my VHS tape duplication / VCR recording rig rundown

diving into the DIY VHS scene and hoping to sell some tapes of my visuals down the road. I invested in three (now 5) Mitsubishi MD3000 VCRs which support S-Video inputs for higher quality analog recording. stay tuned for updates :)))

[@YOVOZOL]

This video is already sort of outdated one month later: I have now have 5 or 6 VCRs of this model (one of them is PAL format oddly) as well as a proper rack mount Time Base Corrector and distribution amplifier to both stabilize and preserve signal strength when recording :)

[@Renak036]

Why is 'oddly' to have PAL format? And here a friend in Serbia, Europe (mostly from NA don't know where is ) have a NTSC format JVC HDTV VCR!

[@CSKL-h7c]

this is my comfort video

[@mingkurray]

always great to see the updated set up. Psyched for the VHS releases

[@windmill7708]

:0 found you here, ive found a new rabbithole and its so awesome to see you homie

[@williamcarlson9638]

This is excellent, can't wait to buy a tape

[@SayakaMaizonoo]

Damn I just stumbled upon this video. I've just bought a Mitsubishi MD3000 and waiting to test it. If it's as good as I hope, I wish I had as many as you do! But they're impossibly rare :C

[@YOVOZOL]

i sold all mine over a year ago, i wish you luck!

[@schtekar]

Great explanatory video. As a norwegian I find it amusing that Ø is frequently used for O in the vaporwave(?) aestethic. In the nordics, the letter Ø is pronounced "uh", like how the U is pronounced in the word "nut" (the norwegian word for nut is nøtt and pronounced exactly the same). To us, nøthing would read like nuthing or nuhthing

[@sonicseducer69]

That's how it's actually pronounced though. If you didn't know how it was spelled and tried to phonetically spell it, it would be nuthing

[@prissmegaforce]

I got like 7 or 8 VCR's and I used them to duplicate before.

[@bvsskxy]

Super useful bro

[@ThePooper3000]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around how you routed digital video to the VCRs, but you certainly gave me a headstart on figuring it out. Thanks. I'm trying to find a way to convert digital video to a DVD, then use a DVD player/VCR recorder to transfer the DVD to VHS. I gotta find a more direct and streamlined way to go from digital to VHS without emptying my wallet.

[@YOVOZOL]

you just buy a $10 hdmi to rca converter on amazon and use the right cables and press record on the vcr with a tape inserted

[@ThePooper3000]

@@YOVOZOL I did try that earlier today. I was able to record audio onto the tape, but there was no image, just static. I've been kind of just banging my head against the wall the entire day, trying to figure out how to fix things. I'll figure it out eventually. Hopefully. Are there any forums or sites you think would be helpful? I've mostly been going off of old KZbin videos.

[@helloitsjury]

Omg, thank you so much for such detailed tutorial!! What frame rate do you recommend for the videos in the computer to have to get best results on the vhs tape? Does the downscaler play an important role on the resulting video quality, or would the amazon cheap converters do the same job?

[@mikemazzotta3263]

You always want to give it either 60i, or 30p. . . some gear will do 60p, but typically 30p is the move.

[@bananenbuurman]

Are you 100% sure the TBC in the videomixer doesn't add any delay on the video? as you connected the audio directly and bypassed the videomixer?

[@YOVOZOL]

a TBC will naturally add like 2 frames of delay or so

[@bananenbuurman]

@@YOVOZOL Yeah, that's what i suspected... Maybe an idea to feed the audio signal through that sima mixer? I guess the audio will be sync to the TBC then, 2 frames will screw up all the fine detailed work you put in the video, isn't it?

[@YOVOZOL]

the 2 frames buffer is actually what creates video feedback, and its too short a time to be noticeably out of sync with audio, anyways i can always realign with audio in post

[@bananenbuurman]

@@YOVOZOL yes, but these VHS tapes are for people to watch, right? 2 frames in 30fps is maybe less than in 25fps (where I live) but I would notice if things are edited to the music :) Just hope it helps, not pretending to know things better :)

[@YOVOZOL]

in this case i can put the audio running just slightly ahead of the video on the digital file i am recording to vhs to compensate

[@marcelovalenzuela5174]

how to erase white ink from prerexorded vhs original ?

[@TheRealKnightFuryPremiere]

I'm planning to put my movies on VHS.

[@TotallyGoodatGames]

Very cool!

[@koniu80]

What software do you use for feeding the downscaler?

[@YOVOZOL]

you can just extend your display to the downscaler without the need for any software. the video can just play on a fullscreen media player like VLC on that display, or you can use something like Resolume or OBS to make it easier.

[@QuayCur]

Amazing video thank you this is is cool! I have one Mitsubishi Recorder and want to duplicate tapes, would you help me set it up?

[@merchreseller1272]

Cool setup! Have you updated to use a simple switcher to monitor each vcr instead of using 3 tvs at once? Big waste of energy imo

[@YOVOZOL]

we run on solar

[@DJxDxRek]

Are these vcrs able to play and record longer format tapes? Like extended play tapes

[@mikemazzotta3263]

These MD3000's will NOT do EP/SLP tapes. . . they're meant for SP only.

[@HighlightReel]

great setup, how are you liking those medical vcrs?

[@YOVOZOL]

they've served me well, i sold them last month after making about 500 tapes total with them

[@HighlightReel]

@@YOVOZOL nice, I am currently looking at vcrs to modify for the VHS-Decode project and your video came up, medical vcrs are apparently not the best for playback but they seem really well made for recording. glad to hear it!

[@mikemazzotta3263]

@@HighlightReel Just looked up the VHS-Decode project, and this is WILD. Are you able to decode tapes faster than realtime?

[@HighlightReel]

@@mikemazzotta3263 no the decode is very slow currently, but you can store the rf signal as a FLAC on an m-disk and do it any time. it is constantly improving too. you can get like the equivilent to a very high end setup out of a 20 dollar thrift store vcr and a 30 dollar aliexpress card

[@EmpireOfWorlds]

is your audio being recorded at the same time or do you use a separate audio interface?

[@YOVOZOL]

the audio is just being recorded straight into the VCR, i have my laptop speaker out chained to them

[@Capturing-Memories]

Recording? Do people still buy pre-recorded tapes

[@YOVOZOL]

yovozol.bandcamp.com

[@nomoxdd]

What's that JVC tv? I want to buy that lol

[@KurfewKult]

what camcorder were you using in the beginning of the video

[@YOVOZOL]

A camcorder from the Canon Vixia series