VCR to HDTV

[bipbop13]

Yes, I know. Please don't laugh too hard. I don't have enough room for a box TV for the VCR. I was wondering how I could get a decent to good picture from my VCR on my HDTV. I've been trying to do some research, and have come across things such as this.....https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EOLR9K0...=1SO7X2UCS32EH

I was just wondering if that was overkill & there was an easier/cheaper way to do it. I know that putting the tapes on to dvd's is an option, bu that won't help with picture quality. I don't even know if many people here still have vcr's. Most people that I know do the vcr/box TV option, but I can't make enough room in my "viewing area" for one. Any help is appreciated.

[shinobipopcorn]

Honestly, I just use the old composite cables (yellow, red, and white, or S-Video if you have it) to hook my VCR up, and the VCR looks great. I've recently watched Fantasia and The Lion King, and while I don't have anything to compare Fantasia to, The Lion King looks just as good as the DVD copy from 12 feet. Obviously you're not going to get BD quality, but if you have a clean VCR (do it yourself, don't use a head cleaning tape) and a relatively well taken care of tape, the picture will be good.

Fantasia is the better tape to compare sound with, since it has a segment with dedicated L and R output. It sounds great. Now granted, my HDTV is an older Insignia model with separate composite and component inputs, and most newer TVs combine them. I've never had good experience with combined inputs, since I have a hard time getting the TV to recognize when to switch over from yellow to blue/green/red.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by bipbop13

Yes, I know. Please don't laugh too hard.

[Show spoiler]I don't have enough room for a box TV for the VCR. I was wondering how I could get a decent to good picture from my VCR on my HDTV. I've been trying to do some research, and have come across things such as this.....https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EOLR9K0...=1SO7X2UCS32EH

I was just wondering if that was overkill & there was an easier/cheaper way to do it. I know that putting the tapes on to dvd's is an option, bu that won't help with picture quality. I don't even know if many people here still have vcr's. Most people that I know do the vcr/box TV option, but I can't make enough room in my "viewing area" for one. Any help is appreciated.

Can I still laugh though if the laughter is "not too hard?"

I agree with shinobipopcorn. Your connection type will not make any real improvements in picture quality beyond the RCA cables or composite cables anyhow. Just use those and you'll get the best quality that VHS can offer.

[ZoetMB]

No, the picture will look like complete crap. I see no reason to do this. If you have family videos, transfer them to a digital format. If you have any commercial videos and they're not copy protected, I'd transfer those as well. If they're available on Blu, re-buy them or if available, stream them. After seeing HD, you're not going to want to watch that old stuff - they're going to be all blocky and awful looking.

And if those videos are on back-coated tape, they might deteriorate anyway, so you need to archive or rebuy them anyway.

[bipbop13]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

No, the picture will look like complete crap. I see no reason to do this. If you have family videos, transfer them to a digital format. If you have any commercial videos and they're not copy protected, I'd transfer those as well. If they're available on Blu, re-buy them or if available, stream them. After seeing HD, you're not going to want to watch that old stuff - they're going to be all blocky and awful looking.

And if those videos are on back-coated tape, they might deteriorate anyway, so you need to archive or rebuy them anyway.

Transfer them to a digital format how? And will doing that improve the quality at all?

[shinobipopcorn]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

No, the picture will look like complete crap. I see no reason to do this. If you have family videos, transfer them to a digital format. If you have any commercial videos and they're not copy protected, I'd transfer those as well. If they're available on Blu, re-buy them or if available, stream them. After seeing HD, you're not going to want to watch that old stuff - they're going to be all blocky and awful looking.

And if those videos are on back-coated tape, they might deteriorate anyway, so you need to archive or rebuy them anyway.

I've seen HD, I've seen 4K HDR, and I've been to a large format theater. None of this has made me suddenly despise watching a VHS tape.

[slimdude]

To connect a VCR to an HDTV without a composite input, you will need a composite to HDMI converter. VHS is still going to look terrible on an HDTV regardless what connection you use. As a matter of fact I still have 2 VCR's, but they're not connected. The VCR's are stored in my closet.

[MattmanAlpha]

Originally Posted by bipbop13

Transfer them to a digital format how? And will doing that improve the quality at all?

You're looking at spending quite a bit of time and money (hardware and software) in doing so. Unless you're looking to make quality digital preservations, I'd go with something like this, which is probably similar to the item you posted:
https://www.amazon.com/Portta-Composite-S-Video-Converter-support/dp/B003NS0UUQ/

I originally purchased this unit (under a Sabrent brand) to use with the S-Video output on my Gamecube, as my LG HDTV does not have S-Video input. Later tried it (briefly) with my Laserdisc player and the results were pretty decent. The only downside was an occasional blended frame where the unit's efforts to deinterlace/IVTC the video became confused.

But, VHS is not Laserdisc, so don't expect miracles.

[thecalm_7]

Originally Posted by bipbop13

Transfer them to a digital format how? And will doing that improve the quality at all?

Easy VHs to DVD 3 Plus PC program. I used an older version and it was fairly straight forward, but time consuming. Take the software and install, hook the usb to the PC and the r/w/y to the VCR and it goes to the HDD. rip to CD or DVD. Ive done it for family videos 86-91 VHS tapes. Never tried the mini tapes or newer VHS stuff. I'm thinking of doing it for some other tapes with rare stuff on them later.
From video improvement, I got nothing out of it, just the convenience of being on a disc and ditching the VCR.

[Rick Grimes]

I have discovered a great method to convert VHS to a Digital format.

I have been converting VHS tapes on to Blu-Ray using a Panasonic Blu-Ray Recorder. http://www.panasonic.com/au/consumer...-bwt955gl.html

I have an older model than the one in the link above, but it uses the same principal.
You connect your VCR to the recorder with composite cables. Using the AV mode, you play the VHS tape and hit record on the BD recorder (onto the HDD).
From there, when finished recording, you can edit the MPEG-2 file that gets created. Take out the blackness at the start, put in chapter marks etc., then you can transfer to a blank BD-25.
I have managed to get 3-4 hour Formula One Yearly reviews at the highest quality (~15Mbps) easily on to a 25GB Blu-Ray.
I recently put a 60min documentary (1987), and two 3 hour Motor Sport reviews onto a BD25... The first two features were at XP and the last 3 hour was at SP (interesting to note they use old VHS terms for SD recording conversions to Blu-Ray).

Best thing about converting to digital is that I know the PQ won't deteriorate and I don't have to worry about how I store the original VHS tapes.

Please note: I am not sure if the Panasonic recorders are available outside of Australia/Japan. Aussie models can handle NTSC. For the US (obviously) you would need a voltage converter if you used an Aussie model. I have a US model BD player for my Region A discs and I employ a 220v-110v Step-Down Transformer to use it here in Australia.

Oh, and as for VCR PQ on a HDTV, if you have a composite input, it is the best way to connect it.
My latest TV does not have a composite port, so I got a Composite to HDMI converter and it suffers from slight deinterlacing maladies as it tries to convert a 576 interlaced signal into a 1080 progressive picture.

[Suntory_Times]

^ Very nice, is there any post processing tools at all for cleaning up the image if you so decide?

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by Rick Grimes

I have discovered a great method to convert VHS to a Digital format.

I have been converting VHS tapes on to Blu-Ray using a Panasonic Blu-Ray Recorder. http://www.panasonic.com/au/consumer...-bwt955gl.html

You're wasting BD-R's because, converting VHS 480i resolution onto a BD-R, the quality is still going to be the same, as if you would convert VHS onto a DVD-R. Personally I would use DVD-Rs, you may have to use more discs because a DVD-R have less space but it will be cheaper, especially if you buy them by the 50-100 pack. I sure wouldn't waste BD-R's to record 480i VHS Tapes! Generally BD-R's are use to record 720 up to 1080p HD content, not 480 analog.

[BLMN]

Originally Posted by bipbop13

Transfer them to a digital format how? And will doing that improve the quality at all?

Simple and less expensive way to do it with this, I was thinking about buying this one instead of spending hundreds on a standalone like the Panasonic that was suggested.

[bipbop13]

are there any freeware programs out there that can improve the quality of the picture at all? I've decided to transfer my VHS tapes to DVD, that was I can retire the player.

[shinobipopcorn]

Originally Posted by bipbop13

are there any freeware programs out there that can improve the quality of the picture at all? I've decided to transfer my VHS tapes to DVD, that was I can retire the player.

There's not much to be done with a poor stream to begin with, you just have to capture the best quality possible via a good capture card or device, and maybe tinker around with it in Handbrake (which is 100% free). Handbrake always worked for me, as long as you pick some good settings and didn't worry about speed.

[Hitman Horton]

Originally Posted by bipbop13

are there any freeware programs out there that can improve the quality of the picture at all? I've decided to transfer my VHS tapes to DVD, that was I can retire the player.

I suggest you start here

http://www.digitalfaq.com/

This site has a wealth of information for you to go through to get you started. The absolute easiest way to transfer your VHS tapes is to buy a DVD Recorder and connect your VCR to it. There's no tools to improve the quality but it's a pretty simple method. Good luck.

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by shinobipopcorn

I've seen HD, I've seen 4K HDR, and I've been to a large format theater. None of this has made me suddenly despise watching a VHS tape.

They have optometrists for that problem.

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by bipbop13

Transfer them to a digital format how? And will doing that improve the quality at all?

It won't improve the quality. The purpose is so you don't have to hook up the VCR to the TV. I thought that was your problem. My Sony, which is about five years old now, came with an adapter assembly to hook up analog video to the TV that plugs into a proprietary port.

There are various ways to transfer, but perhaps the easiest is a combined VHS/DVD-Recorder. They're pretty easy to use, but they will not copy copy-protected VHS tapes. I ran into that when I tried to copy some commercially released VHS tapes.

[MattmanAlpha]

Originally Posted by bipbop13

are there any freeware programs out there that can improve the quality of the picture at all? I've decided to transfer my VHS tapes to DVD, that was I can retire the player.

AviSynth, a text-based editor, offers a wealth of plugins and scripts to tweak your video. I'd also recommend VirtualDub, which is compatible with AviSynth scripts.

Head to http://www.videohelp.com for more tools and info.

[Rick Grimes]

Originally Posted by Suntory_Times

^ Very nice, is there any post processing tools at all for cleaning up the image if you so decide?

There are a whole bunch of changes that can be made to PQ. Increasing DNR (and other stuff), chroma changes etc. on playback. I'd assume this would then translate when archiving to disc.

Originally Posted by slimdude

You're wasting BD-R's because, converting VHS 480i resolution onto a BD-R, the quality is still going to be the same, as if you would convert VHS onto a DVD-R. Personally I would use DVD-Rs, you may have to use more discs because a DVD-R have less space but it will be cheaper, especially if you buy them by the 50-100 pack. I sure wouldn't waste BD-R's to record 480i VHS Tapes! Generally BD-R's are use to record 720 up to 1080p HD content, not 480 analog.

It is actually recorded in PAL, so comes out at 576 (if the upscaler is turned off on my PS3), but quality is similar, but not exactly the same as an upscaled DVD.

I don't understand why, but for some reason, the PQ does look a tad better on BD than on DVD.
I assume 'cos the DVD is being "forced" to upscale on a BD player, but the Blu-Ray plays a lot cleaner with less digital anamolies and pixelation... Go figure!

I also have to use BDs, 'cos at the highest quality of the original recording, my 3hr tapes won't fit onto a DVD without having to compress the original file when transferring.
At 8-15Mbps ("XP" quality), the most I can fit on to a DVD-R DL is 1hr45 minutes!
On a BD-25, I get 5hrs15min. Much more space and as stated before, the playback on a BD is smoother than on a DVD.

Plus, please note: My Panasonic is not just a BD recorder, it is my premium Region B Blu-Ray player. I used to use PS3, then PS4, but as the PS4 was not an ideal Blu-Ray player, I bought the Panasonic; and it kicks both their assess (except PS3 for upscaling, as is still the best DVD upscaler IMHO).

Also comes in handy to archive HD broadcasts from network TV (mainly sporting events and documentaries) onto Blu-Ray, which converts to an MPEG4-AVC file (Full HD 1080i/50). I simply take out the adverts (can delete a frame at a time if you like), put in chapters, crop start and finish and presto, got an F1 race, Grand Final OR Who killed Jon Benet doco, commercial free, on BD.

I also have a lot of Home Videos I can also store on Blu (and I can transfer my 32GB raw wedding video data from SD card on to a BD), if any relatives want it. At $5 a disc, much cheaper than putting it on a USB...
While I've yet to edit my Wedding (my wife would prefer to use an editing suite on her MAC), but IMHO, with chapter markers, deleting, splitting files, and other options, it's easier to use than iMovie and I can do it all from the couch.

For me, I am more than happy with my purchase, a CD/DVD/BD player/recorder, HDD recorder and VHS archiver, all in one.