Copy protection on VHS tapes

[Colin Buswell]

Ok I've just started to digitise the kids videos for a Xmas present to them (cheap skate or what?) and in the past I put them on VHS tape and broke the tab at the back so no one could tape over.
Trouble is when capturing through the Terratec Grabster AV400 I keep getting the error message that it's copy protected and it stops the capture.
V annoying to say the least
Probably doing summink daft but any ideas out there??

[Ken Berry]

Have you tried putting some tape over the hole where the protection tabs were? This usually allows you to tape over the VHS should you want, so it might also work by fooling your capture device into believing it's not a copy protected tape.

[Colin Buswell]

Ok I'll just nip off to the garage and rummage for a bit.
Still beyond me how the programme knows about it though!
Here's me trying to think of a high tech solution

Many thanks I'll let you know if it works

[DVDDoug]

I don't think that tab has anything to do with it. Like you said, that tab tells the VCR not to record-over the tape, it does not prevent you from making another copy.

Are these the same tapes that you broke the tab off of? In that case, they are not copy protected. Apparently, the copy-protection detection circuitry can get confused by a poor quality/damaged tape, or by a poor signal.

You might try a different VCR... You might get a better signal. Or, you may need some sort of image stabilizer such as The Clarifier. Maybe this isn't such a cheap project after all. And even if you buy a simple stabilizer, it may not help...

From the Facet Video FAQ:

Q: I have some really old video tapes that are almost unwatchable because they are deteriorating with age. Will the Clarifier fix them up?

A: This is another bit of misinformation regarding so-called "Video Stabilizers". No Video Stabilizer can fix up a video that is severely degraded. Not all video problems are caused by copy protection. The only device that can make any substantial improvements to poor quality tapes is a Time Base Corrector or TBC. A TBC will completely eliminate the speed variations that come from poor recording quality and tape stretch. They will also usually do some "drop out" correction but they can't work miracles. They are generally very expensive though there are a few that sell for around $500.

Some capture devices, such as my Hauppauge card simply ignore the macrovision (copy protection) signal, so I never get any "false-positives"... I don't know if all Hauppauge devices are this way... Nobody advertises that they aren't "playing along" in the copy protection game.

[sjj1805]

The copy protection might be macrovision designed to prevent video piracy.
Although macrovision exists mainly in commercial DVD formats it can also exist in VHS.

[Colin Buswell]

I'm afraid DVDDoug is right, tried the tape solution and as he says it's a quality issue with the software. Because I recorded these originally from my old Sony camera (we are talking 1989 here) every time there's a break or noise, up pops the copy protection message.
I wouldn't mind if it just sailed through but it stops the capture which means a lot of expletives and banging of the keyboard.
Don't suppose anyone knows how to bypass this???

[Ron P.]

It does seem to be a quality issue, and your Terratec interprets the drop-offs as copy protection. I don't believe it is VS that is throwing you the curves though. I digitized some old Betamax tapes, that I had from about 1985. There were some pretty bad spots in one of the tapes. I had a Sony Betamax plugged into my digital-8 camcorder, which I connected to my PC via Firewire. I never received any error message about copy protection.

So maybe try locating an older Sony Digital 8 that has pass-through, to get the videos onto your PC.