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Best settings for VHS capture

A friend has given me the VHS camera tapes of his wedding and asked if I can "do something with them".


I have my (JVC) VHS deck connected to an old Sony Digital 8 camcorder which I use to pass through the analogue signal so I can capture it via firewire.

The D8 (Sony DCR-TRV240E) also does a nice job in cleaning up the signal. I've had a VHS tape that was unwatchable until I passed it through the D8.


I'll be using FCP7 to capture the video and generally I just use "DV-PAL kHz 48" (I'm in a PAL country) from the "Easy Setup" options as it's the one I've always used. Results have always been fine.


It's been suggested to me that "DV-PAL kHz 48" is "lossy". Not that I've ever noticed it.


As it's a friends wedding video and I only want to do this once, would another capture setting - technically - give better results? Even with VHS.


Thoughts and suggestions most welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Mac mini, Mac OS X (10.7), Netcomm NB6PLus4w Modem

Posted on Mar 19, 2013 2:28 PM

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4 replies

Mar 19, 2013 2:48 PM in response to phase52010

If you are connected via Firewire, that is your only option...DV PAL. Your BEST bet would be to run it through a TBC and capture via a higher end card like the AJA LHi....capture as ProRes PAL or DV50 PAL. But, seeing as you only have that camera..DV is your better bet. DV was a superior format to VHS anyway...so you are going up in quality. But you are starting out low in quality, and anything you do to capture this footage will be compressing it.


There is no other capture setting that will work with your current setup.

Mar 19, 2013 3:38 PM in response to Shane Ross

Thanks for the feedback Shane.


It all comes down to money and what you can afford in the end, doesn't it? I'm limited to what I have.


I do have a Canopus ADVC110, but I've found the D8 actually does a better job. "I've had a VHS tape that was unwatchable until I passed it through the D8.". I tried passing that tape through the ADVC110 and it kept dropping out. I also have an old TBC card in an Amiga 2000 (that still works) but it's all analogue.


I realise DV is better quality than VHS, I just don't understand why some people claim it's "lossy".

Which is why I thought I'd ask about it.


So none of these other options is better, or would work?


User uploaded file


Again, thanks for taking the time to answer.

Best settings for VHS capture

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