To the topic of analogue recordings digitize often the question arises, whether the whole effort is worth at all. Any music and film classics can now be purchased as CD / DVD / BD as required, audio titles even fully digitized as MP3 or in other digital formats. On iTunes or Amazon. However, this statement mostly concerns only popular titles, rare session or concert records will usually not be found in digital form. The same applies, of course, to the old family or holiday recordings on Super 8 or VHS / VHS-C video cassettes.
This is what you will find in the article
Before the old players crash or fall victim to the bulky waste, you should have important and valuable analogue recordings in a digital format to play over or to transfer. Especially with Super 8 films or similar optical film formats the expenditure for a few hours of film is much too great, than one itself the equipment for the overspieling purchase. For analogue recordings or magnetic films, this can be done at far less cost, provided a functioning player is still available.
Records and audio cassettes
We will show you some ways to transfer records, audio or video tapes to a digital memory without much effort. In addition, we will provide you with some cheap replacement products if your player does not work. In order to digitize films captured by celluloid, it is better to pay for a specialist company with professional equipment than to carry out own time and cost intensive experiments, which generally do not lead to satisfactory results. We explain why it is so difficult to digitize an optical film roll. There are links to current, professional digitization offers with price comparisons.
VHS tapes on hard drive
If you want to keep your favorite music or rare recordings of LP, Single and Audiocassette in your digital music archive, you will have to digitize them. This is the only way to transfer the analogue recordings to your MP3 player, CD or mobile phone.
Recording with the VLC Media Player
First of all, the conversion takes some time because you have to transfer the analogue output material into a digital format for the first time in real time. For a complete LP page, this is about 20 minutes, with audio cassettes it takes about 30 to 45 minutes depending on the tape length of a page. You can, of course, reduce the time when you specifically pick up tracks from the source media. In the event that you no longer have a record player or cassette player, the trade offers special products. There are, for example, disk or cassette players with stereo RCA and additional USB output with the recording and processing software for the PC. With other models, the recordings can be copied directly to a memory card, an external hard disk or USB stick without a PC.
If you still have a record player, be sure to pre-amplify the pure output signal, unless the player already provides an internal gain. You can do this via a stereo amplifier with a phono connection, a preamplifier or a hardware solution. As a recording software the program helps Audacity. This program also provides a number of filters to eliminate disturbances such as crackling or band noise from the recording. In addition, whole pages of plates can be cut into individual titles (cut). You can also perform trimming using the MP3DirectCut program. Here, however, the MP3 format is required. For conversion from other file formats, e.g. WAV format you can find the program FormatFactory.
The MP3Gain audio tool, which is specialized for this purpose, is available for the compensation of different recording volumes (volume matching). Ultimately, there is usually a little bit of work to generate the file background information, the so-called MP3 tags. These are not supplied by the analog output source while recording to the digital music format.
Here we recommend the MP3Tag tool. This tool can be used to attach title and artist info to the respective music file. If a cover of the disc or cassette is available, this can be added directly to the music file with MP3Tag. With these additions to pure music recording, the compatible digital audio player or the music app of the mobile phone now displays all the information and the cover during the current track.
Once digitized, the music recordings can now be copied to digital music players as often as possible or burned as a CD for those car radios that do not yet have an AUX input for the direct connection of a player.
If you want to save your old video treasures in the digital age, you should start now. The quality of the video and soundtracks is getting worse due to the susceptibility of the carrier material over the years, the players will eventually break down. This is particularly annoying with family videos or unique holiday memories.
The transcription into a digital format is to be coped with today's tools without prior knowledge. However, you still need a compatible video player or your old camera. In the current IT markets, the selection of players is no longer large, analog cameras are no longer available in the new purchase. A repair is almost impossible due to the discontinuation of the production of spare parts and is not carried out by most of the skilled laborers, and only then at the highest prices.
Especially for the video 8 format, formerly the analog video standard of Sony and Polaroid, playback devices are already almost extinct, also in the relevant Gebrauchswandandel. Here, you can just help yourself with a service provider that can still use this format on a DVD or hard drive, such as via Media Digital.
The easiest way to do this is to use a combiner that provides both a VHS drive and a DVD or hard disk recorder. This is where the transfer is done at the push of a button and the result can be quite impressive. If you only have a VHS player, you need to go the detour via the PC. In the meantime, there are easy-to-use converter boxes, which transmit the input signal in real time via a USB output to the hard disk of the PC. These external converters are also available in the form of a USB stick.
Super 8 & Co.
The software for further processing and transfer to DVD or video CD is usually included. You need to connect your video recorder to the converter, start the software, set some format and memory parameters, and start the conversion - simply start the video recorder and the recording function of the software
If you can use a video input (video capture card) on your PC, you can also digitize analogue video sources to the hard disk via the VLC media player. To do this, first install the VLC Media Player on the PC. Then connect your analog player to compatible audio / video cables with the audio / video inputs on the PC.
The simple filing
Then start the VLC Media Player. Open the "Media" menu and then "Open the recording device". In "Capture mode", leave the default setting at "DirectShow". In addition to "Video Devices", switch from "Standard" to your video input. Use the same setting as "Audio Device Name". Then open "Advanced Options" and change to the "Video standard" to "PAL_D". Then confirm with "OK". Click on "Play" in the lower right corner, start your playback device, and press the recording button from the VLC Media Player at the bottom left
When the recording is finished, press the "Stop" button on the VLC Media Player. You will then find your recorded movie in the folder named "Input & Codecs" in the "Extras" and "Settings" menu next to the entry "Recording directory or file name". You can also change this path before recording. If you want to change the file format of the video, use the FormatFactory tool
When we put on a digitization article, the question always arises of the possibility of converting Super 8 movies into a digital format. Approaches such as simple filing or so-called deflection mirrors are always a matter of debate.
Commercial deflection mirrors
Lesetipp
There are among the film friends many hobbyists who have found a way to convert their Super 8 film treasures into a digital format. We take our hat with this commitment and the imagination. You can find such solutions, for example, under Hennek / Super8. Whether such a solution is worth, everyone has to decide for themselves, certainly not for few film reels.
Why not just film the film with a digital camera / camcorder from a screen or a piece of paper? In this case, the asynchronous playback and recording speed of the projector and camera must be expected to have a strong brightness flickering, the illumination decreases significantly towards the edge, and automatically operated cameras do not become clear with the panning in the film in terms of brightness and sharpness adjustment. The simple filing from the screen is therefore not a viable solution.
The Videotransfergerät Telescreen Videotransfer from Hama (approx. 60 Euro) uses a law from physics, in order to put the film recording in the right perspective. The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of incidence, it is said, on one side throw the super 8 film at a 45 degree angle on a mirror. In this case, he is deflected and reflected on a screen.
Now you just have to adjust the recording camcorder well to the resulting image. For best results, place the camera on a tripod. On a workshop table, you can facilitate the set-up with a few guide lines, where you can later align the devices. In order to avoid central light bundling in the picture, Hama has integrated a screen into the telescreen.
Better results can be achieved with a replacement disc from Video-Optik Brähler, which costs about 65 euros and fits in the Hama-Telescreen. This preparation contains a paraffin layer between two thin glass panes, which distributes the light better and defuses grains.
If the projectors are not synchronized with the camcorder, you should always shoot with an exposure time of 1/50 seconds. If, for example, a dimmer or a reduction of the power supply to the projector allows the camcorder and projector to run synchronously, select short shutter speeds. Many digital camcorders have the default "Sport". This setting usually results in very good exposure results.
With all the love for self-construction, however, there is no way of passing commercial trades with high quality requirements. For the qualitative assessment of the service providers, we recommend checking with small orders different vendors. In addition, it is often possible to view samples.
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