Correct settings for capturing VHS (Mac) - OBS not showing base resolution options for NTSC - PAL

[Slaughter]

Helpfully, Black Magic have effectively junked their previously wonderfully useful Black Magic Intensity Shuttle device by refusing to provide drivers for compatibility for Mac OS past Mojave. Equivalent quality devices are now ridiculously costly.

So I've been trying to set up an alternate Mac device, running the same iteration of Mojave and OBS for VHS capture, thus (hopefully) not wasting my existing device and requiring an outlay of $$$.

I've got it running, but oddly, OBS will not show correct output resolution options for NTSC (*or* PAL). See attached screenshots. What on earth is going on here?
I've also shown screenshots of the rest of my settings FYI.

Confoundingly, capture seems beset by slightly jittery, occasional frame loss. The machine I am using is only a few years old and can handle 4k video editing easily, so I am at a loss as to why capture of a VHS signal is not perfectly smooth. Any ideas? I only run one capture profile at a time (so there are no concurrently running capture processes).

It's OBS 25.7, the same version I had running originally without concerns (ie output resolution settings were correct for all VHS output) so the version should be absolutely fine.

Any help with this would be appreciated.

 

[XLCOLDJ]

Helpfully, Black Magic have effectively junked their previously wonderfully useful Black Magic Intensity Shuttle device by refusing to provide drivers for compatibility for Mac OS past Mojave. Equivalent quality devices are now ridiculously costly.

So I've been trying to set up an alternate Mac device, running the same iteration of Mojave and OBS for VHS capture, thus (hopefully) not wasting my existing device and requiring an outlay of $$$.

I've got it running, but oddly, OBS will not show correct output resolution options for NTSC (*or* PAL). See attached screenshots. What on earth is going on here?
I've also shown screenshots of the rest of my settings FYI.

Confoundingly, capture seems beset by slightly jittery, occasional frame loss. The machine I am using is only a few years old and can handle 4k video editing easily, so I am at a loss as to why capture of a VHS signal is not perfectly smooth. Any ideas? I only run one capture profile at a time (so there are no concurrently running capture processes).

It's OBS 25.7, the same version I had running originally without concerns (ie output resolution settings were correct for all VHS output) so the version should be absolutely fine.

Any help with this would be appreciated.

The background color of the text-field doesn't change color, but you can manually enter whatever you want there.

 

[XLCOLDJ]

For the performance issues, there are a few things to consider:

• You have a Downscale filter selected, but the base and output resolutions match (as they should). Try disabling that.
• You're using the x264 software encoder. If you have the choice, select a hardware h264 encoder
• You're recording to .mov, you might get better performance just recording .mkv and remuxing it when you're done

What are you seeing in the Stats window? Rendering or encoding lag; high CPU?

 

[Slaughter]

Thanks @XLCOLDJ
Really appreciate the help.

"You have a Downscale filter selected, but the base and output resolutions match (as they should). Try disabling that."

See attached. OBS forces me to select one. There is no way to deselect.

"You're using the x264 software encoder. If you have the choice, select a hardware h264 encoder"

Under the Simple view, there is no choice (why, I wonder?)
Under advanced, as attached, I have selected the HW option, but even after applying this change, the "Simple" view still shows the software encoder.
In any case, I'm seeing no change in the performance after going into advanced and selecting Advanced.

"You're recording to .mov, you might get better performance just recording .mkv and remuxing it when you're done"
Makes no difference, plus I need to record to FCPX specs. FCPX does not open mkv files, and I want to avoid re-encoding post-transfer...

My main concern remains OBS refusing to show me a base canvas / output resolution which matches the resolution of my source VHS...

I've attached screens of other settings which hopefully you can help me optimise - I have zero idea how these should be configured...

 

[Slaughter]

@XLCOLDJ... or anyone?

 

[Slaughter]

Bueller? Anyone? Annnnyyyyooonnneeeee??????

 

[XLCOLDJ]

Bueller? Anyone? Annnnyyyyooonnneeeee??????

• For the base resolution, you just have to type in the values you want.

• For your recording settings--you're using FFmpeg (and software encoding) with that Custom Output option. You shouldn't try tweaking output options until you've got everything stable. If you change it back to Standard you should see the hardware encoder as an option.

• You should also have the Stats panel open so you can see if the frames are dropped to due to encoding lag, or rendering lag after fixing the recording settings.

• If the target disk is too slow, it will affect your recording performance.

If you're still having problems, please take more screenshots (include recording config and stats panel) and mention the exact canvas-size/settings you're trying to use. It would be ideal if you were using a more recent version of OBS, but it could lead to other issues depending on your OS version and hardware.

 

[Slaughter]

@XLCOLDJ
Thanks x100. Problems completely solved. Just completed a 35 min transfer, pro res, zero dropped frames.
Sorry making you repeat a couple of those points - eg I just realised you had already mentioned that the base / output res can be manually entered etc.
Good to have this thread archived here for future use...
I will never update or upgrade the system on which I am doing VHS transfers - it works now, so I plan to keep it as is...

 

[AaronD]

I will never update or upgrade the system on which I am doing VHS transfers - it works now, so I plan to keep it as is...

As long as you never allow it on the internet, and you're REALLY CAREFUL about what removable media you allow it to see too...

Not updating, plus internet, is a wide-open invitation to get hacked. And there are things that spread themselves via flash drives and other removable media. So just an air gap is not enough.

 

[Slaughter]

As long as you never allow it on the internet, and you're REALLY CAREFUL about what removable media you allow it to see too...

Not updating, plus internet, is a wide-open invitation to get hacked. And there are things that spread themselves via flash drives and other removable media. So just an air gap is not enough.

Not a concern for me, as the machine I do my VHS transfers with is a separate one to my day-to-day operations Imac Pro. The VHS machine is a Hackintosh that has a Mojave build, and is literally only operational when I'm transferring tapes. It contains literally no personal info, I don't browse the internet with it, I do nothing on it except VHS work. I can take it offline as well.

Sadly, corporations like Black Magic don't care to update drivers etc for their products, so as soon as I go past Mojave, my Black Magic Intensity Shuttle will become landfill. Time and again I have been told - and have now learned through bitter experience - if you want a reliable VHS transfer rig, never, ever change the system you are using, once it is working.

 

[AaronD]

Not a concern for me, as the machine I do my VHS transfers with is a separate one to my day-to-day operations Imac Pro. The VHS machine is a Hackintosh that has a Mojave build, and is literally only operational when I'm transferring tapes. It contains literally no personal info, I don't browse the internet with it, I do nothing on it except VHS work. I can take it offline as well.

I would take it offline yesterday, and keep it offline forever. It's not only about personal info; it's about system stability too.

They don't necessarily want to shut down your machine or steal your information. They might just want *a* machine that they can commandeer to do their dirty work on someone else, and they don't really care what their poorly-written code does to you as a side-effect.

Sadly, corporations like Black Magic don't care to update drivers etc for their products, so as soon as I go past Mojave, my Black Magic Intensity Shuttle will become landfill. Time and again I have been told - and have now learned through bitter experience - if you want a reliable VHS transfer rig, never, ever change the system you are using, once it is working.

I've heard the same with legacy sound studios, and I'm sure it applies to a lot of other areas as well. A research telescope, for another example, that is still controlled by a PDP-11, in 2023!

Anyway, the other side of the equation is that it takes time and effort to maintain *any* product, and eventually it becomes not worth supporting the older stuff. New techniques, new features, new whatever, require a completely new product, and when most of the market has turned over, it's just not worth spending effort on the old one anymore.

So older rigs tend to be operator-supported, sometimes decades past their expiration date, because it's not worth anyone else's time and effort to do that. And that influences decisions. Can you fix a modern virus on your old system? 'Cause no one else will. I'd take it offline immediately and keep it off forever, and be VERY CAREFUL about removable media too.

 

[Slaughter]

Thanks. Noted!
Sadly, VHS transfer gear, rather than getting better and more accessible, is getting more scarce and less accessible - especially if you're a Mac user. So the usual trends / rules do not apply. The best transfer rig is a reliable one that doesn't risk OS upgrades turning your gear into landfill. I'm just not up for spending $1200 on a new Black Magic or whatever rig which will again become unsupported in 5 years.
For whatever it's worth, I probably spend 2 hours on the transfer rig every 2 months. So the chances of being hacked are pretty darned small. + It's no biggie to just take it offline. Maintaining an offline system and the equipment that works with it is, in my experience, infinitely less hassle than dealing with having to find bespoke drivers or hoops-of-fire workarounds or expensive new gear to accommodate an OS upgrade that suddenly, magically, renders your previously reliable gear totally invisible to your machine. It's absolutely diabolical.
So I'm just pleased that I have a functioning VHS rig that can operate offline and will not give me headaches. Really appreciate the help I've got from this thread!