The VHS to Digital Conversion Upscaler!

If you've seen some of my other videos around converting VHS tapes into a digital format, you would have seen that I recommend using a device called an upscaler to increase the resolution of the analog signal into a digital one. If you're not sure what an upscaler is or which one you should get, well, this article is for you. I'm going to go over what a video upscaler is, my review of 10 different upscalers that I tried—all ranging from $ 15 to $ 150—and I'll tell you about the issues that I ran into if any. I'm also going to discuss what features are included, and we'll address that 4x3 and 16x9 comment that I keep getting. Additionally, I'll share with you what I ultimately chose, as I plan to re-digitize all of my home movies again utilizing what I've learned through this process.

Just so you know, I funded this 100% out of my own pocket. I don't represent any of these vendors, and this is just my opinion based on my observations. Your mileage may vary based on the equipment and ultimately the quality of the tapes, so just keep that in mind. Before we continue our discussion around upscalers, if you could do me a huge favor and make this the best YouTube channel by hitting that like and subscribe button, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

What is an Upscaler?

In short, video upscaling is the process of taking a lower-resolution video or image and upscaling it to a higher one. Most TVs and other connected devices like a PlayStation or a Roku automatically upscale smaller resolution videos during playback, so you really don't even notice it happening behind the scenes. However, when you have something like a VHS tape and you want to upscale it manually, you would either need to use software or hardware.

Before we can even use software to upscale, we need to get the VHS tape into digital form first using hardware. If you haven't seen my video on this yet, I'll put a link at the end of the article as it's something that you want to check out. But what we're going to talk about here is the hardware version of upscaling.

When you think about resolutions, consider this: an NTSC analog signal—which is what old TV broadcasts and VHS tapes contain—can be as small as a 320x240 pixel image. That image is roughly 77,000 pixels or tiny dots on the screen that make up the picture. Now, if we were to increase the size of that image to, say, 640x480, we would go from 77,000 pixels to roughly 307,000 pixels. Then if we were to take that to 1080p, which is high definition (1920x1080), we're now talking over 2 million pixels. At 8K, it's over 30 million. If we're going from 77,000 pixels with the NTSC signal to over 2 million at 1080p—which is what all of these upscalers support—there are a lot of missing pixels that need to be guessed at in this process. In short, that is what this hardware or upscaler is going to try to do for you using an algorithm that does its best to estimate the missing parts and tries to give you a larger picture for something that really doesn't exist.

If you're curious about what those algorithms are or which ones exist, I'll put a link to a website in the description below if you really want to geek out on the topic. For today, we're not going to go into that level of detail. Instead, we're just going to try out each one of these and see which one works out the best for this conversion process.

My process was to purchase different upscalers and run the same tests on all of them. The process in short was this: using my VCR or DVD combo, I used the audio video jacks on the back with a standard composite cable. For those of you that are curious, my device doesn't support the S cable for VHS, so I've seen that in the comments quite a bit. The composite cable then fed the analog signal into the upscaler, and then the upscaler converted it into a digital format going out an HDMI cable which then goes into my Elgato HD60 capture card, from which point I used the OBS Studio software to capture it on my PC.

The video for the test was the same in all cases—a rafting trip that I did more than 20 years ago. Here are the 10 different devices that I tested: one was just the wrong thing as I didn't read the description correctly, and it actually converts digital to analog rather than the other way around. So this one got removed from the list. Additionally, two devices just flat-out didn't work. I'd hook them up and they would just never get a picture; they would just end up with a black screen. The last one that I have to remove is the open-source scan converter or OSSC. It was actually the most expensive of all of them but it's really meant for doing retro gaming systems. Unfortunately, in doing some research, it doesn't really support converting TV signals like VHS tapes.

What I was left with are six upscalers: The Avi to HDMI ($ 15), the RCA to HDMI ($ 16), the Raz Fox Divine Ice ($ 30), the Yutronics ($ 38), the Easy Cell RCA to HDMI ($ 40), and the StarTech ($ 92). These six different upscalers essentially do the same thing: input an analog signal and output an HDMI video. I chose to keep my review of these devices in the price range of under $ 150 because there are some really expensive upscalers out there that are way outside the scope of this article and my budget. For example, the XRGB Mini Framemeister runs for $ 1,759. I'm sure it's really nice, but I can't afford that or justify it frankly.

Issues Encountered

In testing all six of these devices, I had two real outcomes: everything worked as expected—which only one device achieved—or I experienced issues. The RCA device was the one that worked flawlessly. For the other five, I experienced two distinct issues: discoloration and line noise.

Discoloration: This issue appeared as a strange discolored top of the screen where things would get weird or kind of pinkish or red, distorting the colors. This was largely due to the nature of the analog signal, which consists of three distinct parts: the picture, the color or chroma, and the luminance or contrast. Unfortunately, this doesn't work in every situation. I found that three devices failed consistently with this issue. One solution I read about was to try using the S-Video cable if your player and the upscaler support them, as the S-Video cable will send the luminance and color signals down separate wires, solving the problem.

Line Noise: This problem really bugged me as it seemed to affect all the more expensive upscalers. The issue was traced back to the cheap power supplies that came with the devices. By using a better power supply, I was able to remove the noise. I found a $ 15 adapter on Amazon that produced clean power and resolved the noise issue for me.

Aspect Ratios

Many of you have pointed out that most of the sample videos I shared were in a 16x9 format and not 4x3, which stretches the image. The aspect ratio is governed by the original video and the upscaler's resolution output. Most upscalers only support 720p and 1080p, both of which are 16x9. If you want a proper 4x3 resolution, the Yutronics device supports seven different output resolutions, including 4x3 formats. However, your capture card also has to support these resolutions.

Recommendations

After comparing the six devices, here are my final thoughts:

The Avi to HDMI, Raz Fox, and Easy Cell HDMI all had color issues and are not recommended.
The RCA to HDMI device worked flawlessly without power supply problems, but it lacks S-Video support and multiple resolutions.
The Yutronics, priced at $ 38, has three different inputs (composite, S-Video, HDMI) and supports seven output resolutions. It did have noise issues, but this could be resolved with a better power supply. This is the one I would recommend.
The StarTech only supports 720p and was the most expensive at $ 92, so I would pass on it.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the highlight of this review is the Yutronics upscaler. Below is a sample of 4x3 video from this device. I plan to use this upscaler for converting all my home movies in the future. For a video capture device, I recommend the Elgato HC60 Pro for internal capture or the Elgato HD60X for laptops.

I hope this article has helped answer your questions around upscalers. If you have any further questions, please let me know in the comments. As always, thank you for your time, and don't forget to subscribe and like the article!

Keywords

VHS Conversion
Digital Format
Upscaler
Resolution
Video Capture
Elgato HD60
OBS Studio
Composite Cable
NTSC Signal
Aspect Ratio

FAQ

Q: What is a video upscaler?

A: A video upscaler is a device that takes lower-resolution video or images and converts them to a higher resolution, filling in missing pixels through an algorithm.

Q: What are the common issues with upscalers?

A: The common issues include discoloration and line noise. Discoloration is often due to the nature of the analog signal, while line noise is usually caused by cheap power supplies.

Q: Which upscaler should I use for VHS to digital conversion?

A: The Yutronics upscaler is highly recommended due to its multiple input options, support for various resolutions, including 4x3, and good performance with an upgraded power supply.

Q: Why do some videos appear stretched or squished after upscaling?

A: This is due to the aspect ratio differences. Most upscalers only support 16x9 outputs, which can stretch a 4x3 original video format if not handled correctly.

Q: Do all upscalers support S-Video input?

A: No, not all upscalers support S-Video input. Devices like the Yutronics do, but others like the RCA to HDMI do not.