Need help with hardware choice!

[AltairAC]

First of all, hi! I've already read the capture guide and faq but I still have a big problem choosing the right hardware.

The whole problem starts with my age, I am not that old so my only experience with vcr's is watching catoons when I was a child and therefore I don't know much about hardware dealing with analog data. The reason why I am here is because I still have many recordings (child events, marriage of my parents and so on) which need to be digitized. I calculated a bit and it would cost me a lot to let a studio digitize them so I thought to try doing it myself.

I need advice in choosing the right hardware for my needs so I'll try to provide detailed information of what I have and what I need. Please forgive me if I provide unnecessary information and please say if I need to add something.

So I have 2 old CRT tv's, one is about 18 years old, I found the papers of that tv and it says "SABA T 7048 VT / T 6348 VT", the other is a Quadro TV 10 years old, I think I lost the papers but here is the back side just in case (there are also 3 chinch utors on the front side - audio (red and white) and video (yellow)):
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/1558/p8150537z.jpg

So the next I have is a broken vcr :). It refers to the name SABA 6829.

Pic from ebay:
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/7746/sabaf.jpg

Specifications:
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/4969/saba6829.jpg


So this vcr is doing this to my vhs tapes:
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/5175/p3201302.jpg
http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/7311/p3201301.jpg
http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/5671/p3201300.jpg
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/4475/p3201299.jpg

Considering the specs I provided, does it make sense to repair this vcr (I know some people who still do it) or should I get a new(used) one? And of course going offtopic in my own thread: Is it possible to repair the vhs tapes shown on the pictures above so I can recover at least the most of the video?

I found an ad in my country for a combo device (LG V280) for 80$ and 1 year warranty.

DVD Player + Hi-Fi VCR (6 heads)
Coaxial Digital Audio output
S-Video output
Component Video(RGB) output
2 x scart
Pal progressive scan

But I also read that it would be better to get a regular vcr (allegedly they offer better quality than a combo device) so what do you guys think?


And now to the capture card. I care for quality rather than size (I am aware that it depends on the source and actually every piece of hardware and I know that the real deal demands more than 1000$). I have a 9800GTX graphics card with S-Video output
http://www.hardware-mag.de/artikel/512/06.jpg


but I guess a tv card would be the best solution (usb solutions are not that good if I recall correctly?). So I need a suggestion for a hybrid or just analog card. I've got here a list of cards, is it worth it to invest in any of these :
http://www.adm.hr/index.php?cPath=258_217_4_100&page=1&sort=3a
or should I stick with a used one?

It would be great if I could buy the card in my country rather than ebay so could you suggest any cards which I should look for? The big issue here is to estimate the price range because I am not so into tv cards. I want to do a decent job, I've got a Quad Core CPU and a 1.5TB hdd so space is not a problem. I really don't know what should I say for the price range, it can be a used card or new, I'll think the top range would be around 100$ but please consider that I only need it to digitize my old tapes.

I don't know if that helps but I look for used cards on this advert site and the prices are also stated in €, the price in KN divided by 5 gives you the price in dollars.
http://www.njuskalo.hr/


Please forgive me if I made mistakes in the terminology.
Thanks in advance!

[FlimsyFeet]

Regarding the VCR, this page gives some good advice:
http://www.digitalfaq.com/guides/video/capture-playback-hardware.htm

[Ghitulescu]

SABA is always JVC in disguise :)

[hello_hello]

That's a big help. :)

There's some videos here which explain how to repair VHS tapes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1PJWA2KGyg
I haven't watched them myself so I'm assuming they give good instructions.

If you need to rejoin the tapes Google "VHS splicing tape" or something similar. For example: http://www.tapecenter.com/splictapinby1.html

[AltairAC]

Excellent!

FlimsyFeet, thank you for the link, I found a lot of useful information there.

Ghitulescu, this made my day, so I don't have to search or spent any additional money for a vcr. Thanks! :)

hello_hello, I can't believe I forgot to check youtube by myself, the video was very useful and I don't have any additional questions about this topic. Although, this one is more funny :D http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUNMjeESM9g

All my questions were answered, so only the capture card remains. I found recommendations on digitalfaq but I can't find any of these cards in my country (expect from AverMedia but they say that those cards are not so good and 2 x ATI All-in-Wonder cards which are of course AGP :/).

I searched for some cards and I've got a list but since none of those is mentioned as a recommendation, I hope that someone will tell me if any of these is good enough for my needs:

ATI Theatrix 550 TV FM
Genius Video Wonder PRO II v2
Gigabyte GC-PTV-TAF
GIGABYTE GT-P8000
Hauppauge WinTV 38074 rev b521
Hauppauge WinTV PVR 150
Leadtek Winfast DTV 2000 H
WinFast TV2000 XP
WinFast TV2000 XP Expert
WayJet WT-951TF-BK

and 2 without model name but specs in english:
http://www.njuskalo.hr/pc-kartice/tv-tuner-kartica-lifeview-oglas-2818116
http://www.njuskalo.hr/pc-kartice/zoltrix-genie-tv-kartica-oglas-3204652

or should I try it with AverMedia?
http://www.avermedia.com/avertv/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?Id=22

As I mentioned earlier I don't know much about TV cards so sorry if I posted something 'stupid'.

[Ghitulescu]

digitalfaq is a bit outdated (no wonder, analog capturing is itself outdated).
Avoid cards based on Bt8x8 (I know this is going against the stream, as everyone says/knows) - they capture at a different sampling rate than SMPTE/ITU-R require, thus the need for rescaling with the associated quality loss. It's however small, not noticed by the untrained eye (only with test cards) and for VHS it won't matter too much anyway. Use any Philips chips instead (SAA7xxx). They are the best solution for PAL.
Also look for cards without onboard TV-tuner if you can.
Also important is that the card must have audio inputs that are not pass-through to the soundcard (with wires like CD-ROM to soundcard ones).

[AltairAC]

digitalfaq is a bit outdated (no wonder, analog capturing is itself outdated).
Avoid cards based on Bt8x8 (I know this is going against the stream, as everyone says/knows) - they capture at a different sampling rate than SMPTE/ITU-R require, thus the need for rescaling with the associated quality loss. It's however small, not noticed by the untrained eye (only with test cards) and for VHS it won't matter too much anyway. Use any Philips chips instead (SAA7xxx). They are the best solution for PAL.
Also look for cards without onboard TV-tuner if you can.
Also important is that the card must have audio inputs that are not pass-through to the soundcard (with wires like CD-ROM to soundcard ones).

:thanks:

I think I've got the perfect one:
http://www.njuskalo.hr/pc-kartice/tv-tuner-kartica-lifeview-oglas-2818116

LifeView FlyVideo Series have been certified by Microsoft WinXP WHQL

...

TV / Video display
- Full motion display @ 30fps
- Resizable video window from free size to full screen
- Full screen display: Max. resolution up to 720x576
- Support overlay mode to get the best quality

TV / Video capture
- Full motion video capture up to 30 fps
- Video capture format: AVI, MPEG-I, MPEG-II (option)
- Still image snapshot format: BMP
- Video capture size: up to 720x576 (AVI), 352x240 (VCD NTSC) and 352x288 (VCD PAL)

...

Supported TV tuner types
- Versatile TV tuner type: NTSC, PAL BG, PAL DK, PAL I, SECAM LL'
FlyVideo 2000 series is the first TV card in the world to utilize the Philips SAA7130 chip-the 9-bit video ADC PCI video decoder.
FlyVideo2000 LR138 SAA7130 MONO Standard



but regarding to your last sentence:

Spec.
- Interface : PCI 2.2
- Composite video input
- S-Video input
- Audio input
- Audio output via audio cable to sound card
- Remote controller ( option )

It says audio cable to sound card for output, but not for input so it should be fine or am I missing something?

[Ghitulescu]

If you're still using the SABA/JVC VCR of yours then the choice of the capture card is not that strict. Be sure however to select "Fit video to audio" function or similar, to keep everything in synch.
It makes usually no sense to tweak the "last mile" when the input signal is not treated from the "first one". The most expensive studio mic will give you aproximatively the same results as the 1€ one if both connected to the MIC IN input of one's laptop. Viceversa, even the best 24/192 sound will sound approximatively the same as an MP3 if heard on a 1€ desktop speaker pair. The result cannot depass the quality of the weakest link. The software cannot perform magic, like most people use to think.

[Jawor]

- Audio input
- Audio output via audio cable to sound card
Some TV cards with audio input don't digitize the incoming audio by themselves. As stupid as it is, they just loop the audio back to their audio output connected to the sound card's input. That would make sense only if the TV card was connected to the sound card via an internal 4-pin AudioCD cable and there was no Line-In jack available.

The SAA7130 chip cannot capture audio (its siblings SAA7133/4/5 can), so this card's audio input probably works as described above.
Avoid cards based on Bt8x8
Lack of official 64-bit Windows drivers can be the real show-stopper with them (and the 64-bit build of BtWinCap, just like the 32-bit one, may not work correctly with some cards).

[AltairAC]

Some TV cards with audio input don't digitize the incoming audio by themselves. As stupid as it is, they just loop the audio back to their audio output connected to the sound card's input. That would make sense only if the TV card was connected to the sound card via an internal 4-pin AudioCD cable and there was no Line-In jack available.

The SAA7130 chip cannot capture audio (its siblings SAA7133/4/5 can), so this card's audio input probably works as described above.

Lack of official 64-bit Windows drivers can be the real show-stopper with them (and the 64-bit build of BtWinCap, just like the 32-bit one, may not work correctly with some cards).

You are right.

Many times audio is the difficult part to get working. But the funniest fact is that SAA7430 is not doing any audio processing.
Infact that is the major differece between SAA7130 and its siblings like SAA7133,SAA7134,SAA7135 etc.
i think its worth to understand why audio is not working.
This chip just allows the audio to pass though the chip untoched.

:/ Hmmm, I am not very lucky. I guess I'll have to stick with AverMedia then.

AverMedia AverTV Super 007, MPEG 1/2/4, FM, PCI, Analog

Device: 05:01.0
Class: Multimedia controller [0480]
Vendor: Philips Semiconductors [1131]
Device: SAA7131/SAA7133/SAA7135 Video Broadcast Decoder [7133]
SVendor: Avermedia Technologies Inc [1461]
SDevice: Avermedia AVerTV GO 007 FM [f31f]
Rev: d0


I guess I can't expect to much. Maybe I'll happy be with the results. If not I'll try to save some money and buy something more professional through eBay.

:thanks:

[Emulgator]

Avoid cards based on Bt8x8 (I know this is going against the stream, as everyone says/knows) -
they capture at a different sampling rate than SMPTE/ITU-R require,

This made me cough up some specs and boah:

http://www.ituner.com/spectra/Bt878.pdf

Thanks, Ghitulescu.

Not that I am using Bt878, for SD I am on NEC something (Canopus ADVC300) into DV-AVI
(which I will abandon sooner or later)
but knowledge is better in any case...

[Jawor]

The Conexant CX2388x chip (a much-improved, 10-bit version of Bt8x8) uses the same non-ITU sampling rates, but a resize filter will fix that easily. Another (more serious) quirk of those chips are strange luma and chroma ranges (16-253 and 2-253 instead of 16-235 and 16-240, respectively). AviSynth can fix that too, but most people won't know about this problem in the first place.

[jmac698]

non-ITU sampling rates

Very interesting, first I've known about buggy chips. What is it's sampling rate? And is it really the chip, or the hardware implementation, or the driver?

I'm about to test the ranges of my 3 capture cards myself. I'm planning to test ADC linearity as well, I found a number of ways to test. I say this in reference to your mention of 10bit ADC, which should show improved quality.

Also, you don't have to worry about sampling rates, just use the custom DAR option in megui or fix with mpeg4modifier, for example, so that it will play back with the proper aspect ratio. It's still being scaled, but if it's scaled on say a large monitor, there is little quality loss, since it's upscaling and not losing quality. Same with hardware divx players with upscaling. And I really doubt it will make a difference on VHS, I've personally measured VHS frequency response to 3MHz.

You can see the frequency response at 2.53MHz on NTSC VHS here:
http://code.google.com/p/avisynthrestoration/wiki/Testpatterns

[Jawor]

first I've known about buggy chips.
Their manufacturer (Conexant) probably doesn't consider them “buggy” ;) Those non-ITU sampling rates seem to be a part of the UltraLock algorithm.
What is it's sampling rate?
Some info from the freely available datasheets:

First the video is sampled at 8*Fsc (28.63636 MHz for NTSC/PAL-M/PAL-Nc, 35.46895 MHz for PAL/SECAM), then low-pass filtered and downsampled to 4*Fsc (14.31818 MHz for NTSC/PAL-M/PAL-Nc, 17.73 MHz for PAL/SECAM). The number of pixels sampled from each line can be slightly different, since the sampling rate is fixed and video signals are never perfectly stable. Then this UltraLock thing resizes each line to the same length. The target resolution is programmable. Maximum resolutions (after dropping the HBI area) are 768x576 for 625/50 systems, 720x480 for 525/60 systems and about 752x576/756x576 for PAL-Nc (the only 625/50 system with Fsc = 3.58 MHz).

The scaling algorithm used in Bt8x8 was pretty bad at horizontal resolutions lower than 480. The CX2388x series has improved this greatly (as seen here (http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/capture/sizes_advanced.html)).

Since UltraLock is proprietary, Philips came up with their own method of locking onto an unstable signal (it's also some kind of oversampling), hence the different capture window and output AR.
And is it really the chip, or the hardware implementation, or the driver?
It's the chip. Basically, it samples only the active 4:3 area (without the ITU overscan).

[jmac698]

Interesting, I'll have to add this to my list of tests.
Thanks.

So it seems the digital onchip filters are pretty bad. I was just reading the datasheet, it mentioned 4 filters up to 4 tap I believe.
I could simiulate this exact filter in masktools to see how it looks.

[ronnylov]

You can also look atr the grat analogue capture guide here at doom 9.
It is a little bit outdated but still very good info.
http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/capture/start.html

This guide made me buy my Terrated Cinergy 400 TV capture card and using VirtualVCR for captures.
But for me it works better in Windows XP than Windows 7 and I use older WDM drivers instead of those BDA drivers on terratec download page.

[pandy]

btw sampling on 8(4)* of Fsc is more correct than ITU (one sampling speed for both 50/60Hz systems)

[AltairAC]

I bought the card:
http://www.avermedia.com/avertv/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?Id=22

But before I can start I need some additional equipment and wanted to ask what would be the best choice.

The card has:
# S-Video
# Audio In（L/R）

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/9201/2782011.jpg

I already have a 3xCinch to 3xCinch cable (white, red and yellow ):

http://static.pik.ba/galerija/2011-02/slika-6582-2011-02-1298882469-default.jpg


I didn't get the S-Video adapter with the card so I need to buy this?

Transmedia VS 19 GL Adapter RCA-jack -4 pin Hosiden-jack (EDIT: These are both female connectors, the s-video connector on the card has 4 slots so I actually need S-video (male) to cinch (female) ?)

http://www.linea-nera.hr/shop/slike/velike/transmedia-vs-19-gl-adapter-rca-jack--4-pin-hosiden-jack.jpg


About the audio, should I buy a "Stereo to 2xChinch adapter" and plug in the red and white cable (the one mentioned at the beginning) or should I buy a separate "Stereo to 2xCinch cable", like this one?

Cable audio 1x3,5" banana -> 2x chinch
http://www.adm.hr/images/roline/rln_audio_1.jpg


Basically I need 2 things, adapter + adapter or adapter + cable. If I buy adapter (s-video to cinch)) + adapter (stereo to cinch), I could use my 3xcinch cable for both if I am right? If I buy a s-video adapter, do I need a separate cable (yellow cinch) for it or can I use just the one plug of my 3xcinch cable?

Thanks in advance!!!

[AltairAC]

I think I found something better and easier to handle with:

Cable BANDRIDGE, S-Video+3.5mm+RCA (M) to SCART (M), 5.0m, BVL 6805

So I could connect the Scart cable to my TV (or vcr?) and the S-Video and 3.5mm plug to my TV card.

But is Scart a better/worse/equally good/ choice comparing to RCA?

[TheSkiller]

But is Scart a better/worse/equally good/ choice comparing to RCA?No difference at all since the signal is the same. It's just a different connector.
What can be tricky is that a Scart cable can deliver all kinds of signals which by their definition vary in quality. Via Scart you can have

1) Composite video (CVBS, yellow RCA)
2) S-Video (Y/C, Hosiden connector)
3) RGB with sync on Composite (which means in case your TV does not support RGB or you've connected the Scart connector to a non-RGB but S-Video Scart input the RGB will run into nowhere and you will simply see the Composite video). Yes, that's right, a Scart input on a TV can only be either RGB or S-Video compatible (in addition to Composite of course). That's why it does make a difference which input you use if a TV has more than one Scart connector.
4) Actually not officially supported but can be found: YPbPr (Component).


Not sure if that is the correct cable, it doesn't sound like it is. You have to be careful as the signal can go only either way, S-Video Hosiden and RCA to Scart OR Scart to Hosiden and RCA connector. In case of VCR to capture card you need the latter.

[Motenai Yoda]

scart carries vga/component, s-video, and videocomposite (yellow) + audio stereo (White/Red) + some stuff for connecting and synchronizing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCART

lol preceded by TheSkiller

[AltairAC]

I couldn't find the S-Video to Composite adapter so I have to order it but I am still a bit confused with the connection. I read that S-Video is better than composite so I am not sure what to buy.

On my TV I have a Scart connector, antenna connector and 3xRCA (red, white, yellow), on my vcr I have 2 antenna connectors (IN / OUT) and 2 Scart connectors (AUDIO/VIDEO 1 and AUDIO/VIDEO 2 DECOD.).

Regarding quality, what would be the best option. Would it make any difference if I connect it as mentioned (with RCA (s-video to cinch adapter) and stereo to 2-cinch cable) or one option I read:

this adapter(scart to 3cinch and s-video) connected to my vcr :

http://shop.network.hr/BinaryLibrary/9b7543fa-c3c0-4b38-91b9-6c599192f5ad/Resized_09095c12-a28d-446f-a0dc-255b6913d4fb/300_300.jpg

and a s-video cable from this adapter to my capture card?

And I read something about connecting the vcr via an antenna cable to the tv. Did I get something wrong or isn't the correct way connecting my vcr and tv via scart and the tv and capture card via composite?


Is there any quality loss by using this (connected on my tv card - and I am aware that I need S-VHS M and not F, but I have a M/M cable which should do the trick)?

http://www.svijet-medija.hr/images/slike/slikca2.php?id=16758&slika=41213&maxvisina=200&sirina=200&nazivfajla=sm200_16758_41213_1.jpg


I may not be able to repair my vcr (lack of parts - what a surprise -.-) and therefore I will need to buy a vcr. I found several JVC's. One has 6 heads and S-VHS support (model not stated):

http://www.njuskalo.hr/image-w450/vhs-video/jvc-hi-fi-stereo-6-glava-lp-sp-nekoristen-2-scarta-slika-7521054.jpg

I don't know if S-VHS support means only the support of S-VHS tape playback or does this vcr has a S-Video connector (or do only TV's have S-Video connectors)?

I currently feel like 'I don't know what I am doing here', so sorry if I ask stupid questions but these analog stuff gives me headache. Nonetheless I want to achieve the best quality an average user can achieve and that's why I ask (because I think if I do something before asking, I will do something stupid :)).

[Ghitulescu]

A composite to S-Video adapter should not cost more that 1-2€ and it doesn't improve the signal qualities (it may however worsen them). Viceversa, the only electronic part in a S-Video to composite adapter is a condenser.
A composite to S-Video converter runs from 50€ up. It has electronic parts (and a power supply) to separe the chrom signal from the composite. It's still not a guarantee of quality.
If you feel you can afford squeezing the quality up to the maximum by employing Y/C cables, then get a S-VHS deck. I used to say that there are no VHS decks with S-Video outputs, yet I've discovered one (the Samsung world converter VCR), but since I don't own one nor seen one I can't confirm it.

[AltairAC]

A composite to S-Video adapter should not cost more that 1-2€ and it doesn't improve the signal qualities (it may however worsen them). Viceversa, the only electronic part in a S-Video to composite adapter is a condenser.

Since the S-Video part goes to the tv card and the composite part from the adapter to the tv, I am dealing with the second case if I am right? So the quality wouldn't of course be improved since it depends on the weakest part (composite) but it shouldn't also be worse because of the adapter since the video data is traveling from composite through s-video and not from s-video through composite?


If you feel you can afford squeezing the quality up to the maximum by employing Y/C cables, then get a S-VHS deck. I used to say that there are no VHS decks with S-Video outputs, yet I've discovered one (the Samsung world converter VCR), but since I don't own one nor seen one I can't confirm it.

Would this one do the trick? I found a used one for 60$...

http://www.backoffice.be/prod_uk/Samsung/sv-dvd3e_samsung_sv_dvd3e_dvdvcr_combo_silver.asp

1 x RF output ( IEC connector ) - rear
1 x RF input ( IEC connector ) - rear
1 x composite video/audio input ( RCA phono x 3 ) - front
1 x composite video/audio input ( RCA phono x 3 ) - rear
1 x composite video/audio output ( RCA phono x 3 ) - rear
1 x SPDIF output ( RCA phono ) - rear
1 x SPDIF output ( TOS Link ) - rear
1 x S-Video output ( 4 PIN mini-DIN ) - rear
1 x SCART ( 21 PIN SCART ) - rear
1 x SCART (RGB) ( 21 PIN SCART ) - rear

[Ghitulescu]

The first adapter I was talking was the SCART picture in your post.
The second one is the second picture again in your post.
The VCR itself must provide Y/C signals, otherwise the Y/C quality cannot be achieved.

I have no experience with combos, but they employ usually budget parts in order to keep the price down, thus I had no interests in them. You have to check whether the combo gives Y/C signal or not by using the VHS part, and how well (is there any improvement over composite).

[AltairAC]

The first adapter I was talking was the SCART picture in your post.
The second one is the second picture again in your post.
The VCR itself must provide Y/C signals, otherwise the Y/C quality cannot be achieved.

...

Sorry, I misunderstood you because the 'converter' on the second picture costs only 4$ so it's actually only an adapter like the first one I guess.

Regarding to the s-video output. I found a Panasonic VCR NV HS900 which has a s-video input on the front side and a s-video output connector on the back side. I confirmed that by sending a message to the seller. Would this one be the right choice to buy?

You mentioned samsung vcr's but I found only cheap ones which don't have even s-vhs support. :/

While searching for the right vcr I googled every model and besides the above mentioned Panasonic vcr I found 2 others:
JVC HR-J725
Panasonic NV-FJ615

I think the one mentioned first would be the right choice but I want to be sure so I would be grateful for any advice!


Now some more cable/adapter questions (yes, again :rolleyes:)...

If I got it right I should buy some high quality cables but I need cables with greater lengths. The problem is the S-Video cable. The 5 meter ones are very cheap. I found a expensive one, 4 meters long but I need to know if it is high quality (I am not sure because of the funny name -.- ...):
Video cable Monster Cable Video 1 S-Video Cable, 4m

[jmac698]

Just a note, www.digitalfaq.com has a guide on buying VCR's, especially for restoration/archive work.
I have a S-VHS vcr with s-video connectors but haven't found a big difference in the outputs. My belief is to get a good cable for various reasons, however I don't think it makes the picture better - some reasons in my opinion are corrosion resistance, shielding, durability, solid connection, firmness of fit, etc. There's something I'm forgetting about metals of two types fusing together after a time, or is it something about corroding? digitalfaq covers that as well I'm sure.

[Ghitulescu]

Hold on.
Da capo, maestro!

There is no VHS deck (except that Samsung) with S-Video outputs/inputs. Combos may have because of the other halfunit (the DVD).
In analog world, the shorter the cables the better. Don't expect to see with the naked eye any issues, especially if inexperienced. And the stecker and the soldering quality have a by far more impact on quality than the mere length.

If both devices that are connected through a composite cable (instead of a S-Video one) have high-quality separation filters, the quality difference is minimal, almost zero (many studio gear had only composite I/O before going to YUV and nobody complained). For reasons an amateur can't fully understand, the studio gear avoided Y/C cables and I/Os and went almost directly to YUV (there are manufacturers that included Y/C for compatibility with regular gear).

In the amateur world, composite filters are cheap and bad and thus Y/C (S-Video) connections are to be preferred should they be available.

And yes, NV900 is a very good deck and provides Y/C connections, try however not to work too much in one session, otherwise you can use it as an oven.

[AltairAC]

Ok, thanks for your advice, I'll take the Panasonic vcr. :)

But still those cables confuse me, I had some other issues before which involved cables and every time it was suggested to me to use Bandridge cables, never those 'Monster' ones but these are more expensive:

Video cable Bandridge BVL6602, 2 meters - 10$
Video cable Monster Cable Video 1 S-Video Cable, 1 meter - 14$
Video cable Monster Cable Home Series™ S-Video Cable 1,32 meters - 16$
Video cable Monster Cable Home Series S-Video Cable, 2,64 meters- 20$



Just to be sure, I will buy the 'composite solution' for backup but I found 2 cables, is there any significant difference between these 2 ?
Cable RCA Video BANDRIDGE, M/M, 2m, BVL 5002
Video cable Bandridge VL0603, CINCH M-M, 1.5 m

And regarding to audio. I will improvise with the video cable so a shorter cable will be fine but I need the Stereo <> 2xCinch cable for more purposes so it needs to be 5 meters. Will audio be affected (should I buy then 2 cables)? I intend to buy:
Audio cable Bandridge BAL 3405


After all that is done and since I found a deck which provides Y/C outputs, does that mean that I actually need only to connect the vcr and the tv capture card or does the tv still has a role in this?

I asked in multiple forums from my country and I can buy splicing tape only through ebay but also it was suggested to me to use regular tape to the fix the vhs if it's only for transferring the video to my pc. Do I have your 'blessings' for that, that regular tape is good enough for this purpose? :)


... try however not to work too much in one session, otherwise you can use it as an oven.
Thank you, I'll keep that in mind. I'm not in a hurry so even 1 VHS per day is enough...

[Lynx Pardinus]

I am looking for a good VCR to start converting my old VHS collection. I ahve been looking for S-VHS decks with TBC and this is the list of available models I have come out with:

JVC HR-S9850
JVC HR-S8850
PANASONIC AG-4700
PANASONIC NV-HS860
SHARP VC-S2000

Any recommendation for a particular model. All of them are within budget so I can choose any one of them.

My only experience is with a PANASONIC AG-4700. Stability was excellent (specially when combined with a TBC-1000 that I have access to) but I noticed that, compared to regular VHS decks (PHILIPS, SONY and PANASONIC), the image showed a very noticeable ringing, even with the sharpness set to minimum, and the colours looked pale. Maybe it was only that particular unit.

[Ghitulescu]

AG-4700 should have TBC on-board ;). I had/have many pannies, from midrange (never had entry level units) to pro, and never seen a problem with the image, which seems to be sharper than pendant JVCs. It's probably the common problem of all consumer VCRs from Panasonic (yes, despite AG series and Professional on it, the AG-4700 is still a consumer product, it's just the HS1000 in dirty white with no tuner), namely the power supply. You may wanna check the capacitor in the head-amp near the head, it may also fail in time.
I never tested the JVCs, search for this models in web, but I would pick the Panny 4700, provided it's in a good shape.

[jmac698]

Here's some recommended vcr's
JVC HR-S7600EK
JVC HR-S7800EK
JVC HR-S7955EK
JVC HR-S7965EK
JVC HR-S8955EK
JVC HR-S8965EK
Panasonic NV-FS 200 a.k.a. Panasonic AG-1980P for NTSC version
Panasonic NV-HS 1000

Read more: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-restore/1567-vcr-buying-guide.html

[Mounir]

The shorter the cable is, the better. 1M advised or less. The thing to consider is to get one that's shielded against EMF/radio frequencies. Golden or not is not really a concern.

I have the JVC HR-S8600 ms (PAL, Secan, Ntsc) worked ok with commercial tape, not helpful with LP home recorded tapes
I bought a new jvc (SR-TS1U Ntsc only) with no TBC work as good as the other (if not better) and has an option for LP recordings which is useful

[pdfan2008]

http://www.abvideoele.net/UploadFile/Product_big/20116131756446757.jpghttp://www.abvideoele.net/en/product_detail.asp?id=27

use this card , the card front AD is SAA7115 and pci-e slot
the picture image is very good, and support more card in pc.
http://www.abvideoele.net/UploadFile/Product_big/20116131822471773.jpg

[lordsmurf]

digitalfaq is a bit outdated (no wonder, analog capturing is itself outdated).
It's not outdated. I'm there every day in the forum, addressing these same kinds of topics. The main site recently received a much-needed facelift and upgrade, and updates to guides will soon follow. I'm updating the guides I wrote a zillion years ago. However, very little has changed. Analog capturing hit its prime back in 2005, and my last updates were in 2006. The most that's really happens is Windows Vista-7 screwed up some workflows, some software is no longer sold/available, and some hardware is hard to find. (There's also a ton of new content on the way, but that's off-topic for this conversation.)

The VCR is the single more important part of a capture workflow.
TBC and capture card come next.
Everything else is optional.