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I think the biggest obstacle right now is not the software, but the hardware. The software works, but requires either buying a $300-$500 set of three circuit bo

by pkkm 3y ago

I think the biggest obstacle right now is not the software, but the hardware. The software works, but requires either buying a $300-$500 set of three circuit boards, or finding a specific PCIe capture card and potentially modifying it. If someone made a nicer version of the Domesday Duplicator - single board in a case, $100 to $200 - I think that would make the project a lot more accessible. Even better would be if someone started selling modified VHS players, having replaced their normal electronics with a capture device and a USB3 port. After all, many people don't have a soldering iron or a desktop computer.

actionfromafar 3y ago
If we are talking about serious archiving of lots of tapes, $500 for a capture device is nothing. The labor costs of keeping the actual tape deck(s) in good order is probably going to dwarf. But I have actually toyed with the idea of setting up complete workstations modified player, and a slightly better software UX. Don't know how to reach the market willing to pay for such things, though. For tinkering at home, the specific PCIe capture device is actually quite easy to find, it seems it's still produced for some reason.