u/ConsumerDV

The final price was $405.

I was watching an old video and I could not help grabbing this frame to post in this sub :)

The video is from 1990 or 1991.

I have a whole bunch of devices for digitizing analog videos from a 2006 Dazzle USB dongle to an AverMedia PCI expansion board to an external box that does not need a computer. I digitized through a Digital8 camcorder and I used a set-top DVD recorder. Save for a 10-bit professional AV board like Kona LHe, I tried may different options.

For the last half a year I've been using a sub-$200 standalone box Portta VD20P, it has composite and SVideo inputs. Its cousin, Portta VD22P, has composite and component inputs. Otherwise, they are the same.

To me, the overall quality of the resulting video is good enough to not bother with doing it on a computer. I am sure, ingesting uncompressed 8-bit, or better 10-bit into an intermediate codec, deinterlacing with QTGMC and upscaling to HD will look better, but I figured that it is not worth the hassle for most of the content I am dealing with. The two boxes mentioned above do the job in realtime, and after I finished playing a tape, I am done. They produce a file with 1080p60 encoded with H.264 High@L5.1 with bitrate up to 16 Mb/s (I can also choose 4, 8 and 12 Mb/s).

"1080 4:3" mode pillarboxes 4:3 original content into a 16:9 frame, retaining proportions of the original video. "1080 16:9" mode is useful for capturing native widescreen video; I also use it to capture 4:3 video, then adjust the aspect ratio in the header, which results in 1920x1080 video with 4:3 proportions (SAR 0.75). Youtube correctly handles such a video. Reddit correctly shows it as a separate post, but does not show correctly in the feed, so YMMV.

ffmpeg.exe -i INPUT.MP4 -aspect 4:3 -bsf:v "h264_metadata=sample_aspect_ratio=3/4" -c copy OUTPUT.MP4

Why I am writing this glowing post right now, not several months ago, when I uploaded my videos to YT? This is because I found a review by a guy, whose articles I've been reading for the last 15 or so years, he is a pro, and he came pretty much to the same conclusion as I did, and he produced similar recommendation to improve the product.

Alan found that the VD22P is useful for capturing from a Betacam / Betacam SP deck. I don't have a professional VTR, so to me the VD20P is preferable.

I am posting his review first, then a couple of mine.

• Review: PORTTA real-time VD20P & VD22P digitizer/upscaler/recorders from SD to 1080p60.00 by Allan Tépper (March 13, 2026, article on provideocoalition.com with a bunch of samples)
• Portta VHS to Digital Converter VD22P — the best for the price? Comparison tests and setup advice (Nov 11, 2025, my review on Youtube).
• Portta VD20P VHS to Digital Converter is a well-rounded standalone device to convert your old home videos and television recordings into AVC/MP4 digital files (Feb 3, 2026, my review on Youtube)

If you want to see smooth 60p motion, here is an example on YT: Southern Pacific 2472 steam locomotive + 8376 and 7324 diesel (VHS-C original recording, 60 fps).

I turn Modern Pop on Roku/Vevo from time to time to stay current. I saw this video today, which clearly panders to the current "vintage vibe" trend.

I'd say, it is not 90s/2000s vintage, but rather late 2000s - early 2010s with seemingly ad-hoc shots on the street, no lightning (or no-lighting look), 16:9, deep DOF, and rectangular inserts so popular now for some reason. Yet it is 24 fps. Also, clearly shot with a CMOS-based camera - skewing is noticeable during whip pans and the traffic passing in front of the camera.

Link to the video on YT: Zoe Ko - Party girls don't cry.

Cindy Crawford commercials from this tape, uploaded to YT:

• Cindy's Lips
• Cindy's Skin
• Cindy's Revolutionary Nails

These are shots from five 2-hour tapes my friend recorded thirty years ago, still working on the edit.

Recorded 30-something years ago.

This is a clip from a future road movie that I am editing from 10 hours of Video8 footage. Alex and Ivan were invited to spend a night at a friend's home in Augusta, GA on their trip from NYC to LA in the early 1990s.

Olivia Rodrigo strikes while the iron is hot. The linked "BTS" is, in fact, a third version of a music video for her new song. Smart.

I see an HDV camcorder and a larger camera, not sure is it a Betacam or a full-size VHS.

Link: Olivia Rodrigo - drop dead (behind the scenes).

Olivia Rodrigo makes hay while the sun shines. Clearly, this is a sort of an informal and (cough!) "authentic" version of a music video for her recent song, quite different to the official music video, discussed previously in this sub. The selfie-style shields it from critique. Granted, aimless zooming, encoding errors, stuttering, low frame rate, rectangular inserts combined together create a sort of "authentic street y2k vintage camcorder style" that she feeds off using the worst possible cameras, at the same time legitimizing it. Kids shooting this sort of videos must feel vindicated just like I felt after I watched the official MV shot and presented at 50 fps.