capturing VHS - picture interferences

[mrwitt]

Greetings, I'm trying to capture some old 80's VHS, which were recorded on an old vhs "camcorder". The picture is not very clean, but I observed that there is some interference on the material that I get on the pc, that disappear if I connect the Video (a LOEWE S-VHS Profi oc650h) directy to the TV via SCART. I capture via S-Video cable to a Hauppauge WinTV HVR-3000, recording with VirtualVCR (lagarith lossless).
It's like a pattern that "waves" over the screen, like vertical distorted lines. I thought it could be something to do with the power supply, I connected the pc to another wall outlet and the video too, but it didn't disappear. I could partially remove it with some filters, but then it gets too blurry. Since it's not on the tape, it must be something on the way to the pc, but I haven't figured it out.
/edit: sometimes the lines are diagonally from the top right corner, to the lower left.. like in this capture:

http://b7c.org/~dooya/trash/vhs/video1.jpg

I hope that anyone can help me resolving this issue, thank you very much in advance.
Here are some captures and a 1 sec video:
Short Video (http://b7c.org/~dooya/trash/vhs/capturetest2.avi)

http://b7c.org/~dooya/trash/vhs/video2.jpg

Thanks.

[yup]

@mrwitt
I see horizontal jagging You need Time Base Corrector first of all.
yup.

[jmac698]

You need DeFreq. The example given looks exactly like yours.
http://avisynth.org.ru/defreq/defreq.html

[TheSkiller]

First you should check your S-Video cable that you use to connect the S-VHS recorder to your capture card. If it's a really cheap and/or worn out one then you should try another one, preferably a good quality one with shielding.

Here's a test: instead of the S-VHS recorder take a DVD-Player with S-Video output and connect that to the capture card with the same cable. If the interference is gone then it's quite possible that the S-Video connection (4-pin mini-DIN/Hosiden) on your S-VHS recorder is broken.
In that case you could try to get the S-Video signal through the Scart connector if your VCR offers the possibility to output S-Video via Scart (most if not all S-VHS units have a switch for that somewhere).
To do that you would need a Scart/S-Video adapter like this one:
http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/8448/scartadapter.jpg

[mrwitt]

Thank you for your answers, I'm going to try with the dvd player. I tried already with the scart-svhs adapter but without success, maybe I missed something. I'm going to take another look at it.

I've tried DeFreq with partial success, if I can't eliminate the source of the problem, I would give it another try...

Thanks! I'll come back with the dvd results as soon as I get the player.

[TheSkiller]

It doesn't have to be a DVD-Player, you can use any device that has a S-Video output (camcorder, game console...).

Also, keep in mind that you can't use any Scart/S-Video adapter because if you use one without an INPUT/OUTPUT switch then the signal can go only in one direction leaving you with a black screen if it's designed for S-Video to Scart and not vice versa.

[mrwitt]

I've tried with the dvd-player, the result is the same. the cable seems to be ok, I forgot to mention that a time ago I bought another svhs cable with golden contacts, not so cheap, and the result was the same.
Then I made this test: I've got an svhs to component adapter, which I plugged in, and to the dvd-player's component out. Result is the same, with black and white but the same interference. Seems to be the card... I already changed the slot where I put the card in, reinstalled drivers, no change. :/

[Ghitulescu]

It's the ground loop. I don't understand why people tend to use first SW remedies when the mechanical solution is the easiest one. No SW I know of can correct what a defective HW does (or does not).

[yetanotherid]

Well then, how do you break the ground loop?

[Ghitulescu]

The simplest way is to remove the audio cables :)
and to capture the audio later on.

Secondly, in terms of price, is to get a ground insulator, usually sold in auto parts shops or music stores (more expensive).

[mrwitt]

In my case, it's not the audio. I've got no other cable connected than power, dvi-hdmi, usb wireless mouse/keyboard and the svhs. Strange thing is that I had the pc and vhs connected at two different places (my home and my parents home and it doesn't disappear at neither), so I assume that anything related with the hardware must be the problem for that ground loop.

[Ghitulescu]

Try a different position for plugs (reverse one).

PS: I assume other recordings (ie without a VCR) are ok. If not then the PC is simply too noisy.