam's DV firewire port is labeled "DV In-Out") Any help out there?
My Sony 520 has a "DV Out" soft switch which I assume is the same as the "Pass through" setting mentioned by other users. In any case, with this option selected the RCA/Mini-jack audio is applied directly to the FW output without having to "record" to tape as it appears you are doing. Not sure if this might be your problem here or not.

VHS Transfer into PRE10

I have tried both the Roxio and Honestech VHS\USB\DVD converters. PRE10 recongizes and displays the video using the WDM Import. However, I get the bottom 1/6th of the screen scrambled and the rest is fine. I can import directly to the Roxio or Honestech software fine but would rather go straight to PRE10. As I have tried two different adapters and two new VCR's and the adpaters work ok in their native software I don't think it's a problem on that side.
I played with some settings but I was not able to get past this within PRE10. Is there some other adjustment in PRE10 available to straighten this out?
Thanks
Joe..

Old forum discussion, message now gone, but here's the summary
Matt with Grass Valley Canopus in their tech support department stated that the model 110 will suffice for most hobbyist. If a person has a lot of tapes that were played often the tape stretches and the magnetic coding diminishes. If your goal is to encode tapes in good shape buy the 110, if you will be encoding old tapes of poor quality buy the model 300
Both the 110 and 300 are two way devices so you may output back to tape... if you don't need that, look at the model 55
http://www.grassvalley.com/products/advc55 One Way Only to Computer
http://www.grassvalley.com/products/advc110 for good tapes, or
http://www.grassvalley.com/products/advc300 better with OLD tapes

Analog transfer (VHS) to digital (DVD)

I'm starting to convert my old VHS tapes to DVD using a Canopus ADVC110. The transfer process itself works just fine, but there is a thin line at the bottom of the screen of "static" or "interference" that shows up on the digital end (iDVD). Does anyone know what this is, and how do I get rid of it?
Thanks!

Hi Maestra
Welcome to this forum. You'll find all kinds of great info here from many talented people.
What you are seeing is over-scan lines from the VHS transfer. The good news is that once you burn the DVD and it's viewed on a TV, you won't see those lines. When you author a DVD, you should make sure you check the TV safe area so you'll see exactly what will appear on screen. If you don't, some titles or buttons may not be displayed as you had intended.
If you ply the DVD through to a projector you may still see the scan lines. Most people will play it on a DVD.
Good luck with your project.
Regards
Carl

Tips for working on bad VHS audio?

I have been working on a VHS transfer for a client, with clips that are extremely hissy. These clips may even be second gen copies, but I'm not exactly sure of the lineage.
I have been trying to reduce the hiss as much as possible in STP2, but am not getting the best results. I can greatly decrease the hiss using the noise reduction, but lose a good chunk of the vocal frequency. The results are either too low or too high for the vocals, almost muddy sounding.
Using the Expander - High Expansion preset helps after the noise reduction, but I'm not familiar enough with the tool to do too much with it. The GraphicEQ tool also helps restore the voice, without the hiss, but it takes a lot of guessing on my part.
I was curious if anyone had any tips or suggestions for working with old, hissy VHS audio in STP, or on how to make better use of the STP tools.

thank's
John sebastien; webmaster du site sur la médecine et notament l'article lait bébé.

Workflow advice needed for transferring large VHS Collection w FCPX

I've used FCP 7 for years to upload old vhs tapes, organize them by year (if unlabeled before uploading) -- break into 2 hour segments, output as QT reference movies to iDVD and create DVDs with automatic chapter markers every 10 minutes.
Now I'm using FCPX and I have so many questions. Most of the tapes are 20+ years old but still look pretty decent.
First, when I import (using Canopus ADVC-300) - should I check any of the balance color or analyze and fix audio boxes? I would love to be able to reduce any hisssing sounds -- but how much extra time would this add to the process? Analyzing the audio doesn't seem to take TOO long --- not sure about the color -- but is it worth it?
After each import, the background task shows rendering taking place -- why is this happening?
Can I continue to import more tapes while rendering and at the end of the day let all the rendering happen or would this overwhelm the system
Can I add chapter markers automatically at intervals in FCPX?
Finally...outputting to DVD. I don't believe that exporting a QT reference movie is possible with FCPX. Since I"m talking nearly 200 hours of footage here -- exporting to a self contained QT file to use IDVD doesn't seem to be a good use of disk space. Is there anohter way to use iDVD?
I'm planning to try the very basic "create DVD" options from within FCPX. But would really love to have some nicer DVD menus if iDVD was an option.
If anyone has managed to go through a large VHS transfer process using FCPX - I would love to hear any tips/tricks to speed up and improve my workflow.
Thanks in advance - Jenny

jenlarso wrote:
First, when I import (using Canopus ADVC-300) - should I check any of the balance color or analyze and fix audio boxes? I would love to be able to reduce any hisssing sounds -- but how much extra time would this add to the process? Analyzing the audio doesn't seem to take TOO long --- not sure about the color -- but is it worth it?
Whether it's worth it depends on the content and whether you think the color as shot is accurate. It can always be done after import.
After each import, the background task shows rendering taking place -- why is this happening?
Optimize media may be checked.
Can I continue to import more tapes while rendering and at the end of the day let all the rendering happen or would this overwhelm the system
Probably OK, depending on your system. Try it and see.
Can I add chapter markers automatically at intervals in FCPX?
I don't know of any way other than to move the playhead in 10 minute intervals and mark manually. (Actually, I know how that's done in earlier versions either.)
Finally...outputting to DVD. I don't believe that exporting a QT reference movie is possible with FCPX. Since I"m talking nearly 200 hours of footage here -- exporting to a self contained QT file to use IDVD doesn't seem to be a good use of disk space. Is there anohter way to use iDVD?
You're correct about no reference movies. The recommended workflow is export a master file and bring that into iDVD. When you archive your projects you can always trash unnecessary files and/or archive them on relatively inexpensive USB drives.
I've never tackled as many hours of digitizing as you're contemplating, but I have made some substantive use of VHS in FCPX projects – with variable, but generally satisfactory results. Good luck with yours.
Russ

Encoding home videos for IPhone, AppleTV and IPod Touch

Hi Folks,
I'm on latest version of Compressor and FCP.
Objective: to encode home video transfers to a format that is suitable for AppleTV, IPhone and Ipod Touch - in an efficient manner (this is key)
99% of the videos would be VHS and camcorder tapes in SD format.
I mentioned efficient manner b/c I tried running and Iphone encode through the presets in Compressor for a 2 hour VHS transfer - nothing fancy, just 12 chapters. I'm on my 2009 quad mac pro with 8 GBs RAM.
The estimator through the 'share' feature said it was going to take over 3 hours before I quit. The other reason I quit is b/c it won't be compatible with AppleTV.
I created DVDs for my client so I tried handbrake using the video_Ts folder and it created an IPhone/IPod Touch file no problem - only 40 minutes. Not bad. I tried the Universal preset and QT gives me an error that the finalized file isn't compatible.
I guess my question is: does it matter quality wise, if I run through Handbrake vs compressor? For this particular client, there are 12 hours worth of videos to compress.
I know about setting up a cluster on my mac pro, but everytime I try more than 1 file in a batch, the subsequent files fail. I can't even set a cluster up with my 2006 mac pro either - yes, I've had discussions with FCP support staff and have tickets. It's a bug
So, any thoughts? 3 hours (at a minimum) seems awfully long to compress.
Of course, I would be charging my client for these videos, but at that length of time, I'm not sure what a feasible cost would be for both sides.
Cheers,
keebler

If you are send out self contained movies to be processed in Compressor with Standard Presets (no adjustment to frame controls) you should be getting decent speed. If you want I can try encoding a two hour DV clip. How far did the encoding get before you stopped it? The estimates are not necessarily accurate at the beginning.
Also if you can get the Clusters working (disregarding the size of the batches for a moment) should help with speed. I run into limits of around 20 per batch so make multiple batches. Not the most optimal way, but could be worth it to get them all going. Set them up for overnight and it should be done in the AM.
Creating off the Video_TS folder is compressing compressed material, so it could (should) reduce quality when compared to encoding original source material, though based on the quality of the source it may be more academic...
I would try to get the Compressor end working myself. (Ignore using share, just open Compressor and put movies into it.)

Converting VCRs to DVDs

I have a Mac Pro Quad with the updgraded video card (ATI 1600)and it has iMovie on it. I have about 6 or 7 old family VCRs that I would like to convert to DVDs. I don't need pristine quality...just OK would be fine. What hardware/software to I need to do this? Since I will only be using it for this project, I'd like not to spend a fortune (just spent it on my new MacPro). I don't have a digital camcorder.
MacPro Mac OS X (10.4.9) 3gb RAM

Hi Anthony,
Are you hooked on Internet by Cable? I'm asking since you could actually purchase either the EyeTV 250 or the ConvertX for Mac. Both of those PVRs (Personal Video Recorders) are bundled with EyeTV 2.0 which lets you watch and record TV programs.
You can also transfer your VHS tapes on DVDs with both of those PVRs which gives them more than only one use for the unit. I use the ConvertX for Mac often to record TV programs and to transfer VHS tapes to DVDs.
In my case, I think I should have purchased the EyeTV 250 instead of the ConvertX for Mac from Plextor since the EyeTV supposedly can give better quality.
But, maybe David Hall8's Canopus will give you a better VHS transfer quality. I don't know since I haven't used that product. I don't think you can record from Cable TV with that device though. It would be a single use device but maybe better quality for VHS transfers?
Hopefully this info has been usefull.
Rio.

Removing dust and scratches?

I just had some of my parents' old home movies digitized (homemoviedepot.com) to Digital8 format, and as I write this I'm importing them into iMovie. Eventually they'll have a soundtrack applied and it'll move into iDVD.
However, since some of these movies are more than 45 years old there's a fair amount of dust and scratches and such from them. Home Movie Depot did a fantastic job at converting them to digital format (far better than the old VHS transfer that my sister had done ~12 years ago) but there's still room for improvement -- not only with the dust and scratches but also with color restoration.
What's the fastest/best/easiest way to clean this up? Is there a "De-Age Film" iMovie plugin somewhere that'll get me started?

every tried to accomplish that with a still?
Yes, all the time. But the rules regarding a still are quite different from the rules regarding video.
how should the software know, what is dust, what is grain?
By comparing median values of the previous and following frames. Mathematically speaking, it's actually pretty darned easy to figure out if there's dust in a video frame or not. All you have to do is compare color and texture values from one or more preceeding and proceeding frames. If there's "blue" in a given range of ten frames, then there's "black" in a frame, then "blue" in the next ten frames, odds are that "black" section is dust. Have the computer interpolite the color and texture values for that region based on the frames immediately before and after it.
geethree.com offers in Slick9 some more elaborated hue & stauration adjustments then iM does....
Yes, I already have that and will be experimenting with it eventually. I would like to remove the dust and such before playing with color, however.
isn't it wonderful, to see with a blink of an eye, that "recording" ist 45 years old? let it be old....
This is just a matter of opinion. IMO, removing excessive dust and debris from the frame is not robbing the film of its age. I'm not colorizing a b&w film; I'm restoring the color that was lost to age.
I mean, you could go even further back with that argument. Doesn't converting the film to a "sterile" DVD and watching it on a TV screen rob the film of its "old-time charm" of setting up a projector and video screen?
IMO, this is exactly the sort of thing that iMovie was made to do.

How can i achieve VHS analog to digital transfer with yosemite

I have been doing ours of research and phone calling to find an effective way to transfer old VHS videos to my Mac with Yosemite so that I can burn them to DVDs. These are so important to me as they include videos of my three children from birth until the age of DVDs. There is NOTHING out there that I can find that will work. The "Debut" program available online for free does not clarify whether it will work with a Mac or with Yosemite. If anyone has any thoughts, please let me know. I can't afford to spend thousands of dollars to send my VHS tapes out to a company that does this.

You're going to need additional hardware to be able to import the video.
If you want the cheap and easy way, get something like this: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Funai-Full-HD-Upconvert-DVD-VCR-Combo/27584753
You can dub the home made VHS tapes to DVD, then if you want to edit them, you can rip the DVDs, edit them on your Mac, then burn new ones.
For $153, you're going to have a hard time beating the price once you factor in the hardware you'd need to be able to connect your VHS player to your Mac for importing the video.

Transfer VHS and Hi8 movies into imovie

I have a bunch of old Hi8 and VHS movies that I want to transfer into imovie so that I have them in digital format for the future. I know you need a device that you plug your analog player into (like your VCR or camcorder) and then that device will go to the mac via usb2 or firewire. Can anyone recommend a few devices that will work seamlessly with imovie. Preferably inexpensive?

From VHS to DVD
Give New Life to Old Movies
http://www.macworld.com/2004/05/features/fromvhstodvd/
Some tested DV converters:
http://www.macworld.com/2004/07/reviews/firewiredigitalvideoconverters/

Is it Possible to Transfer Movies from VHS and HI8 to DvD via Encore?

I have been trying to figure out a way to transfer my inlaws' home videos from VHS tapes and HI8 8mm tapes to my computer to burn them to DVD. I have been unsuccessful so far. I thought about just taking them to a transfer place, but there are roughly 30 tapes and I need 6 copies of each one. Any thoughts, recommendations, or links to helpful threads would be appreciated.
I don't know what format/resolution to transfer from into the computer or what will work best to burn out to DvD.
I have been told that I can't transfer directly into FCE without a firewire port (which this computer does not have) so I have been using a MyGica iGrabber to transfer files in.
Macbook w/ Lion 10.7.2
Adobe Creative Suite CS5
Final Cut Express
Thanks,
Taylor

Encore does not do video capture, that would be Premiere Pro via Firewire
A model 55 at http://www.grassvalley.com/products/converters is one way from external to computer, and creates the DV AVI files you need for PPro editing
If you don't need to edit the files at all, those DV AVI files may be used by Encore for DVD authoring
I know nothing about the device you mention... what kind of files does it create?
Some information
PDF http://blogs.adobe.com/adobecustomersuccess/2011/05/14/help-support-pages-for-creative-sui te-applications/
Here Tutorials
Right side of http://forums.adobe.com/community/premiere
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL507B3498B4479B96&feature=plcp
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/913334
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/845731
http://forums.adobe.com/message/3234794
A "crash course" http://forums.adobe.com/thread/761834
A Video Primer for Premiere http://forums.adobe.com/thread/498251
Premiere Tutorial http://forums.adobe.com/thread/424009
And http://forums.adobe.com/message/2738611
And http://blogs.adobe.com/kevinmonahan/2012/08/28/free-video-tutorial-samples-from-learning-p remiere-pro-cs6/
-and more from Kevin http://forums.adobe.com/message/4714153
http://blogs.adobe.com/premiereprotraining/2010/06/video_tutorials_didacticiels_t.html
And
http://blogs.adobe.com/premiereprotraining/2010/06/how_to_search_for_premiere_pro.html
And http://bellunevideo.com/tutlist.php
Premiere Pro Wiki http://premierepro.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page
Tutorial http://www.tutorialized.com/tutorials/Premiere/1
Tutorial http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/forumdisplay.php?f=21
Tutorial HD to SD w/CS4 http://bellunevideo.com/tutorials/CS4_HD2SD/CS4_HD2SD.html
Exporting to DVD http://help.adobe.com/en_US/premierepro/cs/using/WS3E252E59-6BE5-4668-A12E-4ED0348C3FDBa.h tml
And http://help.adobe.com/en_US/premierepro/cs/using/WSCDE15B03-1236-483f-BBD4-263E77B445B9.ht ml
Color correction http://forums.adobe.com/thread/892861
After Effects Tutorials http://www.videocopilot.net/
Surround Sound http://forums.adobe.com/thread/517372
Photo Scaling for Video http://forums.adobe.com/thread/450798
-Too Large May = Crash http://forums.adobe.com/thread/879967
-And another crash report http://forums.adobe.com/thread/973935
CS6 http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?282290-New-Tutorial-Working-Faster-in-Premiere-Pr o-CS6
Video Scaling https://blogs.adobe.com/premiereprotraining/2010/10/scaling-in-premiere-pro-cs5.html
Encore http://tv.adobe.com/show/learn-encore-cs4/
Authoring http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials/dvd_authoring/
Encore Tutorial http://www.precomposed.com/blog/2009/05/encore-tutorial/
And more Encore http://library.creativecow.net/articles/devis_andrew/
Regions and NTSC vs PAL http://forums.adobe.com/thread/951042
-and Regions http://forums.adobe.com/thread/895223

VHS transfer

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