you should do livestreams like this. I could watch you just going about a normal work day for hours.

@CA.papaBear

5 ай бұрын

While that seems like an awesome idea... that would be ill advised because restreaming copyrighted content without permission is illegal, that and the customers tapes might be sensitive to them even if it wasnt a protected work. Not trying to be a buzz kill, i just dont want this awesome youtuber to deal with any Content ID bs and have to stress over it. However... a commentary and just blanking out the screens with a sheet of paper may be a safe route, as it is considered transformative and it protects the privacy of the customer, even if the work isnt that serious or personal tape isnt that bad, its still a core principal to respect one's work and privacy. Thats just me though.

@user-ye1bg4ow8b

4 ай бұрын

T

@PenguTT44-ej1wz

4 ай бұрын

@@CA.papaBear there is definitely plugins that can blur a section of a stream like picking out tv screens, and he can wear a mic with noise reduction filters so you only hear him. It’s simple

What an awesome job/business! I know actually doing it is a lot of work and stress on it's own. But as a viewer and old media / data hoarding enthusiast, it's kinda relaxing.

I’m totally digging these vids, they’re so educational and yet so soothing lol. I hope your success continues to multiply as time unfolds. Keep crushing it!

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

Thanks! I’m overwhelmed with everyone watching! Makes it a lot of fun

@enid481

5 ай бұрын

@@EmeraldCoastDigitizing Glad you’re enjoying it. Can’t wait for the next video. By the way, do you have any plans on how you’re going to troubleshoot or fix the Elgato USB issue?

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

@@enid481 not sure yet.

I also convert videos to MP4. Hello from down under. I use a JVC video player that is PAL and NTSC, with a composite to HDMI adaptor and a HDMI capture card.

Oh I love this. I somewhat recently picked up a VCR with an HDMI output (which is definitely a massive oddity) and I've started digitizing my own tape collection with a capture card

@jonjohnson2844

5 ай бұрын

What model VCR is that?

You should work with component video, not composite. Also you need to work with TBC to avoid frame drops. Also, those VCRs are tended for home use, and you can get much more performance with pro equipment like a Panasonic G series. If you invest so much in that, do it like a pro.

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

noooo thanksss. id have to raise my prices 10 bucks and no-one would pay that. if there weren't companies out their driving the price down to $10 tapes.. I would change. my thing is as long its its clear.. sounds good. and the tape is recorded all the way though and no dead spots. everyone is very happy. its not about the inconsistencies. those are charming. everyone loves the vhs look. not all tapes need a tbc. but I love that you have notes and im happy to have help with that stuff when the time comes! speaking of tbcs.. I actually have something pretty cool in the mail I think you'll like!! stay tuned

@20035079

5 ай бұрын

@@EmeraldCoastDigitizing dvd recorders can function as tbcs and are a fraction of the cost... they're $50 online and $20 depending on where you look... you should really consider getting some for those tape decks

KZread put you in my recommended list! Definitely subscribed!

I thought about getting into this on the side but, after doing a lot of my own old tapes, I reckon managing customer expectations can be a huge pain. We've been used to high definition 1080p (and higher) for about 15 years now and squeaky clean 480p DVD for a decade before that...people forget how flaky VHS was, especially with tapes that had been recorded over a few times.

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

as long as your upfront with customers then its ok. but gotta be clear

You need to remove excessive time base errors before sending the signal into your digitizing software. You’re dealing with electro mechanical device with your VCRs. Some recordings your digitizers can handle the time base errors other can be outside the range they can handle. Suggest buy some second hand Panasonic AG-7750 or AG-8700 professional VHS VCR with built in time base correctors for those pesky tapes outside the range of your current equipment. The machines use to be very cheap on eBay and still probably are. I’m a broadcast engineer which back in the day had some experience with these machines which are edit VCRs and would be used in off line editing to generate EDL (Edit Decision Lists). The machines I have mentioned also have player only version with a TBC on board and formed part of an edit suite with edit controllers that Panasonic made. You mentioned editing was a pain if you had a secondhand edit system, editing is a breeze. Model number are a bit hazy but the 7000 series edit system comprised of an AG-7650 Player, AGA-750 edit controller and a AG-7750 edit deck. You can use either player or edit deck to do you transfer of tapes with excessive time base errors. Can not remember the 8000 series model combination which were later models to the 7000 series, I do recall the AG-8700 was the edit deck. All the models I mentioned had on board time base correctors. Bear in mind if the VHS tapes have for example physical edge damage where the control pulse track is even these machines will not correct for those errors.

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

I have a ag7750. Somewhere

Awesome setup. I have a few VHS tapes and sort of a setup but I would like to get one of those digitizing devices that doesn't need a PC and records straight to .mp4 files. Would love to see more videos of this maybe a shop tour if you have a video on it. Also what do you do about movie tapes that have protection on them? Does your setup either ignore it or you simply don't copy them?

Very interesting line of work.

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

its playing with vcrs all day haha

Don't the MacBooks have magnets in the base to detect when the lid is closed? I'm concerned about how you put VHS tapes on there; maybe the magnet could cause damage?

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

No damage ever caused. There are also magnets in screwdrivers. And they are not powerful enough. I’ll do a test and make a recording and put the film flat on the MacBook to see if it effects it.

@Darkk6969

5 ай бұрын

@@EmeraldCoastDigitizing Highly doubt those magnets would do anything to the tapes. I own an old Radio Shack's bulk tape easier and that thing puts out a strong field that if I put it near a metal plate it grabs it pretty good. It takes strong field to do anything to tapes.

Farce Of The Penguins is way more raunchy. I forget who is all in it. But it's pure pottymouth gold.

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

Hahha

You should try TPFE on one of your players heads. A lot of time when you get old, dry or moldy tapes they drag along the head and its the slowing of the rotation of the head that causes the intermediate tracking issues. Im sure a clogged head could do it too but anyway TPFE is a super high end teflon like lubricant and should help with intermediate tracking issues.

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

I do. I want that!

Great video! What software are you using to watch/record? Im trying to offer a local service in the UK with a much smaller setup, but you've demonstrated the exact setup i hope to have some day.

what software do you use to rip tapes?, ive had problems with obs

You have lots of Panasonic VCR. In your opinion, are they the best? Also, it might be good to disable the OSD, so you don't have the annoying PLAY/TRACKING lines in your capture. I do not have remotes for my VCR's to set it but I use my cell phone with an IR blaster for that.

Great job!! Could you tell me what hardware capturer do you use? And what software and codec do you use? Do you edit/ cut the parts of the video capture customer is not interested in ? Do you have any video about how is all the process ? Thanks !!

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

Sounds like a boring video to edit lol. Maybe someday. Can’t give away allllll my process in one year hahah

Subscribed! I would love to do this as a job, not a great demand for it in my cou try though.

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

Yes it’s a dying industry!

this must be a night mare vhs allready looked so bad and when you go digital it looks even worse.

Nice! -- QUESTION -- Can you convert Beta Max (it was a Sony thing) from the early 1980s?

this may look fun but it also has it's cons keep backing up the good tapes

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

You said it bruther

This seems fun

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

It is. But mostly annoying hahah

Hey, How often should I clean the heads on my VCR? Also, I really like that little silver tv next to the PVMs

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

I clean 4 or 5 a day most days. But sometimes I break open all the players and give them a good cleaning. The ones the laptops are sitting on get cleaned almost daily

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

I use that little tv for dvd tests lol

@Blackadder75

5 ай бұрын

@@EmeraldCoastDigitizing but you use them every working day for hours.. anybody using vhs at home in 2024 will use it only occasionally

@Horrordelic

5 ай бұрын

I only do when it is needed..

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

@@Blackadder75exactly right. Some of my players that I use for just watching movies. I rarely clean them. They don’t get as much dirty tapes.

Have you ever used Lightning Fast VCR repair?

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

Negative

What head cleaner do you use? I've been trying to find some of the good old stuff (nitrates) but I can't find it anywhere.

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

Poppers? Lol

Do a video on the big box company customer. Thanks

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

I will.

@speakeasyarchives8764

5 ай бұрын

That big box company is horrible. I'm redoing at least 1 a month from those companies. I too will have a video out.

That’s a sweet ass setup. Why all the Mac’s though?

@JessicaFEREM

5 ай бұрын

Macs are reliable.

@1993MAZDAMIATA

5 ай бұрын

@@JessicaFEREM fair. I was thinking about the cost though. I guess most of them are a couple years old so they have more value then a cheap 300 windows laptop

@Darkk6969

5 ай бұрын

Macs are designed for video and audio work.

Best VCR Panasonic PV.........Best Vaype XROS

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

Nice !

Dealing with damaged, dirty, or binding tapes??

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

4 ай бұрын

Lol. Always

you should consider getting some panasonic/funai/magnavox/sylvania/toshiba dvd recorders to act as low-cost tbcs

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

I have some

@20035079

5 ай бұрын

@@EmeraldCoastDigitizing you should be using them for the other remaining vcr's that don't have one attached, otherwise the picture tilts to the left with those elgato cards

Can you transfer Beta and 8mm sony ?

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

4 ай бұрын

8mm yes Beta max only. No other beta formats. I use elgato and a vcr or camera

quick question, why use a mac for every station, why not something cheaper like a raspberry pi?

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

I don’t know much about the pi. I just use old macs because they are cheap and fairly powerful.

@theonecommenter

5 ай бұрын

@@EmeraldCoastDigitizing Ay if it works it works, just figured I would ask, thanks

What model panosonics are those ?

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

Misc

@danielwilder7835

5 ай бұрын

@@EmeraldCoastDigitizing what’s the first one then, lol. I’m in the market for a Panasonic

hi im from poland why you dont use panasonic dmr players/recorders. this have a hdd vhs and dvd. your work will be more automatic and faster witchaut these macbooks. i have the panasonic DMR-EH80V this the best model i ever seen, yeah panasonic/technics is the best for audio weel sony jvc too :) greets

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

I don’t make DVDs usually. Usb drives. If I transfer to dvd first then i have to rip the dvd to get a mp4 file. Extra step. More generational loss etc. deinterlacing blah blah

I hope I'm not asking you to give away your secrets, but why do professional shops like yours use the Panasonic VCR with that blue stripe almost exclusively? I have a Sharp (also 4-head) that produces horrible images even after cleaning with multiple tapes and I'm ready to try another VCR, having ruled out the rest of the hardware.

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

4 ай бұрын

Whatever vcr gets you a good image go with. As long as it looks good to your eyes.. it’s good. No “pixel peeping” I just like the Panasonics because I’m used to them.

Do you also make an AI upscaling to 1080p ?

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

negative. doesn't look that good imho

Just wanted to note, careful with putting media on laptops like that. Many of them have very strong magnets to keep them closed, and of course in modern day doesn't matter, but with tapes and particularly smaller media 8mm, DV etc, it will ruin them. Same with many phones. You can test with a simple piece of any metal and run it along the laptop, you'll find them.

If only everyone used MII Format, in a VHS package for their recording needs. Interchangeable without modification. Insert Editing in ASSEMBLY MODE. You only make that grand mistake ONCE in your video editing career haha.

Why use multiple computers for a setup like this? Wouldn't it be more feasible to invest in a more powerful computer and use multiple capture cards on one?

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

Nope

@Darkk6969

5 ай бұрын

yeah but easier to walk to the player and it's connected to the right machine so no chance to mix up the tapes or videos.

@zixing467

5 ай бұрын

@@Darkk6969 a virtualized kvm switch for the dvrs would eliminate this problem simply if you labeled the machines with the correct labels on the the video software, think if it like CCTV but specialized for capture devices. I do believe this works better

why do all digitizing companys use the same panasonic vcrs??

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

Hahah. Good working plentiful

@ebaythedj

5 ай бұрын

@@EmeraldCoastDigitizing i own one because i needed a vcr and good to know

Any specific reason why all the players are Panasonic?

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

Easy to work on. Good quality for price.

@imsmart.

5 ай бұрын

@@EmeraldCoastDigitizing ah, nice Used to have one from a school's surplus and it lasted about 20 years, so quality is a given

Well I hope you are keeping the interlaced video look. There's nothing worse than a VHS transfer to a de-interlaced, filmic looking picture.

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

It’s just a elgato sd transfer.

@FunkyKong

5 ай бұрын

Not a chance, they're using the cheapest usb capture devices you can imagine and they deinterlace (poorly) to 30fps and encode to low bitrate h264 on the stick, since it's so old it predates USB3 and the bandwidth wasn't available Properly capping these you should have a smooth 60fps video and much higher bitrate than what you're getting here. It's doable for dirt cheap and basic education on the subject but "ha ha people just want quick and dirty that would cost more" is going to be the reply

so why the macs?

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

cheap powerful just works

@WhitfieldProductionsTV

5 ай бұрын

@@EmeraldCoastDigitizing cheap would be windows machines, macs are not cheap.

I tried to digitize about 400 tapes and the tracking was so far off on many that I couldn't get a decent playback. I would up just abandoning the project and threw out and returned the ones people wanted back At least the old 8mm and 16mm and Super 8 you could adjust the projection speed and get a good playback. With tapes the tracking is different from every camera or vcr and they are just a disaster. Many people don't realize that they were out of alignment because they recorded and played back on the same vcr. Some of the higher end vcrs Like the dual duplication decks had better tracking adjustments for the playback and the record decks. So I could get a little bit better adjustment but still most of them were just jumping everywhere. I thought it was just start the video capture software and press play. Boy was I wrong. It was constantly needing to be babysat every minute.

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

Send em too me! You know what to do!

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

no that I had a second to read everything. I wish I could've talked to you before you abandoned the job.. it's very easy to adjust tracking to match tape. just a few screws to open the player and a flathead screwdriver to Make adjustments. I think I have a few videos where I do this.

so this guys the reason VCRs cost an arm and leg on ebay now he buying them all (joking)

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

I’m pretty sure I’m not helping

@TeardownReuse

5 ай бұрын

aha maybe maybe i'm in the UK anyway so everything is more expense / less people / less quantity of anything here@@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

can i please have some used tapes

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

Used tapes?

@Blackadder75

5 ай бұрын

@@EmeraldCoastDigitizing I guess he means customer tapes that are digitized and that the customer doesn't want back after confirming that the footage is safe on computer file now. but obviously you can't sell those or give them away for privacy reasons

@wang_.

5 ай бұрын

@@EmeraldCoastDigitizing yes, after you digitized them of course

@wang_.

5 ай бұрын

@@Blackadder75 do they blank the tapes after they digitize it? im really only asking cause i need some media to shoot on

sorry to keep mail you i don't have a fee for editing work i only do raw video to dig and i check tapes like you if i have to edit i do it for fee if i have a spare computer i have a fast AMD 4 so i don't mind like you alot have slow as hell computers they do my head in it's getting hard to find good vhs decks in the uk now i get offered pro deck all the time

@EmeraldCoastDigitizing

5 ай бұрын

I’ve got a m1 MacBook I do all my editing on. I don’t give away free services usually. But having to go through and sit with the customer to clip up a bunch of tapes and the render and export and all that take time and takes me away from current projects.