Comment on What do you use to digitize your old vacation VHS? From SECAM tapes?!?
fakeman_pretendname@feddit.uk 6 days ago
I’ve previously used a bog-standard £20 “video capture to USB” device (like this sort of thing (amazon link)), but from about 10-15 years ago. That particular one says it does Secam, apparently.
Anyway, this went into an S/Video/RCA to SCART adapter, which went into the VHS player.
The VHS player played PAL, SECAM and NTSC. The majority of tapes I was working with were PAL, but there were a handful of SECAM and occasionally NTSC, so I can’t 100% confirm that device worked with SECAM - but If it didn’t… this other method must have…
The other method I used was running the signal through an old Mini-DV camera, which I guess must have had an input through the AV port (3.5mm jack from RCA) or an Svideo port, then it outputted through the DV/iLink/Firewire port, then into the Firewire port of the computer - through this “daisychain”, you could capture VHS directly into Mini-DV capturing software, but also output video from the computer directly to VHS.
Bear in mind I was mostly doing this between 2002 and 2008 (and even using “Windows XP”), so I can’t guarantee that pathway even works these days.
The USB capture card method I’ve done far more recently on Linux.
Bigou@jlai.lu 6 days ago
Interesting to know the capture card work on Linux.
Never had a miniDV. My cam is a Panasonic NV-M7, SECAM version. As I said in the original post, it play and film on full-size VHS, and can be plug-in in composite. (Hence why I killed my GBS-C trying to use it to capture the signal. 😭)
Thanks for all those informations, I will have to think on what is the best solution for me.
fakeman_pretendname@feddit.uk 5 days ago
The MiniDV camcorder was being used basically for its Firewire output (ignoring the actual tape deck), but I don’t think Firewire tended to be used for output on any VHS kit.
I can’t confirm the linked one off Amazon definitely works, but it’s that type of device I used with Linux, just a ten year old one. I think I ended up running it through VLC to capture, or possibly I’d found a small dedicated program for it. I’d likely use OBS, if I was doing it again.
I don’t know why it killed your previous device - that looks a lot more well made than the shoddy little wire thing I was using!
Bigou@jlai.lu 5 days ago
Because it didn’t agree with SECAM. I didn’t know it back then, but the GBS-C only support PAL and NTSC, there is absolutely no SECAM support in it. Same goes for the OSSC.
That said, I saw that the successor to a tuner card I used to have was apparently made again. (The Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-5525 to be precise.) It does have a capture function, especially since I still have the I/O extension from my previous tuner, (the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2200) which is compatible with this newer model too. Might go that route instead, as it would also let me watch TV and listen to FM radio again.
I had already captured one VHS with the old card, but not only did I lose most of the capture since, and my old tuner also died. (Not that it’s very surprising, as it was the oldest part still present in my PC even back at the time of its demise. It is missed, but lived a plentiful life.) Plus, I since migrated to Linux, and this new model is better supported than the old one on said OS.
fakeman_pretendname@feddit.uk 5 days ago
The TV card looks promising - I’ve never tried one myself - do let us know what you end up with, and how well it works - it’s good to know about other options :)