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Introduction to video capture

Given the fact that VHS as a medium has a very limited life span and is degenerative in nature, if you want to save those tapes you need to make a digital copy as soon as possible. That way, if you ever need to back it up again you can do so without losing quality. There are still many 1000s of films that have never made the transition from VHS to DVD, so if you have one of those tapes and want to preserve it, you'll need to 'rip' it from tape to PC.

Here I'll give you some tips to help get you started and links to resources far beyond the scope of this little page. Please don't take stuff written here as the only way to do it. Video capture is a changing field full of many different techniques and methodologies. I consider myself still very amateur, but will impart some of the tips and tricks I've learnt.

The scope of this small guide is PAL (UK) format video captured in MPEG 2 (DVD) format. The tips will be applicable to NTSC (USA) in slightly different ways. A lot of this guide can be expanded on by visiting the outstanding DigitalFAQ site - where I Iearnt a lot of the stuff I know now.

Getting started - Equipment and software for easy video capture to PC

Firstly - be prepared to shell out for quality items. The easiest way is to just purchase a DVD Recorder - this is fine but can be limiting as it locks you into certain quality settings and formats. The results can often look a lot less impressive than using dedicated PC capture equipment - but that can be improved with post processing.

Personally I use an ATI All-In-Wonder card, as that gives access to the wonderful ATI capture software - which for a beginner is easy, intuitive, customisable and reliable. Get the best VHS player you can - preferably one with the ability to output via S-Video for a higher quality picture than the standard composite video out.

*Note* Most VCRs do not support S-Video output - don't be fooled into buying a Scart to S-Video lead as this won't necessarily work if the VCR can't be set to output the correct signal. When you purchase a VCR, be sure to check the specs.

To TBC or not to TBC - The importance of Time Based Correction

If you are planning on 'ripping' old and battered tapes, then this will be an essential piece of your kit (and potentially the most expensive.) Basically, if the video signal from the tape is weak, this amplifies it and rebuilds the whole frame. It can be the difference between a good and an impossible capture. Older tapes will drop frames - a Time Based Correction unit will fix it. You can see more information on TBC units here: DigitalFAQ.COM. I followed the advice there and plumped for a a Datavideo TBC1000. Before I had it I had some old tapes which would drop 30 frames in a few minutes. With it there were no dropped frames.

Your computer - Is It up to the job of video capture?

If your PC is a fairly new then its should be fine. If you just want to convert your old VHS to DVD then it is easiest to capture in MPEG 2 format (MPEG is the format of the data on all video DVDs.) A recommended PC specification for full frame 720x576 PAL resolution MPEG2 is approximately 1.5GHZ processor and 512MB Ram - your capture hardware will add to the suitability of your PC.

There are other things you can do to optimize your PC for video capture. Its fair to say that video capture is fairly demanding on your PC, so the more you can optimize it the better it will perform. Your hard discs will pay a big part in the process, so the faster the better. Its also worth purchasing and installing a second drive to use specifically to capture to. If you're PC is at the lower end of the spec then it will be a big performance boost as the heavy data rate of video capture will not be fighting with the system programme processes. This is not as daunting as it sounds - a simple guide to adding a second drive is here.

Likewise, more memory is an added bonus - The more the merrier. Mine works fine with 512mb of memory and a nice 7200RPM IDE Seagate Drive as the capture drive. Don't expect to be surfing the net and playing games as you capture - you should turn off as much background stuff as possible to give your PC over to capturing - this is especially important if you run any real time filters as you capture.

Sounds great? Don't forget your soundcard

Its easy to overlook your soundcard, but this plays an important part in the capture process. Generally you will route the video through the capture card. The capture card will usually pass the sound back out again and into the sound card - so a good quality sound card will ensure good quality sound recording. I use the Creative Audigy 2 ZS - which can be picked up for around £60 - and adds Firewire connectivity to your PC for digital capture if you don't already have it.

Its fair to say that the sound on VHS can be grubby and dull at the best of times, so you may want to pre-process the audio by running it through a stereo amp. Pretty much any old audio amp will do the job. Run the audio from the PC into the amp and pass it through to the capture card/sound card - just fiddle with the audio in settings until you get a sound you are happy with.

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