--- My (VHS) Video Capture Guide --- The best way to do it

Thank you very much for your reply, Eric-Jan, I'm very grateful. I now have an S-Video to 2 RCA cable on order but I'd still like to know why the audio isn't coming through.

As I mentioned there is no audio tab under any other Video Input than HDMI. This is how it looks for Composite and HDMI.

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I'm still using 12.5 but it looked the same on 12.7.1.

Out some desperation I tried connecting the white audio RCA to the red R-Y Input (as opposed to the B-Y Input as the manual shows on page 27), but still there is no audio heard or recorded.

In case it helps, this is how the Video Output tab looks. I don't see any audio settings there (I accidentally had the Betacam levels checked when taking the screenshot but it has not impact on the audio or anything else it seems).

I also noticed today that the clips I capture are played back faster than normal. I find no setting for this in either Desktop Video Setup or Media Express. The settings I use are 625p PAL (I won't see an image from the camcorder if I select 625i). I've tried various capture formats (matching in DVS and ME) but there's no difference re. missing audio or playback speed.

The plot seems to thicken. Or I'm just missing something very obvious.

Kind regards
Philip

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Thank you ! First of all ....color coding ! Yellow from cam corder is composite video, white is (mono) audio out, the break-out has every connection, s-video is split into two BNC plugs so, check the manuals of both which is which, that's i can come up with sofar, the audio should be setup with the BMD setup tool, and should be the first analog one(s) not HDMI ofcourse, hope this solves some, (if all) otherwise, post your findings of this and we look further into it.

First: i do not have the Intensity Pro, i have the Intensity Shuttle thunderbolt 2, but i do know the Setup tool does have some un logical naming in it's options, at the moment i have no internet at home, but i will collect/check some of it, it's normal you will have no audio audible during capture.
You're in luck not having the 4K version.
When i'm at home i'll check the audio "bug" i believe it is somewhere at the audio output, but i'll check that, and the other connection options.

If your source is PAL interlaced, you should stay with that, both for in and output, you should not set any conversion settings, i noticed my Shuttle, it did not have any effect, you should also not select HDMI.
Maybe route audio from camera into the audio in to the computer directly ? (if that stays in sync that way)

Thank you so much for writing back Eric-Jan.

I tried routing audio into the Mac Pro's audio-in but that also didn't change anything unfortunately. That actually surprised me, but I don't think the computer is the problem because I have copied audio using that input terminal from my old Minidisc.

I don't think the video from the camcorder is interlaced because I only get an image if I use 625P.

I did some further testing by installing Media Express on a drive with macOS Mojave. Unfortunately the DVS settings look identical, with the Audio tab only appearing when HDMI is selected as input. There is no audio when I capture. And captured video also plays back too fast.

I'm now toying with the idea of getting for instance this S-Video/Composite to HDMI converter to see if that will let me access the audio.

https://www.amazon.nl/Tendak-Composite-converter-ondersteunt-S-videokabel/dp/B07F1SRXR4?

Kind regards
Philip

Do you have a picture of the breakout cable you're using?

You're currently not getting audio because you apparently keep plugging it in to the component video inputs, R-Y, B-Y. It seems as if you are working under the assumption that the audio is muxed in the video signal which it is not.

I can assure you that both composite PAL and NTSC are interlaced.

You should start by using just the composite input and ignore S-Video for the moment to avoid confusion. In this scenario the composite output of the cam should go to the green input and the white audio input should go to the white analog audio input. Once you get that working you can figure out if the color input for S-Video is on the red or blue.

Apparently the board attachment limit is reached so you'll have to settle for a link.
https://www.ebay.ph/itm/175875180246

Good Luck

Have at least all manuals of your equipment at hand.

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nd.

Forget about the cheap consumer converters they mess up color and brightness/darkness.

FYI the color information on the s-video Y/C connector is apparently handled on the B-Y input connector.

Good Luck

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Thank you both for replying and helping me. I must also apologise for having wasted your time with the erroneous connections. I had read the guide above, but as it mentions Composite with two audio leads I wasn't sure where to connect the single white lead I have. I do have all the manuals, but for instance the Intensity Pro manual takes for granted that the reader knows what the Y, B-Y etc labels stand for. Very sorry for this, I clearly should have tried more myself first.

This is what the breakout cable looks like (I hope the labels are legible).

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I also need to correct myself, Howard — I do get video if I select 625i as input. But I actually didn't when I began this project. I have noticed that DVS is wonky on my computer, with interface elements that don't respond to trackpad taps and instead require a "hard click".

I now get video on both 625i and p.

If I now connect yellow video to green B-Y Input and white to the white Audio In Left I do get a moving soundbar when capturing the tape and when playing the recording back. (note 1)

On top of that, the recording doesn't play back too fast, either.

So this is progress.

BUT I still do not hear any audio on the recording, regardless of which computer output I try. In case it is relevant, I do get a moving soundbar in Sys Prefs–Sound Input tab if I directly connect from the white audio out on the camcorder to the Mac Pro's Line In. But that still doesn't register on the recording.

I have two S-video cables which look like this:

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I'm happy to try them of course.

Cheers
Philip

Note 1: If I disconnect Composite, connect S-video, and then reconnect Composite channels 1 and 2 are maxed out with red tops. I need to reboot the computer to get it back to normal.

Hurrah, success I updated to version 12.7.1 (which I had at the outset without success) and now I get audio when connected over Composite correctly. I am very happy. The audio still does not play back in Media Express, but I hear it in Quicktime.

I'm of course curious about connecting over S-Video to see if there is any difference in quality.

I did some quick file size comparisons and was surprised how effective ProRes 422 LT is, just as Jan-Eric writes in his great guide.

To my eyes there's no difference between such a file at 98MB for 25 seconds and an uncompressed 8-bit YUV file at 600MB for the same amount of footage.

I am however wondering about the next step.

Space is pretty cheap and I suppose I could capture at larger uncompressed format. But is there really a need for it?

I am all for digital archive copies at the highest quality. This is how I do regarding my main creative outlet, analogue photography. But if there is no need for it – for instance because post-capture work needs the data – then I wouldn't do it.

Any thoughts on this?

kind regards
Philip

S-video should yield better results. That said I couldn’t say if either of the adapters you have are proper 4 pin Din to YC adapters. Ideally the YC adapters are yellow/white or yellow/black but theres a lot of junk out there on the internet. It looks like some computers and consoles used the 4 pin Din (S-video) connector for more than just YC. An ideal adapter clearly denotes Y luma and C chroma. There’s a guy on eBay selling the BM adapter for 5 bucks. The color coding matches the breakout to avoid confusion, which is Y to green, C to B-Y.

In terms of recording I’d probably just splurge and go 422 or even HQ. At standard def the file sizes are small. You can get about 150 hours of HQ on a $100 4TB HDD.

Good Luck

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ProRes422LT > using a better quality ProRes will have a higher bitrate, will put a higher workload on the cpu/gpu, depending on your pc, storage, SSD ? RAM ? frames could be dropped, audio... is not stored in the correct channel(s) i guess maybe this can be corrected in Davinci Resolve, Davinci Resolve has some great edit options.
The capture card you have has some limits due its age, Using Media Express has better options, but can't be used ?
Avoid cheap china stuff, i'm very happy with the BMD analog to SDI converter, but then you would need an SDI/HDMI PCIe (recording) card in your pc, and you can use better, recent capture software with that.

Dear Eric-Jan and Howard

I just wanted to thank you again for your help with this priject. I have now digitised all the tapes and it worked flawlessly over the S-Video connection. No dropped frames that I can see and audio and video in full sync. Quality is as I expected but it is completely watchable. Even ordinary VHS-C tapes recorded Long Play look good enough.

Interestingly when I play the recordings back from my 11" Macbook Air (2015) my sound app eqMac will sometimes "see" the various frequency ranges in a recording, and sometimes not. Perhaps it's got to do with tape degradation, I don't know. I didn't change any settings from one recording to another and I believe all tapes were recorded with the same camcorder. It's not a big deal really because the most important thing is that I could save these old tapes.

I'll now turn to all the Video8 and VHS tapes that I also need to digitise, but for that I'll need to source some equipment.

Again, thank you for having helped me with this.
cheers
Philip

That is good to hear ! Thankyou for reporting back,
Even long-play vhs-c is also nice ! This is wonderful ! This is where most people fail, succes with the other tapes !

Hi Eric - Thank you for this informative post you’ve made. I do want to circle back and see if there is a better and less costly way to do the transfer from MiniDV to a computer without the use of a MiniDV camera. I have plenty of 1990’s miniDV cassettes with family videos and I want to digitize them into my iMac. I don’t have a working miniDV camera so I’m hoping there is some cheap miniDV player that I could output the feed into a computer (usb or thunderbolt) and a software that would capture it. Any recommendations appreciated.

No, not really, the existing old capture devices are not compatible, or drivers are not supported, by the the recent OS's or hardware, cheapest would be a dvd recorder and record direct to dvd, or try to get a good combination of converters, to a HDMI to USB dongle.

I have a GV-HD 700 Sony deck that is HDV/DV that you may find used. I also use this to convert analogue input to DV output to go to PC. This how I have converted my VHS and SVHS tapes. All my PC's have 1394 inputs so use Vegas to control deck as needed.

To find a working MiniDV player is even harder,
you need just to have the luck, otherwise you have to pay a high price for that.

I never really sold any of my early tape stuff so still have a couple of DV camcorders, this Mini deck and the DHR1000 full size tape deck too. Still in the process of converting all my tapes before they stop working!!

To find a working MiniDV player is even harder,
you need just to have the luck, otherwise you have to pay a high price for that.

Yeah, I’ve been scouring eBay for one.

I had dual dvd recorder lg with hard disk which also had many input and hdmi output. This could help you to solve many problems: signal conversion, tbc, keep signal also if you have frame drop etc.
from it I go in hdmi in of infinity4k and I solved many troubles. I had two be cause first leave me the power and I keep for spare parts.
It had also analog, component, svhs, FireWire input


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To find a working MiniDV player is even harder,
you need just to have the luck, otherwise you have to pay a high price for that.

Yeah, I’ve been scouring eBay for one.

I think it may be a lot easier to find a DV camcorder as a lot more of them were made than decks which were always more expensive as far as I can remember. The playback over Firewire/1394 is just reading the data off the tape and copy to PC. So no difference between almost any camcorder with a 1394 connector. If you take the analogue out then you are dependent on the decode circuits in the camcorder/deck. In my mind not the best way. The highest quality is the source digital data on the tape which would have reflected the capability of the camcorder that made the tape.

To find a working MiniDV player is even harder,
you need just to have the luck, otherwise you have to pay a high price for that.

Yeah, I’ve been scouring eBay for one.

I think it may be a lot easier to find a DV camcorder as a lot more of them were made than decks which were always more expensive as far as I can remember. The playback over Firewire/1394 is just reading the data off the tape and copy to PC. So no difference between almost any camcorder with a 1394 connector. If you take the analogue out then you are dependent on the decode circuits in the camcorder/deck. In my mind not the best way. The highest quality is the source digital data on the tape which would have reflected the capability of the camcorder that made the tape.

Right an hdv camcorder to read mi dv and hdv tape is easy to find around 50-80€ in Italy and you have FireWire and hdmi out
I keep one from my video life exactly to output this kind of sources.
If you can hdv camcorder are a bit better player because need more precise mechanism to read signal.


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to sum up :

yes, you need a MiniDV camcorder, easier to find,
a vcr that has a MiniDV input, could also be used as passthrough, check the (online?) manual for this,from that
point (unknown?) you can convert to the input of the capture device, if this works well you don't need a TBC, depending devices used.
if you have a window$ pc, you could also add PCI Firewire card to it, in a free PCI slot.

So I found and bought a used mini DV camcorder that I hope would live long enough to read all 39 mini DV tapes. I got a 4 pin FireWire but my iMac does not have a FireWire. So I am now looking for a FireWire adapter to USB but this challenging with the Apple computer. There are many s-video to usb and the mini DV camcorder I got has s-Video and A/V out too. I know I can get better IQ from FireWire but unless I can find something that’s in existence, will s-video be enough to just save those old family videos to a mp4 via OBS and then do my editing after using Resolve?


EDIT: The mini DV camera I got was a Canon ZR30MC and has a IEEE 1394 ILink cable port. Anyone know if this cable will work? Most other cables says it’s only for Sony DCR-TRV75E DV. This one doesn’t state that it is for Sony but IDK.

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you are better off getting a cheap pcie firewire card. or an old laptop with firewire built in , the usb to firewire lead is a no go.

for a MAC/Apple computer, with no direct Firewire connection, a Firewire to USB converter would be the best, Apple has such a dongle, and that worked also for me,
you need a 400 to 800 adapter, because the dongle is 800,
and also power, which could destroy the camera, this adapter prevents this, you have to use Quicktime for capture,
or try to use OBS, which isn't easy.
Using Quicktime, you have to set the source to Firewire.
Most of the time SSD is used for storage, which is faster than a HDD, once you have captured, you do your editing and export to an external SSD.
Trying to capture from s-video which is analog, puts more strain on the capture proces, because MiniDV is already digital, so why use analog s-video ?
btw. if your Mac has Thunderbold, you cn also convertt from there to Firewire, be sure of the correct Thunderbolt version.

It is best to have both camcorder and PC switched off when you connect the cable as a spike down the cable can kill the camera interface.

Eric and Ron, thank you much for your input and advice.

for a MAC/Apple computer, with no direct Firewire connection, a Firewire to USB converter would be the best, Apple has such a dongle, and that worked also for me,
you need a 400 to 800 adapter, because the dongle is 800,
and also power, which could destroy the camera, this adapter prevents this, you have to use Quicktime for capture,
or try to use OBS, which isn't easy.
Using Quicktime, you have to set the source to Firewire.
Most of the time SSD is used for storage, which is faster than a HDD, once you have captured, you do your editing and export to an external SSD.
Trying to capture from s-video which is analog, puts more strain on the capture proces, because MiniDV is already digital, so why use analog s-video ?
btw. if your Mac has Thunderbold, you cn also convertt from there to Firewire, be sure of the correct Thunderbolt version.

Eric, seems like there’s quite a hurdle to using FireWire with a newer Apple computer for transferring a bunch of old miniDV that is why I am looking for an alternative and much simpler solution like using s-video. Hence using S-Video instead of FireWire. I understand that there is more strain on the capture process but I think with QuickTime or OBS, I could just capture and export it to SSD. As long as the resolution and quality is close enough, I am fine with it. With the FireWire set up, there seem to be a few fail points, some which you’ve already pointed out. Even the converter cable is questionable.

I don’t need this capture process to be fast so I don’t have to use TB. I also have other media that I need to transfer, like Hi8 and VHS/VHSc. The old cameras have SVideo or AV. So I’m going to try using this cheap adapter hopefully it works.

https://www.amazon.com/Converter-Digita ... 197&sr=8-4

Also a good idea to experiment with, and still keeping it cheap, if thats important, is to use 2 devices, the 1st one converting from analog to HDMI, the second one from HDMI to USB/TB, and exchange one or the other for better result, still keeping it cheap that way, but it is still a hit or mis, that's why i had luck with my DMR ES35V it has a good working TBC function, converting to HDMI could help to setting things straight.

After a few challenges, some learning curve, and your advices, I got my video capture system setup, however it is on Windows 11 and not MacOS because I had issues with installing Hybrid on MacOS and OBS recognizing the cheap video capture device I got from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Converter-Digita ... 197&sr=8-4

But this capture device worked flawlessly and was easy to setup.

However on Windows, it was pretty much plug and play. In a nutshell, my capture and transfer workflow is simply as follows:

Part 1: On Windows 11
Camera (Hi8, miniDV, VHS-c, and SVHS)—> Video Capture Device using S-Video and A/V component* to USB 2.0 —> OBS for capturing —> Hybrid for deintelacing, denoising, and other cleanup and to create ProRes intermediate file.

I chose to render to an intermediate format (ProRes) so it will be easier on Resolve as these are very long clips and timelines (over 2 hours) for every transfer.

Part 2: on MacOS
Editing and Color correction using DVRS 19.2 then exporting as H.265 for delivery.


* I thought that s-video to s-videos would provide both video and audio but apparently I am unable to get the audio feed. I have to use the s-video to s-video connection for video and use the red and white audio from an AV to composite connection in order to get audio from the camera. I don’t know why that is but if anyone know why,,please explain. Thanks. Nevertheless this is working for me now.


EDIT: With miniDV, there was an audio sync issue as it had a delay in the audio. I am working on fixing them in Resolve before I do any edits.

S video connection is only video. Audio is always separate with the red and white connections. The change came with DV and HDMI. Before that they were always separate. S video connection separates the brightness and colour signals to give a better signal.

S video connection is only video. Audio is always separate with the red and white connections. The change came with DV and HDMI. Before that they were always separate. S video connection separates the brightness and colour signals to give a better signal.

Thank you Ron.

The challenge with converting from MiniDV using s-video for video and AV for audio to a computer via a capture device is audio sync, and worse are audio drifts with longer captures. I’m not by a stretch an audio guy but with some patience and time, I can and have fixed it. I have done some research on fixing drifts using the Elastic Wave feature in Resolve and watched a number of YouTube videos on how it’s done and the good ones were all done in Resolve 17. Now in Resolve 17, you can access the Elastic Wave function from the audio context menu in the Edit tab. However in Resolve 19, it is no longer there. It is in the Fairlight tab but it’s not easy to use especially when you only have a single source audio from the camera that you’re trying to fix against the video; and it was not quite working as I thought it should. Hence I gave up using it and just went ahead and fixed it through brute force method instead. I was hoping that the Elastic Wave would help with making it easier. I don’t know why they took it out of the Edit page. I hope BMD will put it back in future version of DVRS.
Has anyone used the Elastic Wave feature in R19 to fix drifts after transferring from a tape (miniDV, hi8, VHS,mor anything else) from a capture card? What’s your experience with this?

Audio drift means dropped frames better try to avoid it,
it means the signal is not clean, or storage is too slow during capture.
plus... capture over USB2 with a cheap capture dongle is asking for trouble, try to stop background tasks, like virus killers, and go offline.

"Trying to capture from HDMI on consumer devices output will fail most of the time, (Copyright protection precaution) (HDCP) with exeption of video/photo camera's and DSLR's (with HDMI connection) ( but for video camera equipment... the Ultra Studio Mini Recorder will do also fine, which has a HDMI and a SDI input, but has only a Thunderbolt 2 interface mostly used on older Mac's, Mac's from make year of 2016 and onwards have Thunderbolt 3."

I copied your statement above from the first part of the first page. It seems to reference my exact situation. I have a source, in this case, a 2007 Canon HV20 and HV30 that records high def on tape and has both HDMI out and firewire out.

I also have, but never used, the Blackmagic UltraStudio Mini Recorder with HDMI in and, I guess, TB 2 out. It does not have a firewire/thunderbolt in.

Any thoughts or recommendations on the mac models that have the best chance to work for an HDMI capture through the HDMI-In of the UltraStudio Mini Recorder to the Thunderbolt 2 output?

I have a source, in this case, a 2007 Canon HV20 and HV30 that records high def on tape and has both HDMI out and firewire out.

Mark, the HV20 and HV30 uses miniDV tapes however, and I may be wrong on this, the data stored in the magnetic tape is digital, hence using a FireWire or HDMI will channel the data unchanged from the source to the target. If you introduced something like a s-video or composite converter in between, it might have to process the signal from digital to analog and back which can introduce artifacts. Again, I am not an expert on this matter but just commenting on common sense.

You don’t have to use the Ultrastudio Recorder. How about going with a HDMI to USB adapter and using free Open Source OBS software to capture? Something like this would do it, assuming the HV20 and HV30 has HDMI out.

https://www.amazon.com/AMZHRLY-Recordin ... F0aWM&th=1

those camera's don't have DV/Firewire connections ? (yes)
Firewire, or component would be the best option(s)
while HDMI could be a no go because of HDCP.

You're in luck not having the 4K version.

Hello Eric-Jan,

I am quite new to this topic, could you please explain why the 4k is bad?
I got the 4k very cheap (~35 euros) and it gave me the idea to digitize my old video tapes.

Thank you

It's extra hardware you don't need. while you have DV (firewire) output available.

Any thoughts or recommendations on the mac models that have the best chance to work for an HDMI capture through the HDMI-In of the UltraStudio Mini Recorder to the Thunderbolt 2 output?

I picked up an Ultrastudio Mini Recorder on eBay last week. I've since learned that not all thunderbolt uses USB-C, and had to by a Thunderbolt 2 -> USB-C Adapter, to the tune of £50, and then I've found that the Ultrastudio Mini Recorder is only supported for use with Intel macbooks. I've never known anything like it, this is dumb. What was originally a way to save a few quid has become "Should I look for an Intel macbook to go with this?"

With a MAC/Apple, yes, because you can't expand the hardware internally, with a Windows PC you can expand with PCI(e) card, but most of the time these are prosumer products, a 2nd Macbook, with Thunderbold2 interface works better , because of the port speed, which is faster then USB-3
My Macbook from 2015 only has 8GB RAM, and makes great captures from VHS, that's with the Intensity Shuttle (TB2) or the Mini Analog to SDI converter.
The Ultra Studio Mini Recorder (TB2) should also work, but i guess only with 32bit apps.

Than you for this great write up and all the testing you did. I'm here with a modern-day 2025 question though:

Has anyone ever determined if using the updowncross in line in this process effectively time base corrects / frame synchronizes for us? I can't seem to find a clear answer and my eyes are blurry from searching.

Seems to me if one connects:
an analog source like S-video from a camera --> BlackMagic Analog to SDI --> Blackmagic UpDownCross --> (in my case) BlackMagic Ultrastudio HD Mini (which I have), A cleaned up, upconverted, synch'd signal should arrive for encoding, no?

...or is the fly in the ointment there that the time base correction / frame sync needs to happen *before* the analog signal encounters a converter like the Analog-to-SDI box?

One extra bonus question: I have in my possession an old Sony DSR-1800a with the SDI board installed, and am investigating if it's analog inputs are TbC'd. The manual implies that they are but if anyone has any insight on that, please reach out.

Thanks in advance!

some have knobs on the front panel, but need still a tbc card installed, the manual should give clues, if only vcr has tbc or the inputs also, scaling is only done with an already stable signal, deinterlacing works better with software, only the Studio version of DR has deinterlace options.
Scaling does not improve quality.

some have knobs on the front panel, but need still a tbc card installed, the manual should give clues, if only vcr has tbc or the inputs also, scaling is only done with an already stable signal, deinterlacing works better with software, only the Studio version of DR has deinterlace options.
Scaling does not improve quality.

was that reply to me? I think it is. . yea the "a" version is what they call "the mastering edition" and a studio tech I work with says yea all of it's inputs are time base corrected but isn't sure if it needs to be clocked to ref signal overall to enable it - he thinks it might not do TbC if freewheeling/on internal clock. Results to be seen.

and mine has the SDI board not the upscaling board (which is wildly unaffordable as a part out on the used market anyway).

But my question remains: TbC needs to happen basically right out of the camcorder being used as playback for the tapes to be archived in my case, right? Seems like that's the general gist here.

thanks again!

I used the 1800s back in the day, DSR and UVW. I'm reaching back into the past but I believe you can fake them out by referencing the deck to itself. Send the composite output into the ref in, then take the loop out to the destination. I don't think the TBC/Proc Amp work unless the deck is referenced, certainly SC and H Phase are inactive without sync. Honestly tho with that deck composite analog capture would be about my 4th or 5th choice for capture.

Good Luck

what i know of that, is, that refference is only used when there is a main tbc, to keep camera's vcr's "inline/sync"