Record analog without overlap

[crissrudd4554]

First off, I'm aware that there are threads on this site about softwares that will record analog. But I'm looking for something a little more specific. First off I have the Honestech Video Capture software. It works pretty good but here is my problem. The exported video has a 'ghosting effect' which I believe is called interlacing?? I'm not too knowledgeable in this field. Anyways below is a screen grab showing what I'm talking about. Note the image on the upper right has the 'overlap'. Also the device I used seems to be recording very bright, note the image on the bottom right. The images on the top and bottom left are from a DVD a friend captured for me some years back. He used EyeTV Hybrid for Mac. Now the brightness thing isnt that big a deal although I'd like to avoid it but I havent been able to find ways to work around the overlap with my main software. I'd try EyeTV Hybrid but its very expensive. Anyways any capturing software that anyone could recommend me where I could avoid all this and in a good price range?? I dont care if its for Mac or Windows. My Mac is my main computer but I actually do most of my video stuff on a spare Windows computer I have.

Honestech Video Capture

Let me guess, you bought Easycap?

Try AmarecTV, it's free and seemed to do a good job on my test captures.

[crissrudd4554]

Honestech Video Capture

Let me guess, you bought Easycap?

Try AmarecTV, it's free and seemed to do a good job on my test captures.

No I used the same software in this video

https://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=WppfGkNm-WU

But I'll look into that other software you mentioned

If it doesn't work for you, VirtualDub also allows recording.

There's quite bit of good info posted in my "Viability of cheap vhs capture" thread.

[crissrudd4554]

Thanks for the tips. I'll look into that.

[jerryshadoe]

Yeah, it looks like you got some frame blending going on there. This could be due to you capturing at an incorrect frame rate (if it's NTSC VHS then capture at 29.97fps and for PAL VHS it's 25fps) or capturing the interlaced video in progressive mode or (depending on your method) if you de-interlaced your interlaced capture incorrectly (via blending)

If you set the proper frame rate and set the video to "interlaced" or something like "field order - top field first" (depending on program) then you should not have those problems.

In some cases, if you are using a cheap VCR that doesn't play at the correct speed, you can get field-blended frames in your capture, at which point it's usually best to make sure that the VCR you use for capturing has TBC (time-based correction) and this will help eliminate the problem (in most cases)

[crissrudd4554]

Yeah, it looks like you got some frame blending going on there. This could be due to you capturing at an incorrect frame rate (if it's NTSC VHS then capture at 29.97fps and for PAL VHS it's 25fps) or capturing the interlaced video in progressive mode or (depending on your method) if you de-interlaced your interlaced capture incorrectly (via blending)

If you set the proper frame rate and set the video to "interlaced" or something like "field order - top field first" (depending on program) then you should not have those problems.

In some cases, if you are using a cheap VCR that doesn't play at the correct speed, you can get field-blended frames in your capture, at which point it's usually best to make sure that the VCR you use for capturing has TBC (time-based correction) and this will help eliminate the problem (in most cases)

Thanks. I'll keep this in mind. Unfortunately I dont have the software installed at the moment so I cant check the settings but when I get a chance I'll reinstall it and see what the options are. If it means anything I use a 2003 Panasonic VCR.

[jerryshadoe]

A model number (usually found on the back, where the serial number is located) would help determine how decent of a VCR you are working with

[crissrudd4554]

PV-V4603S

[jerryshadoe]

So I did a quick google search and found the owner's manual on Panasonic's website here

This is a pretty common/typical/standard (whatever word you wanna use, LOL) "ok" VCR of that era. It's not a horrible VCR, but it's not even mid-level. It does NOT have TBC correction, but that's not necessarily a problem unless you are dealing with damaged VHS tapes.

The FIRST thing you should do BEFORE capturing ANY VHS tapes is CLEAN YOUR TAPE HEADS!!!

Over time, the tape head gets dirty from dust and all of the tape that is, literally, rubbing against the heads whenever you play a tape. This leads to tracking problems, lower audio and video quality, on-screen artifacts, tape "wobble," etc.

You should also clean your tape heads when capturing about EVERY 10-20 hours of use. (Some will say this is excessive, but now-a-days with all of this equipment being old and the tapes being older, it's a good precaution and way to get the best transfer possible)

ALSO, if you will be doing a lot of capturing, invest into a VHS TAPE REWINDER!!!

This will extend the life of your VCR substantially and they can be bought on amazon, ebay, and I've even seen them in Wal-mart, for about $5-10 which is nothing.

For the tape head cleaner, I recommend spending around $10 at wal-mart for something like this If you decide to use/get a different one, make sure that the one you get is a WET CLEANING SOLUTION, as the dry cleaners don't do shit!!!

Then, on the computer side, just make sure that you capture it at 29.970 fps and interlaced (NOT progressive) and you should be good to go. I honestly recommend capturing using MPEG-2 at about 9000kbps with the audio captured in LPCM 16-bit (24-bit is overkill for VHS, even if you have an excellent Hi-Fi Stereo source) at 44.1kHz or 48kHz if you want it to be compliant with DVD/BD standards.