Question regarding correcting brightness, contrast, sharpness, etc...

[numlock]

I have a question regarding correcting brightness, contrast, sharpness, etc...

I have a bt878 card and I use Virtual VCR.

Problems is that the default values of brightness, contrast, etc.
are not correct and need to be adjusted.

My question is should I adjust these values in the capture program
or should I just leave the default settings and then adjust it in
VIrtualDUb later ?
I read somewhere that it's better to leave default and adjust it later. So, I'd like to know what's better way of doing it and why.

I personaly would prefer adjusting it in the capture aplication so that after capturing I could go straight to AVI to MPEG encoding.

TIA

[bb]

Well, if you ask me, you should set up your capture program to deliver the best source you can get. Why should it make sense to capture crap and try to correct this afterwards? You should not use exaggerated settings, though, because if clipping occurs, e.g. by setting the brightness too high, then there's no way back.

bb

[trevlac]

Here is my opinion: :)

Fix in analog before you capture/digitize
+ Allows you to use the full range of 8 bit digital
- Requires hardware like a procamp
- Measuring/adjustments are probably done by eye

Fix after you capture
+ Now you can see/measure everything and take your time
- Any changes limit your tonal range
- Takes more time

Fix with Card Procamp
+ Cheapest Fastest method
- You are guessing for live source / difficult to measure
- Values are being adjusted after being digitized (a difference from postfix may be that there are more samples going into this adjustment)

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I believe those are your options ... I am interested in the post fix, but frankly, everything always depends on what you have and what you are trying to do. ;)

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So to answer bb's question. If you adjust with the card, you are adjusting after the signal is already digitized (you've already captured crap). If you wait just a little longer, you can actually measure what you are going to adjust.

There might be a slight advantage for the card because it gets to work with samples before they are resized. I feel this is very much offset by the complete lack of control you have with the cards settings.

[Arachnotron]

This (http://home.earthlink.net/~tacosalad/video/washout.htm) site gives some info about why some HVS tapes look washed out with the BT878 and what to do about it.

Never tried it myself :)

[edit] The above link gives a quick and dirty tweaking method. Using a histogram might be more accurate. As Trevlac said, you should be able to get the same or better result by adjusting post. Just try and see what gives the best results. :)