capturing analog video

[seniornewbie]

hello, after years of procrastination I am finally and currently digitizing old 8mm video tapes and old vcr tapes using an elgato "video video capture" device. (by the way, not interested in sending the tapes to a transfer house) If i want to divide the finsihed product into different parts what is the best way of doing that without losing the already mediocre standard definition quality. Is it better to edit it  through PP and then export or is there any software recomendations that will cut the clip in parts without reencdoing which i assume would degrade the quality even more? Thanks for any suggestions

[Andy 1968]

I want to see someone's method from start to finish. I want to see the hardware and sofware in action. I want to see the VHS video dropped into a 1080 sequence and upsacled by 80% for social media. 

[seniornewbie]

thanks

[Ann Bens]

The Elgato Video Capture device yields 640-by-480 progressive H264 at 29.97 fps.  Video Enhance AI will likely improve the picture quality a little bit.

There's a free trail of Topaz Labs Video Enhance AI.

• Video Enhance AI
  https://www.topazlabs.com/video-enhance-ai
• Video Enhance AI Frequently Asked Questions
  https://support.topazlabs.com/article/85-video-enhance-ai-frequently-asked-questions

The host system must meet the system requirements and it's very important to know that high-quality upconversion, even with H264 source, is very, very slow.

By @Warren Heaton

Topaz is amazing. Using it at present to upscale DV to 720p.

Unfortunately the software is somewhat buggy.  Crashes often on render errors.

Wont be fixed until v 2.7.0 coming spring.

[Christian.Z]

Check the bitrate of the digitized files, try to be a tad higher on the export settings

[Andy 1968]

Can you post your results? Perhaps your method will be better then mine. I do like the fact that Premiere Pro can make use of the Firewire DV converts. I find that helpful but others may not. 

[Jeff Bellune]

I used Topaz's Dione Interlaced TV Model to take raw 720x480 DV footage of a rec league soccer game and turn it into 1920x1080 HD 60 fps footage. The 60 fps footage has the soap opera effect, but that is what I want from sports/activity video. Here are two screenshots. The original is scaled up in Quicktime Player to match the frame size of the HD converted video.

The upconversion process (including doubling the frame rate) ran between 0.13 sec/frame and 0.21 sec/frame on my MacBook Pro.

[Stan Jones]

Jeff, that is an option in the Video Enhance AI product? (About $150 currently?)

Impressive.

Stan

[Jeff Bellune]

---

@Stan Jones wrote:

Jeff, that is an option in the Video Enhance AI product? (About $150 currently?)

Impressive.

Stan

---

Correct. All done in the Video Enhance AI product. It's still available at that price as of this AM, even though the site says the sale only goes on through 31 December.

I think my reaction when I saw the output video was, "Whoa." Very impressive indeed!

[Jeff Bellune]

My setup and workflow to get the above results are:

8mm analog or MiniDV:

• Digital 8 camcorder/MiniDV camcorder ---> Apple Firewire-to-Thunderbolt 2 adapter ---> Apple TB2-to-TB3 adapter ---> MacBook Pro TB3 port

VHS: 

• VHS tape deck ---> Sony DVMC-DA2 via RCA cables ---> Apple Firewire-to-Thunderbolt 2 adapter ---> Apple TB2-to-TB3 adapter ---> MacBook Pro TB3 port

Capture software (Pluses and minuses of each available on request):

• Final Cut Pro X
• Lifeflix DV Importer & Editor
• Quicktime Player. 

Captured video format on disk: DVCPRO wrapped in a Quicktime MOV file. Final Cut and Premiere Pro happily ingest these files for editing.

[Jeff Bellune]

And some VHS frame grabs from a cable broadcast recorded on a crappy VHS recorder connected via RCA cables between the cable box and the video recorder. Using crappy tape and letting 20 or so years pass before capturing the recorded video.

[Warren Heaton]

Here's a +1 for Topaz Labs Video Enhance AI.

Topaz Labs Video Enhance AI version 2.4.0 up-converting BBC on-air promo spot captured from Promax BDA 2001 Maimi Beach Awards show distributed to members on VHS via Elgato Video Capture (640-by-480 H264 MP4), source on left scaled to 400% on left with Artemis High Quality 400% on the right.

This was captured using the same device as @seniornewbie.

While Detail-preserving Upscale in After Effects is very good at doing a 200% upconversion for SD to HD or HD to UHD, it's not as good as Video Enhance AI nor does it offer DeNoise and DeBlocking.

[Jeff Bellune]

For progressive footage like the Elegato output, the Proteus model in VEAI is supposed to be a really special sauce. I haven't tested it yet.

[Andy 1968]

Jeff,

Thanks for posting but I would like to see the video files not a still image. I am not saying you used Photoshop or Afinity Photo to enhance the still images but a person could do that. Use a 1080 sequence and zoom out 80%. I want to see how the motion looks. 

Keep in  mind you are using a Mini DV camcorder that will yield the same results as a Firewire DV converter. That being said I think your Sony DVMC-DA2 is a DV converter. I have always states Firewire devices are the easiest option for VHS capture when using Premiere Pro since no drivers are needed. 

Why not just post the following. 

"I agree with Andy the Firewire devices are probably the easiest to use when using Premiere Pro."

There are reasons why I don't recommend the cheap USB capture cards or the Blackmagic Design Products. That being said the Blackmagic Desing products will work if your VCR has a built in TBC. 

[Jeff Bellune]

Andy,

No video will be posted. I may or may not be able to post it here, and even if I can, the compression required would distort whatever useful information you want out of it. I refuse to use YouTube for a number of reasons, but compression issues exist there, too. The screenshots I posted are from a DV .mov original file and a ProRes 422 .mov converted file. No retouching of the screenshots except to blur out identifiable faces and add the text overlay in SnagIt.

I use FireWire for DV capture, but on a Mac it's more complex than on a PC. As you have noted there are other capture solutions out there. I can only say what I use and why. I certainly can't  claim that my solution is the best or easiest one for everyone. I'm very fond of the YMMV disclaimer 😀

NB: Premiere Pro on a Mac will not capture via FireWire. That capability has been phased out. 

[Andy 1968]

Jeff, 

I thank you for your time. That being said the video I posted has samples near the end and would also have the compression. from YouTube applied. I think the quality of my video is decent but I simply used Premiere Pro from start to finish making it a supper easy process. The original poster was looking for a solution that would work with Premiere Pro. I will still recommend Firewire devices because I know on the Mac side iMovie can still capture VHS tapes using Firewire devices. I tested my Firewire DV converter on the new M1 iMac using iMovie. I admit you need to use another NLE but you can import the clips from iMovie into Premiere Pro. Is that any better than using the Elgato software and importing the clips it into Premiere Pro? I myself trust the Firewire devices more than the cheap USB capture cards. 

Thanks for the info and I think the discussion was helpful. Moving forward I will still still recommend the Firewire devices but I will let Apple users now they will have to use FCPX or iMovie in order to capture the VHS tapes and import them into Premiere Pro. As you can tell from the video the M1 chip and OS X can still make use of firewire devices. Not sure why Adobe dropped support for Firewire on the Mac side. I imagine Firewire based audio device do not work using Premiere Pro on Apple computers. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHWHE3ilBbU

[Andy 1968]

Warren

Can you post a video clip? Keep in mind your image is not really a good image to use. I want to see if people's hair looks like hair or rabbit fur when you zoom in. You can only zoom in so much before the individual hair follicles look like fur. I also want to see if the motion is fluid. 

[Warren Heaton]

Topaz Labs free trial:

https://topazlabs.com/downloads/

[Andy 1968]

I did not ask for a link to Topaz Labs. 

I asked very kindly for a sample video clip so you could demonstrate the end results of your VHS transfer method since you stated I used the Blackmagic Design Intensity Shuttle incorrectly. If you think I am doing things incorrectly please show me the correct way. For the record the folks at Blackmagic Design have seen several of my videos. They never once stated I was using the Intensity Shuttle incorrectly. Keep in mind if you have time to post on this thread then you have time to post a few sample video clips of your VHS transferring method. It should only take 10 minutes not 10 hours.  

[Stan Jones]

I started a new thread in the Lounge asking about some particular issues re Topaz:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/video-lounge-discussions/topaz-video-enhance-ai/td-p/12636075

Stan