VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttle

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Matt McLaughlin

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VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttle

PostFri Jun 17, 2016 5:31 am

Hi - I'm using the BlackMagic Intensity Shuttle to rip VHS cassettes for DVD production and my responsibility is to hand off the highest quality capture of the VHS tapes to a boutique production company who are going to adjust sound and video quality. They have requested the following codec

Apple ProRes 422 HQ (pref'd) or Apple ProRes 422, 1080, or HD size - just make it bigger than 720.

What settings should I use in the Preferences?

Project Video Format:
NTSC - works
NTSC 23.98 - works
PAL
NTSC Progressive
PAL Progressive
---------
1080p23.98
1080p24
1080p25
1080p29.97
1080p30
1080i50
1080i59.94
1080i60
720p50
720p94
720p60

of which only the first two work - the rest all display a black capture window. What should I select?

Also what Capture File Format is best for quality? The options are:

Quicktime Uncompressed 8-bit YUV
Quicktime Uncompressed 10-bit YUV
Quicktime Uncompressed 10-bit RGB
DPX 10-bit RGB

Would a third-party program be able to capture at the requested Apple ProRes 422HQ? I read that FinalCut Pro can capture this format. Is that an option?

Any help is appreciated - thank you!
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Marc Wielage

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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostSat Jun 18, 2016 3:42 am

Note you'll get better performance if you go through a time-base corrector from the VHS deck. If the VHS recording is too unstable, it'll cause glitches and mutes on the new file.

I find 720x480 422 works fine as a capture format. I personally think 422HQ is way, way overkill for VHS or 3/4". I might use HQ for 1". All these are 8-bit analog formats of dubious quality at best, so 444 or 10-bit won't buy you anything. To me, the key is getting the best possible playback machine, preferably one with a built-in TBC.
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Colin Barrett

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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostSun Jun 19, 2016 6:59 pm

I'll go further - it's essential to TBC the footage from the VHS player otherwise the Shuttle will simply reject the signal. I put a Shuttle into a system to capture from a JVC BR-820 VHS VCR (arguably the best VHS recorder ever made) and every time there was a drop in playback sync or even a colour-framing error on a cut the Shuttle crashed out. None of Blackmagic's analogue video capture devices (I have a few, including Teranex 2D) can cope with non-synchronous composite or component inputs. A broadcast-grade TBC is essential.

FWITW, I don't use ProRes422 [HQ] unless the client requests it. Most of the time the basic ProRes422 codec is perfectly adequate and as Marc says anything more is overkill that just uses up disc drive space!
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostMon Jun 20, 2016 4:08 pm

I second all of this. There was an excellent S-VHS machine by Panasonic, the 9xx series, a massive beast with TBC. You should still find them second hand and they are really sturdy.
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Massimiliano Celindano

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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostMon Jun 20, 2016 7:41 pm

Colin and Marc are right. Besides, you can capture from analog decks (eg. VHS, Betamax, U-matic, VCR, etc.) using a DVD recorder like Panasonic DMR-ES or EH series (you can easily find out on ebay) as TBC/FS passthrough. The results achieved are quite impressive.
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Colin Barrett

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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostMon Jun 20, 2016 8:08 pm

Yes, that's a good suggestion. I did once do this as an "emergency" option when I was at home and needed to capture some S-VHS material to H.264 using the H264 Pro Recorder and by routing the signals through a Sony HDD/DVD Recorder on passthrough the Pro Recorder didn't drop any frames or drop out of convert mode. So this is a practical alternative when all else fails.
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Massimiliano Celindano

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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostMon Jun 20, 2016 8:23 pm

That's right. You can also take the HDMI output from the DVD Recorder and feed it into the HDMI input of the Intensity Shuttle through a cheap HDMI splitter and the job is done! No drops and no audio/video sync problems!
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Marc Wielage

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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostTue Jun 21, 2016 4:48 am

Colin Barrett wrote:I'll go further - it's essential to TBC the footage from the VHS player otherwise the Shuttle will simply reject the signal. I put a Shuttle into a system to capture from a JVC BR-820 VHS VCR (arguably the best VHS recorder ever made) and every time there was a drop in playback sync or even a colour-framing error on a cut the Shuttle crashed out.

Yes to everything Colin says. I'm a huge fan of the JVC BR-S822, and in many ways that was the best VHS deck ever made. The only drawback is that it will not play back LP or EP recordings, only SP.

I wouldn't single out Blackmagic: many video capture cards balk at the glitches that happen with analog material like VHS or Betamax.

Uli Plank wrote:I second all of this. There was an excellent S-VHS machine by Panasonic, the 9xx series, a massive beast with TBC. You should still find them second hand and they are really sturdy.

Yes, the Panasonic AG-7750 is essentially their version of the JVC, and it's very good. Panasonic has a handful of cheaper VHS machines that will do LP and EP, but their TBC's are kind of rudimentary.

Coaxing reasonable pictures out of 1/2" videotape these days is really, really tough.
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Colin Barrett

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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostTue Jun 21, 2016 9:53 am

Marc Wielage wrote:I'm a huge fan of the JVC BR-S822, and in many ways that was the best VHS deck ever made. The only drawback is that it will not play back LP or EP recordings, only SP.


Yes, the BR-S822E is the one I have! I wasn't near the machine when I posted. Unfortunately, mine didn't come with the optional TBC card so, when needed, it's routed through a Snell & Wilcox Kudos TBC11. It's supposed to accept the smaller VHS-C cassettes too but for some reason complains bitterly and spits them out.

I have several other pro-quality VHS machines that can handle LP recordings, but the BR-S822 has RS-422 9-pin serial control which is a very handy.
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostTue Jun 21, 2016 2:50 pm

How well does the New Intensity 4K fair, as opposed to the TBC in a VHS deck or a standalone?
BM lists the Intensity 4K as, "it includes a professional, broadcast grade time base corrector".
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostTue Jun 21, 2016 5:58 pm

Thomas Fowler wrote:How well does the New Intensity 4K fair, as opposed to the TBC in a VHS deck or a standalone?
BM lists the Intensity 4K as, "it includes a professional, broadcast grade time base corrector".


No way Thomas, forget it. You must use a full-frame TBC or, at least, a DVD recorder with TBC passthrough ability.
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostTue Jun 21, 2016 9:28 pm

Thomas Fowler wrote:How well does the New Intensity 4K fair, as opposed to the TBC in a VHS deck or a standalone?
BM lists the Intensity 4K as, "it includes a professional, broadcast grade time base corrector".


I don't believe it, to be honest. This is one area that BM is very weak on. All BM A-D capture tools that I have come with the claim that all you have to do is hook up a VTR and start digitising in your desired file format, but in each case I have always had to process signals before they're given to the device. You'd think this was possible with a Teranex, but nope. Even an SD input to my Teranex 2D has to be TBC'd first otherwise the device will reject it out of hand.
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostTue Jun 21, 2016 10:16 pm

Whilst not as good as a professional TBC, the IP4K does work better than other BM cards that we've tested. We found that we could capture in tapes that wouldn't work on other BM products, but as always it depends on how degraded the tapes are
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostTue Jun 21, 2016 11:34 pm

Avid DS has a "damm the torpedo's" mode and will capture anything you feed into the Aja card, includeing non-sync, rolls, and hash... no matter how bad, or even non-existant the incomeing source is, the software wil keep on recording what is arriveing at the input to the Aja card.. very usefull when even the best TBC throws it hands up in dispair
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostWed Jun 22, 2016 3:39 am

Dermot Shane wrote:Avid DS has a "damm the torpedo's" mode and will capture anything you feed into the Aja card, includeing non-sync, rolls, and hash... no matter how bad, or even non-existant the incomeing source is, the software wil keep on recording what is arriveing at the input to the Aja card.. very usefull when even the best TBC throws it hands up in dispair

That is very handy to have.
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostWed Jun 22, 2016 7:43 am

Adam Simmons wrote:Whilst not as good as a professional TBC, the IP4K does work better than other BM cards that we've tested. We found that we could capture in tapes that wouldn't work on other BM products, but as always it depends on how degraded the tapes are


The really big problem - and the one that annoys me the most - is where a camera operator shooting DVCAM, DVCPro, BetaSP or whatever - didn't provide continuous timecode due to clean breaks in the recording. This makes it impossible to Log & Capture or even to capture in a single pass. A broadcast-grade TBC is the only solution to the latter problem.

That said, I'd be interested to see the IP4K in action.
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Matt McLaughlin

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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostThu Jun 23, 2016 4:22 am

While most appreciated, really not what I was hoping to hear. I just got a new S Video VHS in the mail today and I've got to figure the JVC HR-S3800U doesn't have TBC cuz the video capture flickers from the picture to black screen. Was really hoping to not have to get another piece of hardware between the VHS and the BlackMagic Shuttle. Kind of the purpose for getting the shuttle entirely. I have to assume I'd need Final Cut to rip to Apple Pro Res too since it's not offered in the BM Media Express software as a capture option.

Madre MIO. Thanks anyhow everyone!
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Colin Barrett

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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostFri Jun 24, 2016 3:46 pm

This is something I've posted about often here. It's Blackmagic's fault; they give the impression that you simply plug in a composite analogue signal and off you go with no mention of the need for a properly timed video input signal. Clearly, lots of people have been caught out by this.

If I were you I'd have a look at buying a cheap broadcast-grade TBC from eBay. Alternatively, buy a HDD/DVD recorder and route the composite video (yellow) and stereo audio signals through it first. Chances are that its inbuilt timebase correction function will stabilise the signals for you.
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

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Colin Barrett

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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostSat Jun 25, 2016 5:51 pm

The VideoHelp page is particularly good - full of useful content. I've worked with video machines and TBCs since the 1970s and even I learned a few things! Thanks for the links.

Colin
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostSun Jun 26, 2016 1:24 am

Colin Barrett wrote:This is something I've posted about often here. It's Blackmagic's fault; they give the impression that you simply plug in a composite analogue signal and off you go with no mention of the need for a properly timed video input signal. Clearly, lots of people have been caught out by this.

It's true for AJA and 20 other companies that make capture cards. A lot of companies making cards in the last 5 years have kind of forgotten that bad 1980s/1990s equipment is inherently unstable and is going to cause all kinds of glitches and instabilities, particularly when they can't take external sync or regenerate sync. Analog video is quickly becoming a lost art.
Last edited by Marc Wielage on Sun Jul 03, 2016 1:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostSun Jun 26, 2016 11:04 am

What makes me feel very old is that there are lots of people working in the industry these days who've never used tape - not just analogue video or audio but any kind of tape at all. I spoke to a dubbing mixer working in the same Cardiff (Wales, UK) centre as that which produces BBCTV's Doctor Who who has only known DAWs.

Frightening!
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostTue Jun 28, 2016 6:52 am

As long as the "ripped" video is not copyrighted material being recopied for the purpose of creating a black market version, I have an actual analog studio set-up that does amazing quality transfers from analog video sources. Yes you have to start with the right gear, but it is doubtful you can learn all the parameters for optimizing your transfers from the get go.
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Matt McLaughlin

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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostTue Jun 28, 2016 6:17 pm

Thanks everybody! I appreciate the back up info on the need for TBC - watching the capture I get on the Intensity alone it's obvious that's what it needs. Does anyone capture into Final Cut to get the ApplePro Res capture format? That doesn't seem to be an option capturing to the BlackMagic software. Thanks again!
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostTue Jun 28, 2016 10:45 pm

Hi Matt,

You need Apple Pro Video formats installed to capture in Prores, Final Cut unlocks this ability. Once installed, the options will be available in Media Express.

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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostFri Jul 01, 2016 4:53 pm

If you don't need FCP, just buying Apple's Motion is a cheaper way to get the codecs installed.
No, an iGPU is not enough, and you can't use HEVC 10 bit 4:2:2 in the free version.

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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostSun Jul 03, 2016 1:39 am

Colin Barrett wrote:What makes me feel very old is that there are lots of people working in the industry these days who've never used tape - not just analogue video or audio but any kind of tape at all.

I'm bummed that there are quite a few colorists out there who have never color-corrected actual film at all. I have worked with editors who are as young as 40 who did start out cutting film in the 1990s and then made the transition to all-electronic editing. But people forget that it was a long and winding road -- there was a point where analog, digital, film, and video all existed at the same time. Hey, I'm just glad that 1080i 23.98 went away. That was a nightmare for mastering, circa 1999-2001.

A couple of close acquaintances of mine did quite a bit of analog HD during the 1990s, and that was absolute madness. I think a large part of that work was all scrapped once digital HD came in by 1998-1999.

VHS is trivial compared to this stuff. I think the best advice for anybody doing this seriously is to rent or buy a BR-S822 and a Panasonic 7750 and just keep those going long enough for the duration of the project. We have successfully captured Betamax with only occasional, momentary problems -- and no TBC -- but we may have been lucky.
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostTue Jul 05, 2016 8:50 am

Marc Wielage wrote:I'm bummed that there are quite a few colorists out there who have never color-corrected actual film at all. I have worked with editors who are as young as 40 who did start out cutting film in the 1990s and then made the transition to all-electronic editing. But people forget that it was a long and winding road -- there was a point where analog, digital, film, and video all existed at the same time. Hey, I'm just glad that 1080i 23.98 went away. That was a nightmare for mastering, circa 1999-2001.


I remember assembling 16mm A/B chequerboard rolls and sending them off for "opticals" to be performed. The optical printer (the person rather than the machine) was a real master because he couldn't see what he was doing until the composite was processed! None of this mamby-pamby digital real-time grading stuff like today!! :-)

Marc Wielage wrote:A couple of close acquaintances of mine did quite a bit of analog HD during the 1990s, and that was absolute madness. I think a large part of that work was all scrapped once digital HD came in by 1998-1999.


Yep. I was present at the first European demonstration of Sony's HD video recording on tape - a modified 1" C Format machine. I remember us looking at HD video footage of Mount Fuji and saying "Holy ****, look at those pictures!" It's amazing to think that better quality can now be achieved on an iPhone.

Marc Wielage wrote:We have successfully captured Betamax with only occasional, momentary problems -- and no TBC -- but we may have been lucky.


I'm transferring PAL Betamax to ProRes422 LT right this minute!!
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostFri Jan 06, 2017 12:10 am

Does the current Media Express/Intensity Shuttle Thunderbolt version have H.264 encoding?

(Or H.265?) Thats not clear from the documentation and web pages I've reviewed.

Thanks much!
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostTue Jan 10, 2017 7:58 am

No it doesn't. You would need to use a 3rd party software that allows to capture in as h264 and a system than can encode in real time
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Colin Barrett

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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostTue Jan 10, 2017 10:16 am

Ted Langdell wrote:Does the current Media Express/Intensity Shuttle Thunderbolt version have H.264 encoding?

(Or H.265?) Thats not clear from the documentation and web pages I've reviewed.


You'll need something like the Blackmagic H.264 Pro Recorder for that, or you could capture to ProRes422 and then put all the files into software that will batch-encode to H.264. I use MPEG-4 Streamclip (free from http://www.squared5.com) for this because it provides a comprehensive toolset to create H.264 files wrapped in MP4 in a variety of bit-rates.
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostTue Oct 31, 2017 9:54 pm

Hi all,
Just started working with a new client who is trying to use a Sony SLV-N55 Video Cassette Player to connect to the Intensity. Thus far I have not been able to get a signal to appear on the computer.

Is it at all possible with this device? If not, any recommendations for a good-quality yet reasonable TBC VHS player with component output that we should purchase?

Thanks.
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Colin Barrett

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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostMon Nov 06, 2017 1:47 pm

Have a look at some of the previous comments because they point to your best option being a separate standalone TBC rather than a VHS player with what the manufacturer will have claimed to be an "internal TBC". Unless you spend money on a professional-grade VHS recorder/player which has a TBC card inserted, the TBC circuit won't be adequate.
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostTue Jan 23, 2018 11:41 pm

Hi, joined the forum to ask this question.

does this look like it has TBC or something similar to get rid of black dropouts?

ebay.com/itm/311331162140

thanks!
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostThu Jan 25, 2018 12:03 am

opp31337 wrote:Hi, joined the forum to ask this question.

does this look like it has TBC or something similar to get rid of black dropouts?

ebay.com/itm/311331162140

thanks!


It does not look like it's the right tool for the job. No TBC mentioned, and designed for display purposes not capture.
The main issue with VHS capture is that unlike professional analogue VCRs, VHS machines do not reconstruct the vertical and horizontal sync part of the signal, which is required for stable playback. In practical terms, if the quality of the VHS recording you feed to the capture device is good enough ( i.e. the sync part of the signal is not too degraded) then a reliable capture may be possible. If the VHS recording is too degraded then a TBC is essential.
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostMon Jan 29, 2018 7:40 pm

I had serious problems with stuttering/black frame dopouts when trying to transfer VHS tapes, using my Black Magic Intensity Shuttle (USB 3.0), to my Mac Book Pro. I even tried a Windows PC without success (same problem).
The problem was probably due to my VHS recorder lacking TBC.

SOLUTION:
The solution was to buy a simple RCA to HDMI adapter on Amazon for £13. It worked out brilliant, with great picture quality.

Some caveats i encountered:

1. The adapter box didn’t respect the 4:3 image ratio of the video input. It forced the video output to 16:9. This can probably be solved by using e.g. Handbrake to force the image back to 4:3.

2. I didn’t manage to include the audio in the HDMI stream. This was probably due to the Intensity Shuttle’s inability to handle bad input streams (the recorded sound sounded like Mickey Mouse). The simple solution was to route the audio directly from the VHS recorder to the Intensity Shuttle, bypassing the adapter box. Worked like a charm.

3. The adapter box supports video output in 720p and 1080p, but only in 60 Hz. The latter combination (1080p/60Hz) is not supported by the Intensity Shuttle.

MY VIDEO-ROUTE: VHS -> Converter box -> Intensity Shuttle -> Mac Book Pro
MY AUDIO-ROUTE: VHS -> Intensity Shuttle -> Mac Book Pro

I must perform some further testing, but I have not encountered any problems yet.
I hope this guide will help others tearing their hair out trying to digitize VHS tapes using the Intensity Shuttle.

My setup: Black Magic Intensity Shuttle USB 3.0 • Neoteck Mini RCA Composite CVBS to HDMI Video Audio Adapter • MacOS X 10.13.2 (High Sierra) • Blackmagic Desktop Video 10.6 and 10.9.7.
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostTue Feb 13, 2018 11:16 am

Just few notes: VHS is 240 lines, HD is 1080 lines. Demanding VHS captured in HD is just ignorance. Upconverting VHS to HD, before proper frame reconstruction, noise handling and image enhancements are done, is just ruining the chances to do that properly.

The best possible way to capture VHS is in it's nature PAL/SECAM or NTSC format that plaback device is outing it.

While VHS is poor by any means by today's standards, it is still analog, so no quality can be overkill for capturing it. It is wrong opinion that "resolution" is important. The sampling and compresion is. While there is laughably poor color information in VHS standard, it is so important that this fraction of colors we get is not further diminished by sieve of digital color sampling. DV codec or any consumer (delivery) codecs like MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 are not suitable for the task, since they throw away even more color information. Only 4:4:4 is the right answer. Compression is less of an issue, but still ProRes or DNx are not the best codecs either*

If VHS is captured at native resolution, files are much smaller than HD, so they can go uncompressed 444 while captured and than stored into low compression constant quality codec that highly preserves noise or grain as is, like CINEFORM 444. It can be 8-bit though, but 444 and FilmScan1 (2 if heavy signal restoration is expected).

* I use DNxHD on Atomos Ninja 2 to capture HDMI signal from consumer HDV camcorder Canon HV40. Signal from this camcorder have ton of (color) noise unless in stellar light situation and exposed perfectly. A image captured in 4:2:2 DNxHD is harder to clean, using NeatVideo, than same scene captured from HDV tape. So I always use highest datarate of DNxHD allowed, because this codec, along ProRes, makes blocking artefacts out of noise, and compression makes that even worse. In comparison MPEG2 at 25Mbit preserves original noise better and it is more salvagable with NeatVideo than from thoose pro codecs at 7 times higher bitrate, because they expect perfect input signal to be encoded.

Summary: Play VHS from the best (most stable) deck, route it through proper TBC, and capture with device that offer wastly higher sampling frequency than analog signal is, into uncompressed, interlaced and full color sampling SD format. Than use some lossless codec like CINFORM/444 to store files until they are handled properly with post production, and for long term storage. CINEFORM against DNxHD is open standard and readily available.

Hope it helps to someone.
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostWed Feb 28, 2018 2:38 pm

All of my broadcast TV and public/private library clients tend to ask for IMX D-10 50Mbps files wrapped as MXF where 4:3 SD source material is concerned. For this, I always capture as 10-bit 422 Uncompressed and then create delivery files in the above format using CatDV Pro (the library management software). MXF files wrap the video files (the "essence") with the associated Metadata, the latter of which can be edited later by the client and/or user.

The important thing here, as mentioned above, is that a proper archived asset derived from your VHS files should always be acquired as uncompressed SD 4:3 in the first instance. If integration into HD edit workflows is required later, then that can be undertaken by the person managing the post-production process. NEVER commit to any manipulation at the initial digitisation stage.
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Barry B

Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostSun Aug 26, 2018 7:05 am

Do you think an AV Toolbox AVT-8710 will be a good enough TBC to capture VHS with the Intensity Shuttle without any dropouts?

Alternatively, I am interested in buying a consumer JVC or Panasonic VHS player to take advantage of the passthrough talked about earlier in the thread. Are there any specific models someone can recommend, preferably with an upscaler?
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostFri Aug 31, 2018 11:06 pm

Barry B wrote:Do you think an AV Toolbox AVT-8710 will be a good enough TBC to capture VHS with the Intensity Shuttle without any dropouts?

Alternatively, I am interested in buying a consumer JVC or Panasonic VHS player to take advantage of the passthrough talked about earlier in the thread. Are there any specific models someone can recommend, preferably with an upscaler?


Don't know, if you have read some of my posts already, but the Panasonic DMR-ES35V does an exellent job what stabilization matters, i use this vcr to transfer vhs tapes with the Intensity Shuttle, This vcr has component output, (interlace/progressive switchable) which i use, it has also has composite and S-video output,(interlaced) these last two types are also as input available, plus also a DV/iLink/Firewire input, I can also use this recorder as passthrough for another recorder, which is a multi tv system vcr.
with my setup i don't need an extra external TBC.
To get things working, you must set all video specs exactly, check vcr type, PAL/NTSC i/p and frame rate,
set software settings to these exact specs, otherwise it won't work.
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostSat Sep 01, 2018 4:04 am

You got good advice regarding VHS machines already, but please be aware that hey don't upscale like many DVD players do.
The technology is too old. Upscaling can be done after capture in software, but it'll look like crap anyway.
No, an iGPU is not enough, and you can't use HEVC 10 bit 4:2:2 in the free version.

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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostSat Sep 01, 2018 11:36 am

Uli Plank wrote:You got good advice regarding VHS machines already, but please be aware that hey don't upscale like many DVD players do.
The technology is too old. Upscaling can be done after capture in software, but it'll look like crap anyway.


Yeah, a lot of the "crap" wasn't even seen at that time because of the poor resolution of CRT's some of it can be filtered by software, but only to a certain amount i now notice, and let alone then even scaling it to a higher resolution, i now notice this while i had a go at some vhs material that is older more then 30 years old, the material of the vhs tape, is good preserved over the years, better than expected i guess, but the recordings are still analog.... maybe deleting some of the scenes that have fine details, make the whole a bit more watchable, but most of the time this isn't an option.
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostWed Sep 02, 2020 10:03 am

Hi Guys, I have been reading this with great interest and I am very very sorry if this has been mentioned many times before, but I really could do with some help here!... I have just been asked to transfer 8x VHS tapes to USB. I have both a Intensity Pro in my PC and using a Shuttle for my laptop. My player is a Panasonic Combo EZ47V which I am assuming has some sort of TBC built in because without using it as a pass through the BM's just flicker. I am capturing using the RCA input from the VCR and I am using Media Express. Now, after capturing 4 tapes that the Audio sync is out at various points in the captured footage?. I can do something in the Edit but it would be fab if I didn't have to. I end up with a AVI file and Wow the file is massive? 200+GB for a 3 hour VHS capture? I then drag it into Premiere and convert to .MP4 format ending up with a 4gb file.
Would it be better if I used the HDMI output from VCR to the HDMI input on the shuttle in order to keep audio in sync? Also, is there any way of capturing to .mp4 in order to save time re-rendering from AVI?
I am a novice at this so if anyone could please send me in the right direction it would be fab?
Thank you all in advance. Alan
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostFri Sep 11, 2020 1:16 pm

alangrove, this thread may help viewtopic.php?f=3&t=109259
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostMon Apr 03, 2023 3:51 am

**Not sure if this thread is still Active as this is many years old right now.. but have a couple questions for "CD Mikelis" if hes still on here, or if anyone else has tried this capture method which he described.

Im interested in the workflow/process for the 4:4:4 VHS capture method outlined previously, specifically if this method has changed or improved with any newer hardware/software since this thread was started many years ago now, or if it is still unchanged?

I have been down almost all of the VHS capture rabbit holes and have acquired pieces of various recording hardware, I have the Ultrastudio 3g to Firewire USB capture device substituted for the Intensity Shuttle now.. and I am still waiting for Blackmagic to Develop a TBC unit that works with dirty VHS signals and all of their analog SD conversion hardware.

but for software I still come back to this 4:4:4 capture method via Media Express with 4:4:4 8/10 bit capture , as the best possible way to preserve color information/accuracy from original VHS source material. (outside of RF signal tapping/processing)

If anyone is active here, I appreciate any thoughts or suggestions. or if this topic has moved to a new thread, feel free to share link. Thanks


[quote="CD mikelis"] Only 4:4:4 is the right answer. Compression is less of an issue, but still ProRes or DNx are not the best codecs either*
If VHS is captured at native resolution, files are much smaller than HD, so they can go uncompressed 444 while captured and than stored into low compression constant quality codec that highly preserves noise or grain as is, like CINEFORM 444. It can be 8-bit though, but 444 and FilmScan1 (2 if heavy signal restoration is expected).

Summary: Play VHS from the best (most stable) deck, route it through proper TBC, and capture with device that offer vastly higher sampling frequency than analog signal is, into uncompressed, interlaced and full color sampling SD format. Than use some lossless codec like CINFORM/444 to store files until they are handled properly with post production, and for long term storage. CINEFORM against DNxHD is open standard and readily available.
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostTue Apr 04, 2023 2:47 am

VHS is bad enough, so rather don't compress to H.264 or 265 before editing, rather buy some space.
And then, sync problems can arise from tape dropouts and then there's not much you can do about it other than manually correcting in the edit.
No, an iGPU is not enough, and you can't use HEVC 10 bit 4:2:2 in the free version.

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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostMon Apr 10, 2023 4:12 am

From my tests with Intensity Pro capture card and Media Express, 444 capture makes no sense because video file reported as 422 inside 444 MOV container. Sort of fake 444. Also file size is same as real 422. This is all because Media Express A/D hardware chip ony capable to record up to 422.
I suggest to make some tests with Intensity Shuttle.
Same time 10 bit capture will give advantage during editing because you will have all possible "hidden" data that could be recovered during editing.
In most cases if you capture on macOS to MOV container you need to adjust clipping manually during editing in Resolve. Due unknown reason by default MOV container clip too many highlights data in analog captures as it was illustrated here:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=109259#p603596
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostTue Apr 11, 2023 8:00 am

shidoshi wrote:Im interested in the workflow/process for the 4:4:4 VHS capture method outlined previously, specifically if this method has changed or improved with any newer hardware/software since this thread was started many years ago now, or if it is still unchanged?

A near-lossless codec like ProRes or DNxHR 444 is way, way, way overkill for VHS. You'd be just fine with ProRes 422LT or DNxHR LQ. VHS is a really, really bad format with very little detail, very little resolution, and not even 8-bits of color depth. I do think that H.264 would be "stepping on" the signal too much, but the ones I named will be fine. I'd keep the framerate at 29.97fps (or 25.00fps for PAL), and I wouldn't try to process it too much.

As I said some years ago, getting a VHS player/recorder with a built-in TBC will help a great deal in terms of stability. If you're worried about clipping levels, watch the machine on a scope and bring down the level with the TBC if those controls are there. The higher-end Panasonics and JVCs do have level controls -- I'd knock it down to 95ire if you were really worried about it. Usually I find a small chroma boost is necessary, because consumer VHS seemed to have lower-than-normal color output (in my experience).
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Re: VHS Capture settings on Media Express w/Intensity Shuttl

PostThu May 11, 2023 3:38 pm

RE:Marc
A near-lossless codec like ProRes or DNxHR 444 is way, way, way overkill for VHS. You'd be just fine with ProRes 422LT or DNxHR LQ. VHS is a really, really bad format with very little detail, very little resolution, and not even 8-bits of color depth. I do think that H.264 would be "stepping on" the signal too much, but the ones I named will be fine. I'd keep the framerate at 29.97fps (or 25.00fps for PAL), and I wouldn't try to process it too much.


Thanks for the Reply..
We just have a specific application where we need lossless 444 transfer of VHS and DVHS. There is some color signal clipping with prores 422, not a lot but it is more noticeable when we upscale with Ai up-scaling, and especially noticeable with some hi8 film/tape. We are currently using an UltraStudio 3G and 4K mini which have uncompressed 444 support, just wondering what settings / specific codec settings anyone has had better/best results with those capture devices. Thanks

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