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Topic: Linux: VHS to MKV 2018 (Read 3884 times) previous topic - next topic
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Linux: VHS to MKV 2018

last week i found some old vhs tapes from my childhood and now i would like to convert them to mkvs with as little loss as possible (pal mpeg2 video + ac3?).

i am aware this has been covered a hundred times before, but either its focus is not on linux or the tutorials are very out-of-date. so, it would be great receiving some useful tips on this matter here.

it is basically these steps that i need some further advice:

+ hardware
+ software for capturing, (restauration?), cutting, conversion to mkv

when it comes to hardware, this one has been suggested quite often in the past: easycap 001 with STK1160 chipset & ac'97 audio (48000 Hz samplerate)

there seems to be a successor, the ezcap116 dc60+, but i am not sure about the linux kernel support? which (other) device can you recommend?

for capturing, i read that vlc is a good choice and for cutting is avidemux and handbrake for conversion.

i am sure you experts know better than me, really looking forward to your workflow :)

Re: Linux: VHS to MKV 2018

Reply #1
I think you will get much better support for these tkind of things over at doom9 forum.

EDIT: for quick reference, do yourself a favor and either buy capture card that can capture into DV format and has analogue input, or borrow someone's Digital 8 camera, they usually had A/V inputs and DV output/passthrough, and get DV input card, they are few bucks. Capture into DV, it's robust as work format and was used for editing, has around 13 GB for an hour, and take care to deinterlace video when finalizing, as it will be interlaced.
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Re: Linux: VHS to MKV 2018

Reply #2
It's VHS. There was never much there to begin with. The playback machine will have a much bigger impact than the hardware/software you use to capture.
The machine should have a digital time base corrector (TBC) and S-video output. I use a JVC HR-S9911U into a Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 tuner card.
The Win TV software from Hauppauge using the S-video input does the conversion to MPEG.

The best you'll manage is to equal my rig. The VHS deck in 2004 was $400, the Hauppauge was less than $100. It all runs on Win 7 64 bit. For simple cutting
VideoReDo will do fine. Beyond that use what you prefer.

Good luck


Re: Linux: VHS to MKV 2018

Reply #3
Terratec Crabby worked well on Windows.
Maybe it works on Linux as well -   https://linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/TerraTec_Grabby (if not directly under Linux then maybe on W10Preview install in Virtualbox or under Wine?)

 

Re: Linux: VHS to MKV 2018

Reply #4
thank you all for your tips so far.

@itisljar: dv format is a good point, i will read into it further and try get my hands on an external solution (for my notebook) if it is not too expensive. can you recommend a decent device so i can check for its linux compatibility?

@glenn: i already own an old s-video-output player, but i am not sure about tbc? need to find the manual ;)

besides, i am not after the perfect result (so perhaps dv is overkill?). it is only a few cassettes - making the best out of my setup is what i am looking after.

regarding linux software, is there tools you made positive experience with (recording + format, cutting, putting all into mkv)?

this is not about going into details, but giving a rough worklow like the one i used to describe would help me a lot :)