19-02-2005 22:24									#1
	Viewing VHS Cassettes on Computer Remove this text

Has anyone had any experience hooking up a VHS VCR to the computer just for viewing?

I'm asking because I'd like to go through and catalogue my old VHS tapes, to see what I want to keep and what I will hand over to someone who will have more use for them than I do at present.

I have a VCR, but not a TV, which is why I got to thinking if it was possible to somehow hook up the VCR to the computer.

I don't need to capture the video, encode it or burn it to DVD's or anything, just view through the tapes on the monitor and take a few notes of the contents.

Is this possible without too much of a hassle do you think? Will I need some kind of special video card, and what programs will be needed to make the viewing possible?

Any advice you might have is most welcome.

	19-02-2005 22:29									#2
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A friend of mine (he's an electronics genius) once assembled a device that allowed him to do so. He found the blueprints on the internet. I'll ask him where, the next time I see him. Perhaps he knows if a thing like that is available commercially.

Asmodean

	19-02-2005 22:32									#3
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You will need some kind of hardware that has a TV tuner, either an internal card, or an external usb (or firewire) device, that accepts as input the output of your VCR.

USB would be easier to set up, but a card would probably be less expensive. Most cards will come with some software to watch TV (although from what I'v heard, some 3rd party software is much better than the software that comes with some of the cards

Last edited by Edan on 19-02-2005 at 22:38

	19-02-2005 22:57									#4
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Ok, an external TV tuner device seems like something I could probably figure out how to operate.

From a quick search, I found one from the store I usually go to, from Pinnacle, at ~USD 130, which seems reasonable enough. It will apparently also show and record regular TV broadcasts. So Asmodean, you don't need to ask your friend, it seems they are available.

But it is USB 2.0 only! I have USB, but I can't figure out whether I have 2.0 or just 1.1, how do you determine which one it is? (I've had this trouble once before, when I got my DVD burner. It works fine, but I never did find out if I had USB 1.1 or 2.0).

	19-02-2005 23:00									#5
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It'd probably be easier just to go out and buy a cheap TV... A small one can be had for $75 - $90.

	19-02-2005 23:04									#6
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Yes you're probably right, Wycoff, but i don't really want a TV. Been there, done that.

Plus I'd have to pay the license fee which is close to USD 400 annually. No way Jose.

	20-02-2005 00:26									#7
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Yeah...damned TV license fee.

But Winston...no TV??? My hat's off to you.

Asmodean

	20-02-2005 00:41									#8
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quote: Originally posted by Winston Plus I'd have to pay the license fee which is close to USD 400 annually. No way Jose.

A TV License? Is this a local thing? That's insane

	20-02-2005 00:50									#9
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people without tv's are freaks.

	20-02-2005 01:17									#10
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The Danish TV license fee is insane. Especially considering that it only finances 1 state-run channel, heavily left wing-biased, and about 10% of another partially state run channel, not quite as biased, but even stupider than the first one.

I may be a freak, but I know what I'm not subsidizing.

I must admit however that I sneak peek the evening news on one channel's web stream about twice a month on average. A bit more during the recent election we had here.

Asmodean, yeah I gave it up a couple of years back. I must say it's probably one of the wisest and surprisingly enough easiest decisions I've ever made. But it is no doubt a bit harder if you have a family around, granted.

	20-02-2005 01:23									#11
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quote: Originally posted by Winston The Danish TV license fee is insane. Especially considering that it only finances 1 state-run channel, heavily left wing-biased, and about 10% of another partially state run channel, not quite as biased, but even stupider than the first one. I may be a freak, but I know what I'm not subsidizing. I must admit however that I sneak peek the evening news on one channel's web stream about twice a month on average. A bit more during the recent election we had here. Asmodean, yeah I gave it up a couple of years back. I must say it's probably one of the wisest and surprisingly enough easiest decisions I've ever made. But it is no doubt a bit harder if you have a family around, granted.

400 USD for a TV license? Holy Hell.

How exactly does that system work?

	20-02-2005 01:36									#12
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technically our tv is free. although most people have cable tv. I pay about $60 a month for that. That's over $700 a year.

	20-02-2005 01:41									#13
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It works so that if you have one TV set (or more) at your house you have to sign up for registration with the License Admin. I believe these days you get automatically signed up when buying a new TV set, if you aren't already.

You then have to pay the license twice a year, January and July. The fees are approximately:

Color TV + radio: USD 360 per year
B/W TV + radio: USD 230 per year
Radio alone: USD 50 per year

It doesn't matter whether you watch the state run channels or not - or even if the TV set is ever in use. As long as you have it and it's capable of receiving a signal, you have to pay.

I guess it's marginally better than if it were tax financed, but it's still a ridiculous and very rigid system. Especially considering the service you actually receive for your money, which as I mentioned is heavily lacking in objectivity, not to mention the overall poor quality of programming.

I might add that the horrendously poor TV programming in general was the reason I quit, not the license.

Last edited by Winston on 20-02-2005 at 01:47

	20-02-2005 15:33									#14
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You can't have a tv without paying a license???

	20-02-2005 15:41									#15
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That's f*cked up.

	20-02-2005 22:40									#16
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We have tv/radio licence in Sweden too, although it's not quite as expensive as in Denmark.

I don't know if any decisions have been made yet, but at least our great leaders (the social democrats, who else?) have discussed including computers with internet connection as TV/radio recievers and charge people for that as well

	21-02-2005 04:19									#17
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quote: Originally posted by Sprayber A TV License? Is this a local thing? That's insane

Many Euro countries have it to pay for their public broadcasting, like the BBC

	21-02-2005 04:21									#18
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In Canada the CBC is financed both via advertising and via general government funds (e.g. income tax etc.)

Given that virtually all households in Canada have a TV it would be sort of stupid to charge a separate tax, especially one as regressive as a fixed household rate.

	21-02-2005 04:32									#19
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Just looked it up. The CBC receives funding from the federal government of ~1 billion $CAN = 800 million $US per annum

There are 11.5 million households in Canada and almost certainly more than 11 million of them have TVs in them, so if we were charged a TV license it would be 70-75 $US per household per annum

See what a difference allowing advertising makes?

	21-02-2005 06:11									#20
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quote: Originally posted by KrazyHorse Many Euro countries have it to pay for their public broadcasting, like the BBC

Yes. It is good.

But ours is apparently about half the price of the Danish one, and funds 2 terrestrial TV stations, 5 digital TV stations, 5 analog radio stations and 4 (5?6?) digital ones, and the BBC website and blahdiblah...

	21-02-2005 07:27									#21
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Depending on what your VCR and video card have. Do both have an S-connection? Do both have normal video connectors? If your VCR has only a RF output than you need an intermediate device or a card with a TV tuner.