Playing VHS tape with Sony VCR on a PC?

[Blue_nose]

Hello

I wish to convert a few VHS tapes to DVD disk and have the PC accessories to do so (converter, cables, etc). I have done this many times using another VCR.

I now have a Sony VCR model SLV-SE230 and have rigged it up to my PC. Windows 10 detects that I have plugged in the VCR. However, when I press PLAY on the VCR with a home made video inside it, I see no movie on my PC screen via commercial video editing software (whereas I can see a movie playing when I use my other VCR, just as if it were playing on a TV screen). I have downloaded the manual for my Sony SLV-SE230 and there is no mention at all of how to connect it to a PC.

Does this mean that VHS tapes playing in my Sony SLV-SE230 VCR cannot be viewed on a PC, or am I not doing something right?

Thanks!

[IamNic]

Hello @Blue_nose,

which video grabber and which video editing software do you use?

- Nic

[Blue_nose]

Thanks for your reply.

I am using a VIDBOX converter/grabber and Honestech software. I am not doing anythging different from when I previously used a Hitachi VCR which played home movies in the honestech software, but there is a loading tray fault with that machine so I am trying out the Sony VCR that I have.

Thanks again.

[IamNic]

Hello @Blue_nose,

have you verified on a TV that the player even outputs a signal? If you can't get a signal there, that might be the solution to the issue.

It still could be a faulty cable/adapter in the line.

- Nic

[Blue_nose]

Thanks again.

This is the set up I have:

The scart lead plugs into the VCR and the USB into my PC tower. When I plug the USB into the tower and can hear that Windows recognises the device, just as when I insert a flash drive into the tower. The problem is not connecting the device; it is that the movie doesn' t play on my PC screen. Should the VCR be set to a certain channel? I can see PR1, PR2, L1, L2, etc.

Yes, I have connected the VCR to a TV and with a VHS tape inserted, I can watch whatever its contents on the TV screen.

Thanks again.

[IamNic]

Hello @Blue_nose,

---

@Blue_nose  schrieb:

Yes, I have connected the VCR to a TV and with a VHS tape inserted, I can watch whatever its contents on the TV screen.

do you use the same setup (uncluding the showen SCART to Composite video adapter)?

If on your TV you use a scart-cable directly, that might be the solution - some Scart-adapters are directional and can't be used as video in/out.

- Nic

[Blue_nose]

The SCART leads plugs into the VCR and the USB plugs into the tower (as indicated in the screenshot). It works on my Hitachi VCR and I have burnt many VHS tapes to DVD in that way. But for that to happen, I need to be able to see the movie playing on my PC screen via my movie editing software. I cannot see the movie playing on my screen with this Sony VCR. There is clearly nothing wrong with the software if I have burnt tapes to disk in the past using the same software.

What, therefore, I am asking is does the Sony VCR model that I am using have that capability?

Thanks.

[IamNic]

Hello @Blue_nose,

you misunderstood me - what I was asking was - do you use the same exact setup of cables/adapters when you plug your VCR into your TV?

If for example you use a Scart to Scart cable there you use a different setup - what I want to know is, if you get an image on your TV if you connect the VCR to your TV with the same Scart adapter combined with the Composite Video+Chinch cable. Meaning unplugging the cables from the video grabber side of your setup and plugging the same ends into your TV instead. 

- Nic

[Blue_nose]

I plug one Scart plug into the back of the TV set and the other Scart end into the VCR. I do not use those red and yellow cables + VIDBOX in order to watch a VHS tape on my TV. Those red and yellow cables + VIDBOX are to convert the VHS tape from analogue to digital. Once it is converted to digital I can burn the movie to a blank DVD.

In reality, I never use the VCR to watch VHS movies on the TV - I only use a VCR to display the VHS tape on my PC screen.

[IamNic]

Hello @Blue_nose,

even though you have understood my question - you answered it anyways.

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@Blue_nose  schrieb:

I plug one Scart plug into the back of the TV set and the other Scart end into the VCR.

---

This is what I meant - when trying to see if the VCR outputs a signal, you use a different setup than when you connect it to the video grabber.

Please check your Scart to Composite Video adapter - there are directional ones, which may be the cause you can't get a signal when you connect your VCR to the video grabber but you can see it outputting something when you use a different cable to connect it directly to the TV.

Please check if this particular adapter supports video-output on the Composite end - it may only support a signal coming from the composite video cable.

Since you already confirmed that the grabber ususally works with other devices, that is most likely the reason. I suppose your other devices directly output Composite video + Chinch (yellow/red/white) as oppose to the Sony VCR for which you need to adapt "Scart" to this connector.

- Nic