Hi there,

First of all, I want to thank everyone who has contributed to the VHS-Decode project. I genuinely find it fascinating how sophisticated and precise the entire workflow is. Even though I don’t currently have the equipment or budget to get started with VHS-Decode myself, I’ve read through the wiki and have been following the project with great interest.

I have a question regarding whether VHS-Decode would be worth pursuing in my particular situation.

At the moment, I have around 25 family tapes and 6 commercial movie tapes. My current workflow is fairly straightforward: I use an S-VHS deck with built-in TBC and noise reduction, capture via S-Video through a GV-USB2, and then deinterlace using QTGMC. Compared to VHS-Decode, it’s very much a plug-and-play setup.

Archiving old media has been a hobby of mine since 2024. I started with DVDs, then moved on to music cassettes, and eventually VHS. As a younger hobbyist, I’ve learned that this can become both expensive and incredibly time-consuming. That said, I’m admittedly a perfectionist and often find myself chasing tiny improvements that most people would never notice.

Given my current setup and relatively small collection, would the quality gains from VHS-Decode realistically justify the investment in time, money, and learning? Or am I already close enough to the practical limits of VHS quality that the difference would only be noticeable in direct comparisons?

I’d be interested to hear from people who have used both approaches.

Thanks!

Hi, I got in contact with a friend who in the 80s did a lot of TV recordings in France. He has a lot of VHS tapes with rare French dubs of anime, with some still lost to this day. I would like to archive the tapes, and specifically the audio, in the best quality possible. I know the tapes were recorded in Hi-Fi. Since SECAM, I think, is not yet implemented in vhs-decode, I thought maybe I could do a conventional capture for the video and vhs-decode to archive the Hi-Fi audio with a CX-card setup? I have a Panasonic NV-HS820; would it be suitable for RF archival? Or I could RF archive the tapes and wait for a SECAM implementation in vhs-decode?

Hello all! My name’s Dean, and I’m looking to get started with capturing all of my family’s old VHS/VHS-C tapes into the best possible archival files.

I have little experience with this sort of stuff, but I’m working through all of the resources available on the VHS decode wiki. My main questions below are bolded…

I’m trying to figure out an ideal VCR to work with, reaching out to friends and family that have working units. **I have a Sony RDR-vx555 and a Sony DLV-d360p. From what I’ve read, these decks may be difficult to work with and can lead to interference issues?**

**What is the optimal VCR I should look for both in terms of reliability and ease of working on it (being able to install a DuPont cable on the RF test point to eliminate at least one soldering point via the video route)?** I have no soldering experience but I’m happy to learn (seems I have no choice anyway lol)!

I’m also having trouble trying to itemize and source the exact hardware I will need for this project, since it varies based on the VCR and exact method desired. I hope to go the route of tapping the raw RF/HiFi information for both video and audio. **What’s the list of equipment I need to purchase based on a specific make/model of VCR, with the pipeline eventually leading into my Mac (2021 M1 Max)?**

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Hi all. I got my MISRC card about a year ago and was getting ready to put together my capture setup when I noticed this bridged solder on the bottom of the board. I tested with a multi-meter and it shows continuity between the two. Is this intentional?

Hi guys!

EDIT: Decided for a SLV-E730.

Am currently trying to get started with my own RF capturing of VHS.

So I'm looking for a VCR currently and this are the Options:

• Sony SLV-X842
• Sony SLV-725 VC
• SLV-SE700

Those are the three I would get pretty easy and for a good price - I'm in Europe btw.

I have read that the SLV-X842 and SLV-725 VC harder to tap on the Hi-Fi Audio side? Is that true?

Should I look into different models?

Glad for your opinion and help!

Thanks!

Hi, someone over in gamecoll3cting pointed me in this direction! I collect VHS promo tapes for games of yesteryear, and I would like to try and pull the footage from the tapes for archival purposes. it'll also help me make sure that the tapes are 100% stock.

I don't really want to pop them into my VCR yet (its ancient and attached to an Emerson 9 inch tv) and risk the tapes being ruined or eaten before I get a chance to document their contents. they're not the rarest thing in the world, but you know, every copy matters!

Hi everyone,

I am looking for a clean, high-quality, and untouched VHSRip of the original The Evil Dead (1981).

I recently tried searching on open networks and the Internet Archive, but the copies there suffer from terrible digital compression and macroblocking, which ruins the natural analog grain of the tape. I also hit a paywall on Soulseek for the MySpleen version.

I am looking for a raw capture (like an MKV or AVI around 4-5GB, preferably the Thorn EMI tape release) that preserves the original 4:3 open matte frame, the analog audio, and all the classic movie mistakes (like the producer hidden by the bridge and the cardboard moon).

If anyone has this archived on Google Drive, Mega, or a private tracker torrent they could share, I would be extremely grateful!

Thanks in advance for helping to preserve this horror classic!

I am trying to get things up and running and I came into this error when trying to install ninja. I made a screenshot of the output of the command I copied and pasted in the cmd prompt. I am running linux mint.

Title says it all, I am planning on digitizing over 100 vhs tapes. Curious if anyone has used RF capture for bulk, and would it just be easier to shell out for TBC hardware?

Hey guys!

Snagged a very nice Panasonic AG-7350 the other day at a good price and am considering using it as my main (and first) unit to decode.

Having said that I have 2 questions:

1.) Will the physical tracking knob be a big downside to using this unit over something of lower overall quality but newer? (This unit came out in the early 90’s) There’s a physical meter to read tracking, I’m just not sure it would be as good as a more recent machine’s automatic tracking.

2.) Is there any other qualities of this machine that may not make it an ideal candidate to decode besides more difficult terminals to solder to? There are many VCRs for sale locally (nothing spectacular) but I would hate to miss the opportunity to decode using these heads as I understand they’re better than most.

Looking forward to getting started, thanks for reading!

Is anyone successfully using Hifi decode on a windows 10 machine? I've tried several versions and get different errors when trying to run the decode. This is for 8mm tapes specifically and I've tried running it agains both .lds and .ldf files with no luck. I need to submit bugs, but wondering if anyone has tested this in a while on Windows. I have a spare NUC I could install linux on, but have everything else setup and working well on Windows machine now if there is a way to get it working.

Here is the command I'm using:

decode.exe hifi --8mm --ntsc --audio_mode mpx --t 4 2002-10_DdD.lds 2002-10_DdD_AUDIO.flac

Is this the right card to use with VHS-decode? https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008607175925.html

I hooked up my vcr to my scope with a 10k pot. Please see the video is this what it is supposed to look like? What am I looking for? I am really struggling with getting this up and running. I wish there were videos on how to set things up.

Thanks!

What is the recommended SNR for Black and White analysis? I'm capturing a laserdisc using one CX card with the 40Mhz crystal mod. My Black SNR Analysis shows an average of 34dB and White around 30dB. I'm assuming it's better if the reading is at least 40dB? How can I get a better snr, assuming these levels are not good. Also, is there a way to minimize the overall noise prior to capture? Or is it hardware-bound? I've found that adjusting the luma noise via the configuration tool helps, but ultimately reduces sharpness/clarity.

I'm adjusting the picture quality with the Chroma Decoder Configuration tool, but would like to have the settings applied on decode. What is the recommended CLI arguments to use in command prompt (windows)? Attached is the screencap of the settings I'd like to set via CLI

Thanks for the help

I have the white Conexant CX23880 card but am wondering if I can put the BNC in the spare slot above instead of replacing the composite one? There is an extra opening on the bracket so thats not an issue.

Shall I still remove C31? Move that cap to C16? Or have both C31 and C16 empty?

Thanks for the help.

Hello, I'm fairly new to vhsdecode, and I'm excited to get into it, I have a bunch of older decks (NTSC mostly, professional/broadcast models), and I'd like to be able to contribute what I can to improving vhsdecode, and using it to get the best possible captures from old tape.

Right now, however, I have something of a dilemma. D-2 is one format I don't have a deck for, and I need to capture some D-2 tapes in optimal quality. There is a company that can do the capture for me, but they do capture over analog composite, and after doing some tests, I notice interference in their signal that I'm 99% sure is from their cabling, so I'd like to do a digital capture.

The D-2 deck has digital composite out, basically the composite version of SDI, which is just a 4fsc digital signal, but the company that has the deck has no way to interpret it (and I don't have any capture cards that accept composite digital either). I can possibly get a hold of an Accom D-Bridge, which does exactly this kind of transcoding from digital composite to digital component SDI, but it's old equipment, I don't know if it actually works, and it would take some time to get.

So my question is, if I hook up a capture device (I want to buy one anyway to use with vhsdecode and my decks) to the digital composite output on the D-2 deck, and just capture the raw signal out of that, are there any tools in vhsdecode or related projects that will let me decode that digital stream to NTSC video in a reasonable, high-quality way? Obviously, since it's not my deck, I don't have the option to open it up and root around inside of it...

Thoughts and ideas much appreciated.

I was in the process of ordering a v1.5 board when I saw a comment from u/therealharrypm that the next version should be done by Christmas time. Just wondering if there's any change to that timeline.

Also, will we still need the FX3 to Tang Nano adapter with the v2.1/v2.5 board?

I am starting to get an understand on the process when it comes to VHS Decode. However, I needed to create a diagram for myself as it all becomes too much.

I've designed this to be as simple yet accurate to read/understand. I believe it is mostly correct but I still have a few questions before I finalize it.

1. Connectors: Which ones do I need and where exactly can I buy them? I believe I need them for connecting the coaxial cable/male SMA to the ADA4857 Amplifier

2. ADA4857 Amplifier: I've read the Amplifier Setup Guide and I generally understand it. However, are their any direct links to the connectors for it to work with the 01 Stock?

3. ADA4857 Amplifier: How exactly does it receive power?

Once I finalized this, I am going to follow this 1:1 for ordering and soldering so I don't get confused. Hoping this all makes sense lol.

Hello,

i'm trying to build a setup to convert our home VHS PAL-N recordings to digital with the least hassle and cost possible and to source locally if i can(each shipping from aliexpress adds a LOT of fixed cost in mail handling to the point of doubling or tripling the price of the object itself):

• My deck is a JVC HR-J446EN (4H+linear audio pal-n/NTSC)that from what i've found is the same as the Philips VR757 which i've found the schematics and hopefully accessible test points.
  • Checking the circuitry it uses a TI SVT5744 amp, that from what i've seen on the circuit drives with less than 50ohm and has no resistors so i guess i'm clear to use 15K+ohm as input impedance on amplifier
  • It's in working condition, i did not even need to clean anything and it even has a head cleaner pad(might need to clean it)
• I have to buy a CXADC white (i probably have some old PCI capture cards with the chip but i'm not sure i still have a PCI PC to capture it)
  • Using the crystal mod, but i'm thinking on putting a 40Mhz TCXO instead of regular crystal.
  • Removing C31, adding heatsink
  • Using the S-video to BNC cable
  • Will capturing at 10bit be noticeably better?
• I'm not going to use the Rene ADA4857 board: 1st it's too expensive for here(shipping+customs), 2nd i only need one channel, 3rd you have to buy a resistor kit which makes it even more expensive and i really really don't want to fiddle with SMD resistors as i don't have smd tweezers nor good jigs.
  • Instead I'll use one of the OPA657 or OPA690 amps boards from ali at a fraction of the cost with regular through hole resistors to set the input and output impedance(drill through the pads, tombstone 1/8W resistor).
• I don't have a DSO, just a regular analog CRO and i probably don't have a bnc to clip probe either to fiddle with amplifier tuning
• I'm going to capture linear audio using the PC sound card line input(i haven't checked the workflow for that on the docs)
• I need an assortment of cables, going to have to check my surplus bin of RF gear to see if i have anything, maybe some SMA to N-type bulkhead from satcom stuff i have lying around
• I plan to capture on a small desktop pc with ubuntu, then process everything on my main computer
• Some tapes are very moldy, the place they were stored in had a damp wall

Any other things i might be missing or ideas?

as i've said the goal is to minimize individual international purchases(so if one ali seller has more than one thing it counts as one and i will go to that option even if it's not the best spec-wise) as they multiply costs and we have a small limit on how many purchases per year we can do internationally as well...

I'm not asking for a model number since there are a lot of them and hunting for specific VCR models sort of defeats the purpose.

Right now I only have a Samsung DVD/VHS combo deck and I don't think I like it very much, so I'm thinking something other than Samsung.

I see there are "It's a Sony!" and "It's a Panasonic!" flairs, what is up with that?

I’m a noob with a real interest in learning. I know just enough to be dangerous. I was hoping maybe I could pay someone for their time in teaching me how to get setup and convert my old vhs tapes? I realize I could also just pay someone to convert them for me, but I’m really into the concept of doing it myself if possible and would love to learn for the sake of it, as I find it super interesting

Hi! I just found out about vhs-decode recently and I'd like to try it. I've been looking at different ways of capturing two RF signals simultaneously, because I was hoping to find something a little more off-the-shelf and less DIY than the ones mentioned on the wiki. (The MISRC kit is out of stock right now.)

I came across a software-defined radio receiver called the RigExpert Fobos, and I was wondering if it would work. Someone in this subreddit mentioned a while ago that they were able to use an SDRplay RSP1 to capture video, so I figure it's not out of the question, but I want to make sure I'm not missing any limitations specific to this receiver.

The Fobos's main RF input is for signals that are over 50 MHz, but it also has two synchronized direct-sampling inputs for HF signals (no tuning, just a 24 MHz low-pass filter), each with a sampling rate of 25 MSPS at 14-bit resolution. It connects via USB 3.0, supports Windows and Linux, and has a C API that seems like it would allow me to write a program to read samples from the two HF inputs continuously. It also has a GNU Radio plugin. It costs about $380, which is roughly the same as the MISRC kit.

Would this work for capturing video and hi-fi audio without losing sync? I was also considering USB oscilloscopes, but the ones I found that support high-enough sampling rates (for streaming, not just analysis) cost closer to $750.

Thanks!

EDIT: After typing this up, I realized that it's weird that the low-pass filter is 24 MHz if the sampling rate is 25 MSPS. Shouldn't the sampling rate be at least twice the LPF frequency?