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Digitization Handbook

Video Capture

Intro

In this part we will focus on the most common formats, 8 mm, Super 8mm, VHS, Video8, miniDV, miniCD, CD and DVD that can be found in home collections and in smaller CHI depos. Those formats don’t depend on expensive equipment. In recent years there are a lot of solutions that can be used for video capturing that don’t cost a lot like adapters and cables. In earlier years for this purpose it needed a video card which was expensive.

Like in the part about audio capture, multiple formats all have an appropriate device to play the recording:

  • 8 mm, Super 8 mm digitizer
  • VHS player or camera
  • Video8 player or video camera
  • miniDV player or camera
  • miniCD, CD and DVD is playable on computer DVD player

The main problem can be to find a functional video player or camera. Digitizer for 8 mm and Super 8 mm is a relatively new device that doesn’t cost a lot.

Use

For many of the mentioned players or cameras only RCA output is available, there are three outputs colored in Yellow (video signal), Red and White (audio stereo signal). Some newer models can have a HDMI (mini version) output.

If the video player or camera has an S-VHS output, it is recommended to be used instead of the RCA connection to transfer the video signal with better quality. For the same reason, it is recommended to use an S-VHS recorder also for digitizing standard VHS tapes, if one is available.

For RCA output there are available cable adapters to HDMI.

All HDMI input can be captured with HDMI to USB adapter.

Most CPU (computer processor) models have integrated graphics chips which can be used for video material editing, but if a budget allows, a dedicated graphic card is recommended for faster editing and rendering.

As mentioned in the Audio part, capturing the tape based video content is 1:1 time, and lasts the same as video.

Capturing the video with a FLOSS software we can recommend OBS (Open Broadcast Software). It is a simpler solution for recording and live streaming. The main use of this software is for live streaming and recording of tutorials using different sources (desktop screen, app window, game, camera…). It can be used also for video capturing from an HDMI adapter. Just select the Video capture device, define resolution, press record on OBS and play on player, sit and watch. Here is a short video tutorial how to use OBS for VHS recording on Windows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKkeIbV9fmo

The process

  • Prepare the material
  • On device (VHS player, Video8 and miniDV camera or player), check the output format (mostly RCA yellow, red and white or HDMI or mini HDMI) and plug the cables-adapter to HDMI
  • Plug the HDMI out to HDMI to USB adapter
  • On computer open a video capturing software and press Record or REC (red dot)
  • Play video from device
  • Record the file in mp4 format, following the video resolution. For VHS try 640x480 or 720x480, Video8 480x400, for miniDV regular is 720p.
  • MiniDV camera (or Digital8 camera) may be connected to the computer with a Firewire (or iLink) cable, so that the signal can be transferred directly digitally in the original format without loss.

Most common problems

  • Capturing video brings some regular problems with it.
  • Tape based video (VHS, Super8, miniDV) can be damaged or the tape in a cassette won’t move because of long standing.
  • During the playback picture can be flickering, have a white lines over the screen or in a part of the screen.
  • The quality may often be improved if the tape is rewinded back and forth a couple of times before it is digitized.

More information

More detailed information about the digitization of video recordings can be found, for example, in the Time Machine Organisation’s Video Digitization Pipeline document. It also contains information about video formats other than those described above, such as Betacam and Betamax. https://github.com/time-machine-project/requests-for-comments/blob/master/files/releases/RFC-0035/RFC-0035.md