Best way to preserve VHS tapes?

[Kingfisher]

I have a boatload of old VHS tapes I would like to preserve. Is the best way to preserve them to record them to a hard drive? If so, what products do I need to buy to save and edit old videos?

[old_tv_nut]

I have not seen an affordable computer video transfer setup that gives good motion rendition, but maybe there are some lately. The problem I have seen with the software MPEG encoders is that motion beyond a certain speed is not tracked properly and multiple images result.

The best results I have had have been using a dual VCR/DVD recorder deck. Simple one-button operation. The resulting DVD then can be copied to your hard drive if you want to do that, or copies can be made.

Whatever you do for transfer to digital form, do not discard the originals. The life of digital media and the long-term availability of compatible hardware are not assured things.

[Eric H]

The Tapes themselves will probably last a century or so if they are kept in a controlled low humidity environment, however the hardware to play them may not be around.

I second Old TV Nuts suggestion of a VHS/DVD recorder.

I have a Panasonic Panasonic DMR-ES35VS that works very well, it's also very easy to use and the recording quality is excellent.
It has also been very durable, recording thousands of discs from tape and off the Sat box.

This is an old model but you should be able to find a good working one somewhere for a reasonable price..

[Kingfisher]

I would also like to be able to EDIT these old VHS tapes. Do I have to convert them to DVD's first, then put them on my computer, before burning a second edited copy to DVD? About 5 yrs ago before the transfer to HDTV in 2009, I contemplated buying a DVD/DVR recorder to edit these videos, but at the time I thought they were too expensive. Now I hear they are no longer making them, and used ones are very expensive due to high demand.

[tvcollector]

I would buy a standalone DVD recorder, and use an old 80s VCR to transfer from.. DVD/VHS combos are complete utter garbage... Using WinTV or any of these types of capture devices tend to be a bad idea.. The signal between the tape and the computer may result in flickery color or other issues with the picture, also not to mention if you don't have a super high speed PC, you'll most likely end up with dropped frames and stuttery speed recordings.. I would use a DVD recorder and then transfer the DVD (.Vob) files to a external hard drive to have an extra back up, or to re-edit and add features to your movies using a movie editing program like Sony Vegas or Power Director.. I would keep the tapes, as someone mentioned they will last for a long time if kept stored in a proper climate..

I've also heard of people going to Goodwills and buying old Tivos and somehow transferring that way, but you would have to talk to someone who knows how to do this.. If I heard correctly some old Tivos need to be treaked to be turned on somehow.. I've also seen DVD recorders out there that do have hard drives, which seems to be rare in the last few years, but as far as transferring the file directly to computer without burning to disc is beyond me...

[Person123]

Use the most recently made Hifi VHS or if you can find; a super VHS. Then for digitalising use miniDV or Digital8 camera with analog input and stream in to a PC. 13 gig per hour, but you compessed the files to mpeg2 or h.264 later on.
If you want to use a DVD recorder I recommend a Panasonic, they do the best job in my opinion.

[ChrisW6ATV]

If you do not use a VHS/DVD machine, you should get a Super VHS machine for sure, and definitely use the S-video output into whatever recording device you use (computer capture, DV camcorder, etc.). The S-video connection will give you a significantly better signal than composite video.

[Dasun]

In my view the best way has already been mentioned:

VHS Player -> Timebase corrector (I use a datavideo DAC 1000) -> DV Capture Box (I use a datavideo DAC 100) -> firewire to the computer and store as type 2 DV files. This will use 13GB per hour and keep on two separate hard drives as these will be your masters. Then use neatvideo to knock out any objectional noise and virtualdub filters to massage colour/contrast to taster. Mpeg2 the lot at a minimum of 6 or 7 Mb/s and DVD author to a quality disk. I bet the end result will look better than the original.

One thing I discovered...real old VHS decks seem to have had wider head gaps and playing there tapes on modern machines (particularly SVHS decks) results in a good deal more visual noise - hence neatvideo is a god send.

Attached is a raw DV screen grab from a Porta-pak recording made in 1984. For a quarter century old VHS recording I think this is a good starting point.

[tvcollector]

Originally Posted by Dasun

In my view the best way has already been mentioned:

VHS Player -> Timebase corrector (I use a datavideo DAC 1000) -> DV Capture Box (I use a datavideo DAC 100) -> firewire to the computer and store as type 2 DV files. This will use 13GB per hour and keep on two separate hard drives as these will be your masters. Then use neatvideo to knock out any objectional noise and virtualdub filters to massage colour/contrast to taster. Mpeg2 the lot at a minimum of 6 or 7 Mb/s and DVD author to a quality disk. I bet the end result will look better than the original.

One thing I discovered...real old VHS decks seem to have had wider head gaps and playing there tapes on modern machines (particularly SVHS decks) results in a good deal more visual noise - hence neatvideo is a god send.

Attached is a raw DV screen grab from a Porta-pak recording made in 1984. For a quarter century old VHS recording I think this is a good starting point.

This is why I mentioned an older VHS VCR would be better for the source.. In my opinion I would use either an old Panasonic like this one

http://vintageelectronics.betamaxcol...r9560at01.html

or an old Zenith, like this one..

http://vintageelectronics.betamaxcol...delvr3100.html

assuming they are recorded in Hi-Fi, if not any of these non Hi-Fi VCRS would be great.. These old VCRS are usually floating around the thrifts, so it would not be hard to find one, one will pop up sooner or later..

Datsuns way of doing it seems to be the best way, as far as transferring them to the Computer.. I may have to try that..

[ChrisW6ATV]

Originally Posted by Dasun

Attached is a raw DV screen grab from a Porta-pak recording made in 1984. For a quarter century old VHS recording I think this is a good starting point.

If the stability of vertical lines in that capture is the result of the time base corrector, then I REALLY want one! Your capture looks excellent.