Hello my friends. Greetings from Colombia. I have about 30 Betamax tapes that I want to transfer to my PC so I can keep them reducing enormously the risk of losing important files from easily damaged Betamax tapes. I got from a friend of mine an Encore ENMVG-3 video grabber unit, my PC is Windows 10 updated. I have had only problems trying to configure everything so I can record my tapes. First of all, I almost couldn't make my Betamax unit, Sony model SL-S770, to show the playing tape. Finally, I achieved it but with no audio. Also it shows a very low quality image and finally, the recording option is not activated. In other words, lots of problems and no results. PLEASE can you help me? This is something I will be eternally grateful to you all. Thanks in advance and all the very best EDUARDO (Check the enclosed screenprint of what I am obtaining)View attachment 98631
Impossible to record Beta tapes on my PC
- Thread starter Edubarca
- Start date
Lawrence_SoCal
Active Member
Though you are asking about Beta tapes, the technical issues are very similar to capturing VCR tapes (especially interlaced vs non-interlaced video), and there have been a number of discussions in recent years about such captures. A forum search should help you
My basic recommendation
- start outside of OBS Studio (OBS Studio not started/running... at all)
- make sure audio and video inputs working at Operating System level, before working on OBS Studio.
in your case, can you view and hear Video capture from Sony Betamax player via Encore on the computer (Windows Recorder or similar native application?).
Once you have the above working, I'm suspecting the intricacies of Audio Capture, which definitely requires RTFM (reading the .... manual). In this case, maybe starting with these OBS Audio related articles which I found helpful
granted, those articles a few years old, but concepts haven't really changed. With Beta nature of Application Audio Capture, I'd be more inclined to use the older tried-and-true methods. I'd use Windows Volume Mixer to Mute System and other application sounds to make sure a background process beep/notification doesn't pollute your Recording (if Audio coming in via 'Desktop Audio'). Hopefully, that Encore appears as a Video Input device (like a webcam) in which case the Audio and Video are combined (and synced) via that single 'Source'
My basic recommendation
- start outside of OBS Studio (OBS Studio not started/running... at all)
- make sure audio and video inputs working at Operating System level, before working on OBS Studio.
in your case, can you view and hear Video capture from Sony Betamax player via Encore on the computer (Windows Recorder or similar native application?).
Once you have the above working, I'm suspecting the intricacies of Audio Capture, which definitely requires RTFM (reading the .... manual). In this case, maybe starting with these OBS Audio related articles which I found helpful
granted, those articles a few years old, but concepts haven't really changed. With Beta nature of Application Audio Capture, I'd be more inclined to use the older tried-and-true methods. I'd use Windows Volume Mixer to Mute System and other application sounds to make sure a background process beep/notification doesn't pollute your Recording (if Audio coming in via 'Desktop Audio'). Hopefully, that Encore appears as a Video Input device (like a webcam) in which case the Audio and Video are combined (and synced) via that single 'Source'
Thank you very much Lawrence for your extended explanation. I am sorry to say that I am not an expert with deep knowledge of the subjects you mention. I just thought that the process was: Install the video grabber, as per the CD included, connect the Betamax, configure settings and voila!! Ready for recording my Betamax tapes. Not at all. It is a rather complicated processes, especially for us common citizens with little knowledge in PC technology. Could you recommend me a simpler way of transferring my tapes to my PC? It seems to me that as a last resource, I will have to send the tapes to some company doing transfers. It costs money and I've heard they are not very reliable. Anyway, I appreciate your help. EDUARDO
Lawrence_SoCal
Active Member
well... kind of.. it is just that 'configure settings' involves a fair amount of 'it depends'... sometimes just works with defaults, and sometimes not.
so I wouldn't say it is 'that' complicated, but certainly not plug 'n play / easy button
I suspect you are possibly very close to getting the Recording to work as expected (the video tending to be the trickier part).
Lawrence_SoCal
Active Member
First, me, being me (including being tech savvy and not letting technology 'win'), I'd make sure I was getting highest resolution practical from video tapes. ie.. I'd use the S-Video connection if that is an option from the tape player (my recollection, without confirming, is S-Video was higher resolution that analog RCA connections... but relevant only if tapes recorded at higher resolution. )
then, I'd pursue fixing the audio.
Hopefully the capture card is NOT defective. hence my recommendation for testing/confirming audio and video output via capture card (at Operating System level, first).
Once you have audio and video at Operating System level ... then we can proceed with OBS Studio.
In honor of basic scientific method, and as you have video working already, I'd start with:
1. confirming audio coming out of Sony Betamax player. Is that speaker level or line level output (voltage level, iirc)? I'd think...maybe.. it should be line level. Does the Capture Card have setting option for audio level/type?
For example, my OBS Studio computer has audio driver software that prompts me when a physical audio cable connection made as to whether the connection is a microphone, speaker/headset, or line-in, and adjusts accordingly. In your case, the Capture Card has to make that adjustment, as it then takes that audio and should combine with video. Or the capture card may have instructions on making sure the audio signal is of a certain type?
then, I'd pursue fixing the audio.
Hopefully the capture card is NOT defective. hence my recommendation for testing/confirming audio and video output via capture card (at Operating System level, first).
Once you have audio and video at Operating System level ... then we can proceed with OBS Studio.
In honor of basic scientific method, and as you have video working already, I'd start with:
1. confirming audio coming out of Sony Betamax player. Is that speaker level or line level output (voltage level, iirc)? I'd think...maybe.. it should be line level. Does the Capture Card have setting option for audio level/type?
For example, my OBS Studio computer has audio driver software that prompts me when a physical audio cable connection made as to whether the connection is a microphone, speaker/headset, or line-in, and adjusts accordingly. In your case, the Capture Card has to make that adjustment, as it then takes that audio and should combine with video. Or the capture card may have instructions on making sure the audio signal is of a certain type?
Same number of lines either way, and analog otherwise, but keeping luma and chroma separate results in less crosstalk between them. Black and white TV's do show a difference between a black and white signal with no color information to start with, and a color signal. The color signal is slightly blurrier.
So you might get, maybe, 5-bit equivalent color from a separated signal, compared to 3-bit equivalent from a single composite one, or something like that. Same frame size.
My friends, thanks again for your good will in helping me but, i say this with all due respect, all your terms are comp'letely out of my knowledge, case in point: "Capture card", "Operating system level", "luma and chroma separate results", "5-bit equivalent color" and several other issues that I just ignore. The only real fact is that my Betamax unit is in perfect shape, it works very well with my Samsung smart TV, both audio and video. It is very stable, picture is, naturally, Betamax quality, but quite good. I am really sad to find out that passing my tapes to my PC was such a big problematic issue for us, "Joe average" citizens. Again thanks.
Unfortunately, media is inherently technical. There are lots of ways to do the same thing, both for you and for the people who made the tools that you use. (Beta vs. VHS, for example) Different methods have different tradeoffs that are not compatible with each other, and you inherit whatever decisions they made with barely any clear documentation.
So you do need to understand enough to figure out the implications of what they did, based on what you see yourself, and go from there. If you can't wrap your mind around that, and you're only going to do this once, it might be better to pay someone to do it for you.
If you're going to keep doing it, in some form or another, it's very rewarding to gain that knowledge and skill for yourself.
So you do need to understand enough to figure out the implications of what they did, based on what you see yourself, and go from there. If you can't wrap your mind around that, and you're only going to do this once, it might be better to pay someone to do it for you.
If you're going to keep doing it, in some form or another, it's very rewarding to gain that knowledge and skill for yourself.
Lawrence_SoCal
Active Member
You sure of that? granted it was 25 years ago, but my Hi8 camcorder had S-Video, and from recollection standard TV at the time was 480 lines, while S-Video in my Sony camcorder was closer to 600 ??
@Edubarca - unless you were planning sophisticated title/overlays, etc... OBS Studio is complete overkill for simply capturing the video from tape
I was going to say use the software that come with the Encore... but I quickly came across https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/403044-Is-the-Encore-Electronics-ENMVG-3-Garbage-Now indicating the included software doesn't work with Win10 and Encore doesn't offer support for such an old device. Though not specifically called out, that forum discussion indicates the likely issue (audio chipset driver) you are having
Capturing your tapes could be easy, with a much newer/better supported capture card.
The only difference is that the color information is on separate wires for S-video, and combined with everything else for composite. TV broadcasts were that same composite signal on an AM radio wave. Either way, you have about 480 visible lines and a bunch of non-visible lines, just because the horizontal oscillator keeps running while the vertical one overscans and resets. 600 total might be somewhat close, and some of the non-visible lines were used for auxiliary information and other "hacks" that eventually became standard.
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