The title says it all. I'm using Vegas 13 at the moment but will switch to Vegas Pro 19 soon. How are editors capturing VHS and 8mm without a Firewire card? Much of my business involves digitizing old tape formats so an answer to this is of great importance.
Thanks in advance.
Hi @JackW,
You need an analogue video capture card (you can do a search on Amazon -"Elgato Video Capture" is one good option). These plug into your USB port. They will have a composite cable (yellow) and a red and white cable for the audio and you plug these into the VCR or 8mm camcorder. The quality of these inexpensive capture devices have improved tremendously over the last few years. The image is quite good and they don't seem to have the audio sync issues of the past. I recommend reading the reviews. Firewire only works with Digital 8 camcorders and not VCRs (except for some rare JVC units and W-VHS).
I use this but you will probably need a TBC if you don't have one. It is sensitive to bad vhs.
https://www.amazon.com/Blackmagic-Design-Intensity-Pro-Editing/dp/B001CN9GEA/ref=sr_1_40?crid=2DAC69ZFXC9YW&keywords=blackmagic+capture&qid=1656202550&sprefix=blackmagic+capture%2Caps%2C141&sr=8-40
The device DMT3 suggests sounds good. you want S-VHS and component input as well as composite in worst case scenario. If this is your job I'd go out and buy a SVHS recorder, which will have S-VHS and possibly component output. The reason for the recorder and not just SVHS player is a technical reason which I've forgotten, but the recorder gives best playback
If you've never got SVHS requests and don't believe you'll ever get one, could check for VHS recorders with S-VHS or component output.
The most viable option for me is a set-top VHS-to-DVD recorder. You can also record 8mm through Composite, Component, or S-VHS depending on what's available. I've done all my old show reels that way, and even smart-upscaled to 720p in Vegas!
It's going to end up in 4:2:0 delivery format anyway, so you just as well hardware capture with the excellent MPEG-2 format. Another selling point is hardware noise reduction in these units, which makes a separate Neat render unnecessary. My set-top box is a Magnavox thanks to Goodwill, but you can still find the Panasonics at "inflated" prices. (Hint: avoid the online smurf guy at all costs. He's a scammer with but one intention). And no, if the tape playback does not roll or jump, you do not need a TBC.
Here's an example of original 480i from 2008 to 720p with this setup. YMMV
If you are looking for an S-VHS deck with a TBC, albeit an rudimentary one, the JVC HR-S9600 S-VHS VCR does an OK job with stabilizing bad tapes. If you are doing a lot of 8mm or Hi8 transfers you might want to find a Digital 8 camcorder since some have TBCs and offer dropout correction where they will try to fill in the missing bits of video from the particles that have fallen off. As mentioned, the VHS-DVD recorder is an excellent option. The hardest part for any of this equipment is scouring the used sources and finding a unit in perfect working order.
@Vdanny With SVHS recorders you buy quality and all the features you would expect including HiFi audio. But these dual DVD / VHS systems would be a mixed bunch, Need to ensure they playback the multiplexed Hifi audio.
If a dual DVD/VHS deck just says 'stereo' there's a high chance it only plays back the linear audio track, which is some of the worst audio on earth, The helical recorded multiplex audio is something like 20hz to 20khz, and if the customer's VHS was recorded in hifi audio he'd be pretty unimpressed if the digital copy I got back had the low quality VHS linear audio
Hi @Former user,
That is a good point that you need to make sure the dual deck supports HiFi audio on the VHS side. I went the JVC S-VHS route for the HiFi audio, TBC, and S-video connection.
Well in that case, I wish you both a speedy recovery! 🙃