Capturing VHS Hi-Fi

[alexp2000]

This might be a daft question but if all I want to do is capture the audio from an NTSC VHS, is there any issue with just using my PAL VHS player? I know the picture won't work but will there be any issue with the audio.

[zoidberg]

Obvious question but can the VHS deck play NTSC tapes?

[alexp2000]

I've not tried but from what I've found online it can - I guess as long it it's playing in the deck the audio should be fine to capture..

[zoidberg]

If the player recognises NTSC tapes it should be fine. It will probably be some kind of pseudo-PAL video signal but the audio should be unaffected.

[BusterD]

Pretty sure it would need to be a multi-system VCR for the speed to be correct for NTSC, but maybe you could correct for it somewhat in post

edit: Also might not be able to get Hi-Fi audio, hard to say but might be worth a try

[alexp2000]

Fiund the manual online and it confirms NTSC playback - https://www.manualslib.com/manual/84264/...=43#manual


In terms of capturing Hi-Fi VHS is it still just a case of using the stereo output at the back and a recorder? (I have a Tascam PCM recorder I normally use for analog recording)

[zoidberg]

We had VHS decks that were 'NTSC compatible' or allowed NTSC playback on a PAL TV, so long as the player can do this it should be able to output the audio

[BusterD]

Ah, that's good then. I assume your VCR will have an indicator when it's playing the Hi-Fi audio, so hopefully it plays it without issues. I've had one NTSC tape that refused to play in Hi-Fi in my Panasonic SVHS deck from Japan though, no matter how much I adjusted the tracking (tape seemed fine otherwise), so it can sometimes be a bit of a gamble.

[alexp2000]

Thanks guys, the tape isn’t too expensive so not a massive risk anyway. It’s Five Easy Pieces which according to Moshrom’s site has no good LD or Blu-ray audio so fingers crossed this one’s better..