You'll have to give more information before anybody can give you an answer. For instance have you connected your VHS player to a USB video grabber? That would be the most common scenario and if so, they normally come with their own software which in many cases is best used first to record 'grab' the video.

I bought a Movie Digitizer (videograbber) and the Cyberlink Power Director v.10 accompany the device. When I then plug in my video player (VHS), the software does not know the player. Only buttons that are active then are Webcam, Microphone and optical device. Myplayer is not included in the buttons menu. Have tested this with Scart cable and a TV and it works. It is said in videograbbers package that it transfers analog video from VHS.

Thank for your time to help me.

Have you tried selecting the webcam? What make/model is the grabber?

When I choose a webcam, I can see myself. The webcam from my laptop activates. The grabbwer is a Moviesaver from Plexgear

I can't find much on that particular grabber and what I have found is in Norwegian. Assuming you have connected the grabber to your laptop, have you tried any other software to see if the signal is getting through. Depending on what verion of Windows you have, perhaps Windows Movie Maker. I believe there is an accompanying CD with the grabber. Have you installed everything on there?

p.s. - My video grabber shows up as "TV signal" in PDR by the way but I'm assuming you have tried all the options that are available.

Yes. I have tested all the signals that are available. HDV, DV and other options are not available. I just installed the software that came with grabber. Can you recommend a software that I can test?

I´m starting to believe that something is wrong with the hardware

Quote Yes. I have tested all the signals that are available. HDV, DV and other options are not available. I just installed the software that came with grabber. Can you recommend a software that I can test?

I´m starting to believe that something is wrong with the hardware

Do you have the VHS connected to the grabber and is the VHS powered on?

Where do you have the grabber plugged into your computer? You cannot use a USB HUB. What laptop do you have? .
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BoilerPlate: To posters who ask for help -- it is nice to thank the volunteers who try to answer your questions !
Anything I post unless stated with a reference is my personal opinion.

HDV and DV are both digital formats. Your grabber needs an analogue input and the composite video is probably the easiest to try - the yellow phon0 input socket. The red and white ones are for stereo audio.

p.s. oops misread your post you said "not available"

p.p.s. - my grabber is more or less permanently connected to the wireless receiver from my 2 nestcam cameras. I use some free/charityware called YAWCAM to monitor them and upload snapshots to my web space. It wouldn't help you with recording but it might help with troubleshooting. If you have VLC installed then you can also use that but it is a bit more technically challenging I find.

Quote

Quote Yes. I have tested all the signals that are available. HDV, DV and other options are not available. I just installed the software that came with grabber. Can you recommend a software that I can test?

I´m starting to believe that something is wrong with the hardware

Do you have the VHS connected to the grabber and is the VHS powered on?

Where do you have the grabber plugged into your computer? You cannot use a USB HUB. What laptop do you have?

I've connected the grabber to all the USB ports in my laptop. Have also waited until they are configured. Obviously I have the VHS player turned on.

Quote HDV and DV are both digital formats. Your grabber needs an analogue input and the composite video is probably the easiest to try - the yellow phon0 input socket. The red and white ones are for stereo audio.

p.s. oops misread your post you said "not available"

What confuses me is that the player works when I connect it to the TV.



Yes I have composite video connection attached. The RCA yellow connection

Did the device come with drivers for it? Did you install those drivers before you plugged in the device?

I know of a different device that won't work if you let Windows install drivers for it. The fix is to delete the current drivers with the device plugged in and then reboot with the device unplugged. Once your computer is rebooted, install the special drivers for it before plugging it in. Once those drivers are installed, reboot and only then plug in the device.

Sorry, I'm grasping at straws here. .
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BoilerPlate: To posters who ask for help -- it is nice to thank the volunteers who try to answer your questions !
Anything I post unless stated with a reference is my personal opinion.

It works from the TV? Are you sure you are using the correct ports on the VHS? Typically the port on the front is an input port; the ones on the back are the ouput. .
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BoilerPlate: To posters who ask for help -- it is nice to thank the volunteers who try to answer your questions !
Anything I post unless stated with a reference is my personal opinion.

Just to double check, you are testing with the tape actually running are you?

Quote It works from the TV? Are you sure you are using the correct ports on the VHS? Typically the port on the front is an input port; the ones on the back are the ouput.

HAHA my VHS is from the medieval epoc. Just one port on the backside. SCART

I understand what you mean. I uninstall the drivers now and reinstall.

Thanks for the help. I'll be back if it works ... or not.

Quote I can't find much on that particular grabber and what I have found is in Norwegian. Assuming you have connected the grabber to your laptop, have you tried any other software to see if the signal is getting through. Depending on what verion of Windows you have, perhaps Windows Movie Maker. I believe there is an accompanying CD with the grabber. Have you installed everything on there?

p.s. - My video grabber shows up as "TV signal" in PDR by the way but I'm assuming you have tried all the options that are available.

Thanks for this one. Seems obvious, but since my Windows 10 installation is the same as my Windows 7 installation except for PD16, and since all was fine in Windows 7, I at first assumed PD was the problem. Turns out that, while the capture software that I was using (EZ Grabber and ShowBiz) on Windows 7 worked fine there, they had the same problem as PD in Windows 10! So, nobody was finding the grabber.
FWIW, my grabber now shows up as "TV signal" as well. Windows 10: PowerDirector 16
Windows 7 & 10. VC500 w EZGrabber & Showbiz. Roxio Creator Premier 10.2

Quote Did the device come with drivers for it? Did you install those drivers before you plugged in the device?

I know of a different device that won't work if you let Windows install drivers for it. The fix is to delete the current drivers with the device plugged in and then reboot with the device unplugged. Once your computer is rebooted, install the special drivers for it before plugging it in. Once those drivers are installed, reboot and only then plug in the device.

Sorry, I'm grasping at straws here.

Thanks for this. I'm using a different grabber (Diamond VC500), but had the same problem. None of my Windows 10 capture software was seeing my VCR. Turns out it was indeed a driver conflict. I used a slightly different process to fix. Windows 10: PowerDirector 16
Windows 7 & 10. VC500 w EZGrabber & Showbiz. Roxio Creator Premier 10.2

Quote

Quote Did the device come with drivers for it? Did you install those drivers before you plugged in the device?

I know of a different device that won't work if you let Windows install drivers for it. The fix is to delete the current drivers with the device plugged in and then reboot with the device unplugged. Once your computer is rebooted, install the special drivers for it before plugging it in. Once those drivers are installed, reboot and only then plug in the device.

Sorry, I'm grasping at straws here.

Thanks for this. I'm using a different grabber (Diamond VC500), but had the same problem. None of my Windows 10 capture software was seeing my VCR. Turns out it was indeed a driver conflict. I used a slightly different process to fix.

I am looking at the VC-500, it is a recommended USB device. If you have an older version of PD (I use PD12), you can install it as a 32bit app (by removing the 64bit installer exe), then install ffdshow along with K-lite mega codec pack and you will then be able to capture analog sources as uncompressed AVI, as well as DV, Divx, and MPEG1 and 2. The AVI is the gold standard, I can capture in FastCodec, MagicYUV, Lagareth, UTvideo, Huffyuv, MJPEG, Toponoky, etc.
Most of these are mathematically lossless and if you plan to FIX up/restore the video then a lossless codec is a must, although they can be huuge.
Looking closer at the ffdshow interface you will also find access to AVIsyth scripting which is a whole new world of video restoration best studied at DIGITALFAQ site.
I might add a quality VCR is also extremely important, as well as a TBC unit if you really want to squeeze the last pixel of quality. My "advanced beginner" setup is about $8-900 US. HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

BTC,
Thanks for your response. However, your recommendations seem to suggest more equipment, effort and dollars than I am currently planning to commit. 😊 I’m trying to keep this as simple as possible. At this point, I am hoping only to replicate the quality as it is on my 1980s & ‘90s vintage VHS tapes – not a very high bar. So, expecting to continue w VC500, using EZ Grabber (or ShowBiz??) for capture, then on to PD16.
Even so, I am not completely happy with my results so far, and am debating whether to try to find an existing VC500-PD post to piggyback off of or to start anew. What do you suggest? Windows 10: PowerDirector 16
Windows 7 & 10. VC500 w EZGrabber & Showbiz. Roxio Creator Premier 10.2

The VC-500 is recommended by the experts for USB capture. Also The Hauppage USB Live2, and I use a Hauppage 850. Do not buy a cheap knockoff.
Not sure what you mean by piggyback, you only need 1 converter stick.
What are you unhappy with as far as results?

You CAN get a decent result using low-grade consumer VCR, but if ANYTHING is wrong with the tape you will find a better VCR, and a Time Base Corrector, can make a huuuge difference.

The advantage to capturing as lossless AVI is you then have ALL THE VIDEO information in the file rather than compressed and missing much of the color and movement and each "fix" you apply makes the final result grainier and yuckier and blander losing color-space each time it's rendered.
A good VCR will also have a better playback mechanism, and filters. JVC is the best, followed by Panasonic, and for non-TBC units, Sharp is very good. HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT