Re: S-VHS capturing problems


"Mike Kujbida" <kXuXjXfXaXm@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:5qhosgF1046n2U1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
2Bdecided wrote:
I'm trying to digitise some old (1991-1998) S-VHS camcorder tapes. A
few are S-VHS-C originals, but most are S-VHS dubs from the S-VHS-C
originals (since recorded over several times!). All are PAL 4x3.

I'm shocked by the poor quality, but I guess they always looked like
this, and my expectations have increased over the years.

My concern at this stage is to capture them to digital the best that I
can.

I'm using the following equipment:

Panasonic NV-SV121EB deck
S-video output
Time Base Corrector ON (seems to help a little)
Digital NR OFF (hope I can do better in software later)

Dazzle Hollywood DV Bridge capture card
(S-video input)


I'm not convinced either of these devices is optimal for the job, and
would appreciate advice. It's getting hard to find S-VHS decks at all
these days, but if anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears. One
specific problem I have with this deck is that small drop outs aren't
always masked in the way that a "HQ" deck ought to (maybe they were on
the original tapes and copied over? Maybe I am expecting too much from
S-VHS?).

The capture card seems to have some issues. It sometimes drops frames
for no apparent reason, and sometimes manages to capture with the
fields swapped/shifted! When it works, it's OK - the still pause on
the VCR is captured with little moving noise, so it's not introducing
a hideous amount itself.

Still, I think I need to find a better capture card before I capture
40+ 3 hour tapes. I've read about people using miniDV camcorders to
digitise old tapes - is there a cheap, good model with S-Video input
available in the European PAL market? (a lot of our models are/were
crippled to remove inputs).

Or should I use something different for capturing / A>D?

All help / suggestions gratefully received.

Cheers,
David.


Look into a Canopus ADVC-110 or a Canopus ADVC-300.
The 300 is a lot more money but has a built-in TBC as well as noise
reduction hardware.

Mike

"Dazzle" hardware has a questionable reputation,
check www.videohelp.com the latest posts seem
to suggest that it can be made to work well, though.

http://www.videohelp.com/capturecards/dazzle-hollywood-dv-bridge/43

One post claims that it provides the same quality as
the Canopus-100, from VHS captures.

You might want to try it with the deck's NR turned on,
as it could work on the individual analog components of
the video signal that was recorded on the tape. If it
does, it has a major advantage over NR applied later.
Having an S-Video capable deck with NR and TBC,
should provide you a much better signal than many
have to work with, from VHS. Make sure any needed
playback adjustments, like "Tracking" are attended to.

You might also want to see if you can gain access to
the capture hardware's process amp settings to do
color correction and luma adjustment/filtering (including
sharpening) on the analog signal just before it is digitized.
(if your card uses the Philips SAA7114H chip, I can
give you some registry settings, if you need them.)

While the need to edit no longer automatically means that
you should capture to DV-AVI, (you can edit in MPEG
now-a-days), you did say you wanted to try and improve
the quality of the VHS video. For any extensive use of
the filters that are used to try and correct problems with
the video [- after it has been digitized-] DV is the way to
go. There are a vast array of programs, plug-ins, and
filters written for such processing, of DV.

So the question comes down to whether you can get
your "Dazzle" card to produce acceptable DV, if not
then you should look for a better A to DV device.
Again check the "Capture Cards" listing at:
www.videohelp.com

Luck;
Ken


.

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