manual recording (trying to transfer vhs)

[laixer]

What I'm planning to do to transfer VHS:

Press Record in SageTV, press play on the VCR and let it record the whole tape and then edit it later. (VCR is connected via coax to a tuner.)

That seems okay to me, but I was wondering if there are any other suggestions out there for doing this?

[davephan]

I tried recording the output of my VCR with SageTV to transfer VHS tape to MPEG2 files on the hard drive. I set up timed recordings, and edited the MPEG2 file with VideoReDo.

The difficult part for me was to try to get the audio level set correctly. There isn't an audio input 'meter' within SageTV. When I tried only going from the VCR line out to the PVR-350 line input, the recorded volume was too low. I had to hook up a per-amp between the VCR and PVR-350 to boost the level. I set the level by ear. I would rather have some sort of audio meter that I could use accurately set the level.

Dave

[MeInMaui]

For this particular application, I found it much easier to just use the WinTV software that comes with the pvr150. Though you can get it to work, SageTV isn't really designed for copying VHS tapes.

Aloha,
Mike

[BKeadle]

Hey Mike!
You mentioned you use(d) WinTV to convert your VHS tapes - that it's easier. Based on that suggestion I started down that road, and looks like it's doable. However, it's seems a bit klunky and I wonder if there's a better way. I effectively want to put the VHS tape in, set WinTV to record for as long as the movie is (so I don't have to babysit the recording process). There is a WinTV schedule recording, but it doesn't seem to work. I'm just wondering if you have some details about how you converted your VHS through WinTV.

Thanks.

[MitchSchaft]

Check out VirtualVCR or VirtualDub for VHS transfer.

[BKeadle]

Thanks, I will!

[BKeadle]

I spent most of the day trying to get either VirtualDub or VirtualVCR working with no success. I rarely could not get S-Video input to work.

I was able to see the video through SageTV (through the configured S-Video input). I guess I'll just have to try figuring out a Timed Recording method to do this. I can believe how difficult this has become just trying to record VHS! Sounds like a simple request, but...

Those other tools, I think, require too much knowledge about audio/video settings to get the video and audio to work correctly, together - if at all. So many dialogs, with so many technical settings. It seemed that often, during my trial-and-error attempts, it would do something to my capture card, requiring me to reboot. I never knew why I couldn't see S-Video input - whether my settings were incorrect, or the the capture card got hosed. After too many reboots, and only a couple successes of even*seeing* video (the audio was sporatically out of sync), I didn't even get to a point where I could even attempt to record.

I'd really like to be able to "Watch Live" the S-Video input, then choose to record, and specify the number of minutes to record (and perhaps even give it a name).

[graywolf]

You could also check into VHStoDVD. Been quite awhile but my wife used it to get some of her old VHS onto the computer.

Pretty simple/basic operation. Might be what you are looking for.
Not sure of the quality of the recordings, wasn't anything that I watched.

[BKeadle]

Thanks for your suggestion.

I have a DVD/VCR that will dub VHS to DVD (or DVD to VHS), but because I want it in my library, that's an additional few steps to get it in: dub to DVD, copy resulting DVD to library, convert DVD to .MPG (I don't want the DVD VIDEO_TS directory structures). Also, some of the VHS tapes are protected and wont dub.

I have a good working solution now, and have begun to transfer all my VHS. The summary of my process (for anyone else interested - and for my own reference when eventually I hose my computer and have to rebuild my solution ):

SETUP:
- added S-VIDEO as video input
- connected VHS to S-VIDEO input of my tuner card (Hauppage HVR-1600)
- connected RCA audio from VHS to audio input of tuner card
- added Manual Recording to SageMC main menu (via Dynamic Menus plugin)

VHS TRANSFER PROCESS:
- Watch Live TV chose S-VIDEO "channel" (or go to Guide, enter on S-VIDEO channel)
- hit play on VCR, get to starting point of VHS to start recording (skipping previews, etc. (further cleanup later) - then pause
- note number of minutes of movie on VHS box
- exit out of LiveTV back to main menu, select the Manual Recording menu item
- select S-VIDEO input, adjust start time to be 1 minute ahead of now, set end time to be number of minutes plus 10, and choose One Time recording option
- from main screen, wait (less than 1 minute) for the start time to pass, then hit play on the VCR
- walk away (;-)

The resulting MPG is in my Recordings folder. In that folder I have a script file, VHS.cmd which simply prompts me for a name, then renames the timed recording file to my specified name, then moves it to a VHS folder for further processing with VideoRedo (clean up the beginning and end). Finally I move the resulting VHS recording to my Media import directory structure.

I also manually enter the movie into DVDProfiler and add a tag called "VHS", and change the media type from DVD to a custom entry, VHS. This way I have an inventory in my DVD Profiler of all of my VHS - my end goal.


VHS.CMD:

@echo off
goto :BEGIN

	VHS - Move VHS Recording

:BEGIN
	setlocal ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION
	cd /d %~DP0
	if NOT exist ..\VHS md ..\VHS
	for /F "tokens=1,2,3 delims=-." %%A in ('dir *_*.mpg /od /b') do (
		dir %%A-%%B.%%C /n | find "%%A"
		echo.
		set /p VHS=Enter name for above video file: 
		ren %%A-%%B.%%C "!VHS!.mpg"
		move "!VHS!.mpg" ..\VHS
		if NOT exist %%A-%%B.%%C del %%A-%%B.* 
		)
pause

[hedly]

BKeadle,
Wow...that is really complicated. I did a bunch of VHS and used the S-Video output of the VHS player connected to my Hauppauge card. Then I prettty much did the same steps you did for the start and stop.
Once the recording was finished I merely renamed it to the movie name, then moved it to our movie directory on our NAS. I got the cover art online. The moviename.properties file was generated automatically.

The sound for the VHS seem to be higher than that of the DVDs I have copies onto our server.

[BKeadle]

Mine is complicated, your's isn't? Sounds like we're doing the same thing.

[graywolf]

My wife never used the dub or burn to dvd feature of VHStoDVD, it had the capability to store on disk (presumeably for future editing).

Your work around sounds like it works nicely.