Need help transferring from VHS VCR to PC/DVD

Paul33

Standard Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2007
Messages
31
Reaction score
1
Points
16
I'm trying to convert some old VHS family videos on to PC for editing in Corel VideoStudio and producing DVDs.

I have a decent VCR player (Sharp VC-MH815) which handles VHS-S videos.

I am connecting from the SCART on the VCR through an EZCAP USB2 Video Capture widget (bought from Amazon) and I was okay using the standard red/white/yellow (composite ?) cables on the SCART adapter but I wanted the best quality possible ...... and that's where my problems are !

I have purchased (for £20+) a decent quality SCART adapter that has the red and white phono type connections but also has an s-video output. I have connected the s-video output (male) into the s-video input (female) on the EZCAP widget and I have a picture on the PC "capture" screen but its in black and white only (it also looks as though it has a lot of interference on it) !

All the settings on the PC software show PAL rather than NTSC so it doesn't appear to be that. It also shows s-video as the source but still black and white only.

The actual VHS tape I'm trying to copy is not a VHS-S tape but I'm assuming that shouldn't cause the issue.

What am I doing wrong and can anybody help here as its doing my head in !!!
 
EZCAP has very mixed reviews. Can you find someone with a VCR to DVD recorder . Something like the Panasonic DMR-EZ49vEBK. (Too expensive I know - Just quoting it as an example) There are a number on the market.
 
Looking at the user manual for your Sharp VCR it is not an S-VHS player, it just has a psudo S-VHS playback feature - http://www.tradenet.sharp.co.uk/files/Consumer_Electronics/VCR/VCMH815/VCMH81519.pdf
page 34:
SPECIFICATIONS
Format: VHS PAL standard
and on page 21:
Your VCR is S-VHS playback only, it will not record S-VHS.
so although it can play an S-VHS recording it will only have composite output and not S-Video, which is why playback is in black & white.

Mark.
 
Finding a lot of people saying that the picture via quality composite connections to PC are often as good if not better than via the s-video connection so I think I'm going to trade my SCART S-VIDEO adapter for a decent SCART COMPOSITE adapter and settle for that !
 
Paul, whereabouts are you? If not too far away you could borrow my panasonic vhs/dvd recorder if you like.
 
Finding a lot of people saying that the picture via quality composite connections to PC are often as good if not better than via the s-video connection so I think I'm going to trade my SCART S-VIDEO adapter for a decent SCART COMPOSITE adapter and settle for that !

Unless you are using S-VHS recordings the quality loss associated with composite (combined luminance and chrominance) has already happened. Seperating the two for S-Video isn't going to make much difference if any. Basically unless your source records luminance and chrominance separately (S-VHS, Hi-8 etc) the quality loss associated with crosstalk between the two takes place when recording so you can't get it back. Doesn't your existing adaptor outputs CVBS via a yellow socket anyway. If so changing it won't make any difference.
 
Last edited:
S-Video has the potential to be a fair bit better than composite, but a lot depends on the equipment used. As your VCR is not an S-VHS deck then I think the option of going back to composite is your best bet.

Mark.
 
Mark - it is a VHS-S VCR according to spec/manual
Not according to the manual I linked to - or is it a different VCR?
The specs I posted from the manual I linked to clearly state that the Sharp VC-MH815 is a VHS and not S-VHS VCR, although as I stated it can replay S-VHS recordings.

Mark.
 
Your expertise is greater than mine - I know it plays S-VHS because I bought it to play them after my previous VCR failed to do so. I guess that's why I'm not getting decent output via s-video or has that nothing to do with it ?
 
If as I suspect your VCR is a VHS model then it wont have S-Video output as a dedicated port or via scart. So connecting a scart to S-Video adapter to it will give a B&W picture as the scart is not delivering the chrominance signal and is ignoring it on the luminance pin.

If you look at the front panel of the VCR is the badge showing S-VHS or just VHS - the badge is on the bottom right hand side of the VCR in the picture on the front page of the manual I linked to.

Mark.
 
S-VHS & VHS actually both record chrominance and luminance separately, but S-VHS uses a higher frequency.

A number of players had the ability to decode S-VHS, as the circuitry was quite simple, but the S-VHS port was not normally added, as this was more complex.

S-Video was not supported by the original Scart spec, so it is squeezed into the connector by sending the luminance down the composite video pin, hence why you see only a back and white image.

Run with the composite, it will be fine!
 
Many thanks for your help folks - learnt a lot from you all !
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is Home Theater DEAD in 2024?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom