Hello everyone on Mbin, Lemmy and other parts of the Fediverse!

I have some family moments, (vacations, Christmases, birthdays, …) on VHS tape. I want to convert them in into modern, digital video files. I tried doing it with a GBS-C, but being French, those VHS are in SECAM, and neither GBS-Cs nor OSSC support thore formats. (At first it looked like I would only have the sound, but it ultimately killed my GBS-C.)

So, what do YOU use to preserve your old family memories in the modern, digital world? And does it support SECAM?

Thanks to all of those that can and will help me.

#VHS #SECAM #tape #SECAMtapes #SaveOldMemories #digitizingOldTapes

  • fakeman_pretendname@feddit.uk
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    6 days ago

    The MiniDV camcorder was being used basically for its Firewire output (ignoring the actual tape deck), but I don’t think Firewire tended to be used for output on any VHS kit.

    I can’t confirm the linked one off Amazon definitely works, but it’s that type of device I used with Linux, just a ten year old one. I think I ended up running it through VLC to capture, or possibly I’d found a small dedicated program for it. I’d likely use OBS, if I was doing it again.

    I don’t know why it killed your previous device - that looks a lot more well made than the shoddy little wire thing I was using!

    • BigouOP
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      6 days ago

      Because it didn’t agree with SECAM. I didn’t know it back then, but the GBS-C only support PAL and NTSC, there is absolutely no SECAM support in it. Same goes for the OSSC.

      That said, I saw that the successor to a tuner card I used to have was apparently made again. (Said successor being the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-5525, to be precise.) It does have a capture function, especially since I still have the I/O extension from my previous tuner, (the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2200) which is compatible with this newer model too. Might go that route instead, as it would also let me watch TV and listen to FM radio again.

      I had already captured one VHS with the old card, but not only did I lose most of the capture since, and my old tuner also died. (Not that it’s very surprising, as it was the oldest part still present in my PC even back at the time of its demise. It is missed, but lived a plentiful life.) Plus, I since migrated to Linux, and this new model is better supported than the old one on said OS.

      • fakeman_pretendname@feddit.uk
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        6 days ago

        The TV card looks promising - I’ve never tried one myself - do let us know what you end up with, and how well it works - it’s good to know about other options :)