[Solved] Dubbing VHS to DVD - should you buy an S-VHS VCR to improve the quality?

Hello. I have about 25 VHS tapes to copy to DVD. I want to accomplish this task by connecting the VCR to a Panasonic DMR-EX645EPK fixed hard disk DVD recorder and then ripping the recordings from the disk to DVDs. I chose this method because I will pay less than giving cassettes to professionals for about PLN 20 / cassette. I know that the quality of the recorded material depends to a large extent on the image and sound that comes out of the VCR. I intend to buy a used S-VHS VCR for about PLN 200-300 in order to play cassettes. In this context, I wonder:

Will the VHS cassette (only those I have to play) in the S-VHS VCR will be played (and therefore also lost) with better image and sound recording quality than in a 6-head VHS VCR and is it worth investing in order to copy VHS cassettes to DVD PLN 300 in a used S-VHS VCR?

I would like to add that the DVD recorder to which I want to connect the video recorder has only an IN SCART (Euro) input. On the other hand, in S-VHS VCRs, great picture and sound are probably sent via the S-VHS output, so I probably won't connect it to the recorder. Unless only with the Euro-Euro cable. Do I have a chance to lose cassettes in good sound and image quality then? I am asking for advice.

Find out about the price? For me, the cost of one VHS 180 min cassette is PLN 15, and for more, PLN 12. At the same time, you don't care about the DVD, the next cost. Prices have dropped because almost no one has it anymore. Connection is no problem, there are adapters. Next cost. The pro dubbing is on good hardware and the ripping is to your computer and you have a DVD in a holder. I used to play with it on the computer from the camera with which I was recording, but a tragedy and I gave everything to the guy to lose.

griseg wrote:

For me, the cost of one VHS 180min cassette is PLN 15

Buddy, not so cheap everywhere. A friend lost 3 years ago and paid PLN 20 for every half hour of material, in addition they lost one cassette badly by making black and white material because they could not change in the capturing program to make it in color. In addition, they did not want to convert the video to a newer format, so that 1 DVD 4.7 was barely enough for 1 hour of recording. On the other hand, you can forget about overprints on plates or nice boxes.

I have to lose a few cassettes myself, you will need to get some good TV card for the computer or a graber to capture the picture. I gave my friend cassettes, who has both a DVD recorder (one with a disc for TV) and a VCR, but he is immense and cannot do it.
The S-VHS VCR theoretically supports higher image resolutions, but the higher resolution must be recorded on the cassette and if you have ordinary cassettes, I do not see any point in investing in used equipment, which due to its age will require repair or maintenance.

Friend, it's best to rip on a PC where you can turn on various enhancers in the image capture program and convert the material itself to a more convenient format.

E8600 wrote:

A friend lost 3 years ago and paid 20 zlotys

It was years ago. Check now.

I have the impression that it is better to entrust the loss of tapes to a specialist than to play alone, especially if you have to buy equipment for it. Buying a used VCR is a lottery. I bought four before I found a working one. For regular VHS cassettes, it is best to buy a regular VHS VCR. If the cassettes were not recorded on a VCR / S-VHS camcorder, there is no point in buying such a VCR. If anything, the best solution would be to connect such a VCR to the computer using a grabber and download it to the computer. You can also do some processing.

agraba wrote:

If the cassettes were not recorded on a VCR / S-VHS camcorder, there is no point in buying such a VCR

Absolutely correct statement.

agraba wrote:

If anything, the best solution would be to connect such a VCR to the computer using a grabber and download it to the computer.

This is fine, but not the best solution that can be used at home.

In my opinion, the best solution in home conditions is to use a digital camera that has a built-in hardware analog-to-digital conversion.
I assume that you must have such a camera or be able to borrow it.
Contrary to appearances, many popular digital cameras have this option.

Connection diagram in this case:

VCR analog output -> camera analog input - FireWire output -> computer - FireWire input + video capture program.

Personally, I have converted over a dozen VHS and Video8 tapes this way.
It turned out very neatly.

In section Multimedia -> Movie - there are a lot of topics about transferring the content of cassettes to DVD, or generally converting to digital form.

I used to play some sort of ripping with a tv card to a computer VHS material - drama in general. The drama program, the drama card, the recorded material is even worse. A lot of time is lost and a total waste of time. I bought a good Sony vhs video recorder, a Sony hard disk recorder and that's it. Nice nice and no problem. Any connection cliche. The video quality is quite passable and hardly differs from the original. Of course, it all depends on the quality of the cassette and the recorded material. As for the price of the recording - the price of PLN 15-20 for a 4-hour vhs cassette is a ridiculous price. I believe that you should pay a lot, much more for such a service. I ignore the price of the equipment, depreciation, energy and time lost, let's remember one thing - MEMORIES ARE PRICELESS.

Polon_us wrote:

VCR analog output -> camera analog input - FireWire output -> computer - FireWire input + video capture program.

Wow great idea. I have to try.

The content of the tapes that I am going to copy to DVDs are mainly old football games that I will probably only watch once in my life. Therefore, I do not want to hand over the cassettes to professionals, because the price of PLN 20 for a quality improvement cassette per screening is an exaggeration.

griseg wrote:

For me, the cost of one VHS 180 min cassette is PLN 15, and for more, PLN 12.

This price applies to 95% of "on-the-fly" dubbing on a high-quality VCR, but without improving the quality of the ripped material. I know because some time ago I called 2 companies offering such services. With image and sound correction you have to pay at least PLN 20 for the cassette.

Using a computer to play VHS involves editing the material after which I will know every part of the match, so it would not be interesting to watch it after editing.
Another thing is that you need to additionally invest in a camera or TV card. I do not mention the grabber because I have read many reviews that using it is annoying and gives poor results. Of course, you also need to know about editing, correcting the captured material, assuming that you are using software for which you do not have to pay.

jacek0503 wrote:

Of course, it all depends on the quality of the cassette and the recorded material.

I absolutely agree with that. I have recordings from 2004 made on Maxell cassettes from the supermarket. After 10 years, the recordings are very blurry and on my dual-head VCR with 2 knobs (tracking, sharpness) it is impossible to adjust this sharpness. Not to mention the sensibility of copying them to DVD. And recordings on brand cassettes that are 5-7 years older look much better.

The S-VHS VCR can be sensibly used to play S-VHS cassettes (better resolution than VHS), while for VHS cassettes such a VCR by definition will not improve the quality of the recording.