European VCR's

[MaximRecoil]

Do most European VCR's have a SCART output? Also, can most of them play NTSC content as well as PAL? Are there any video capture cards for PC's that have SCART inputs? Will European VCR's work fine plugged into an American wall socket (120V @ 60HZ)?

Sometimes I want to capture video from VHS to my PC but American VCR's rarely have anything better than composite outputs. There are several that have S-Video outputs but they are neither common nor cheap (and still not as good as SCART). I found a very high end VCR on eBay once with component outputs which would be perfect but they wanted an arm and a leg for it (plus I don't know if you can get video capture cards with component inputs).

[LordDethstar]

Originally posted by MaximRecoil
Do most European VCR's have a SCART output?

I know of none that haven't.

Also, can most of them play NTSC content as well as PAL?

Many can, but I would make sure that a player can actually play-back NTSC content before buying one.

Are there any video capture cards for PC's that have SCART inputs?

None that I'm aware of, but you can get a SCART to composite adapter.

Will European VCR's work fine plugged into an American wall socket (120V @ 60HZ)?

Probably not.

Sometimes I want to capture video from VHS to my PC but American VCR's rarely have anything better than composite outputs. There are several that have S-Video outputs but they are neither common nor cheap (and still not as good as SCART). I found a very high end VCR on eBay once with component outputs which would be perfect but they wanted an arm and a leg for it (plus I don't know if you can get video capture cards with component inputs).

I don't believe that most european VCRs would have anything better that composite out either (correct me if I'm wrong). SCART connectors can cary many different signals at once (composite, S-Video, RGB), but that doesn't mean that a SCART output actually supplies all signals.

[MaximRecoil]

None that I'm aware of, but you can get a SCART to composite adapter.

That would defeat the purpose.

I don't believe that most european VCRs would have anything better that composite out either (correct me if I'm wrong). SCART connectors can cary many different signals at once (composite, S-Video, RGB), but that doesn't mean that a SCART output actually supplies all signals.

I should probably rephrase my question to - Do any European VCR's output RGB through a SCART connector?

[ac-chan123]

The most European VCRs are can playback NTSC, but give this signal as PAL60(Colors are changed to PAL colorspace and with 60Hz like NTSC).

Also the most SCART have RGB and Composite. Not so much have S-Video also.

[MaximRecoil]

Maybe something like this would do the trick:

Digital Set-top box ready with Digital-to-Digital connection via i.Link (IEEE 1394) terminal
HDTV Digital Broadcast Bitstream Recording/ Playback
Built-in MPEG2 Decoder for Direct Connection to HDTV
Can Record Any Type of Broadcast including HD, SD or Analog
HS mode (28.2 Mbps) for up to 4 hours* HDTV recording STD Mode (14.1 Mbps) for up to 8 hours* SD recording LS3 Mode (4.7 Mbps) for up to 24 hours* long-time recording * Per DF-480 cassette
D-VHS (HS, STD, LS3) S-VHS (SP, EP) S-VHS ET (SP, EP) HiFi VHS (SP, EP) VHS (SP, EP)
Full Spec HDTV Compatible (with all 18 ATSC broadcasting formats)
DigiPure Technology for high resolution analog recording and playback
5.1 Dolby Digital Output (optical)
2 channel Linear PCM Audio Output capability
1080i, 720P, 480P and 480i
3 Sets of AV inputs
3 S-Video inputs
2 Sets of AV outputs
2 S-Video Outputs
1 Component Video Output (Y, Pb, Pr)
1 x Optical Digital Output
2 x I.Link Terminal (IEEE 1394), DV input only for camcorders
Front Inputs ( AV, S-Video, i.Link)
Video Navigation- Tape Number, Record date and Category sorting
D-Theater compliant with the advanced D-VHS security system
Frame Synchronizer for pristine analog-to-digital dubs
MTS Decoder for SAP programs
VCR Plus+ with provided cable box controller
Express Programming
Plug and Play for automatic tuner and clock set-up
1-year / 24-event programmable timer
Av Compu Link
Weight: 13.3 lbs.
Width: 17-15/16"
Height: 4-3/16"
Depth: 13-5/8"

Do any capture cards have component inputs? That would be perfect.

The JVC HM-DH30000U would be a good VCR to use as a capture source - but if you are capturing VHS or SVHS you'd be going way over the top. There are some profressional capture cards that take component signal, but there is no advantage in using component connections unless you are capturing DVHS recordings.

Yes all European VCRs have SCART connectors, but only DVHS models output RGB through the SCART.

The best source for capturing VHS is, as has been said many times before, a high-end SVHS model with built-in time base corrector, using s-video connections. Something like this.

BTW the two VCRs I have play NTSC tapes not as PAL60 but as NTSC 4.43.

[MaximRecoil]

The JVC HM-DH30000U would be a good VCR to use as a capture source - but if you are capturing VHS or SVHS you'd be going way over the top. There is no advantage in using component connections unless you are capturing DVHS recordings.

A component connection will give you the cleanest picture even for standard VHS. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with a VHS stream. For one thing it is analog and has no compression artifacts like digital video can. High action scenes are certainly not pixelated. Even low resolution benefits greatly from a clean connection. That is why arcade machines have always used RGB connections with standard raster monitors that are nothing more than a TV screen without a tuner. The picture quality on an arcade machine is perfect, no ghosting or blurring. Pac-Man for example, has a resolution of 288x224 (vertical monitor). Mortal Kombat, one of the first "photo-realistic" arcade games has a resolution of 395x254. I have seen screen shot comparisons side by side between S-Video and component and there is a major difference. Component is like seeing it on your computer monitor (which has an VGA connection) and S-Video is like applying a gaussian blur to it. Composite is worse yet and RF is downright bad.

[Arachnotron]

A component connection will give you the cleanest picture even for standard VHS.

S-VHS tape and even VHS tape store Y and C separately. So S-video is about the best you can get out of it signal-wise. Going beyond that is merely asking which device does the separation from C into Pb Pr. You can use a recoder with component out and have the recoder do it or you can use a s-VHS VCR and have the capture device do the processing.
Considering the price of a component capable VCR and the price of a capture device that can capture component, I think you can get the same results with a S-VHS VCR and a regular (good) capture device for a fraction of the price of your high-end setup.

VHS tape can only go so far. There comes a point where there is no more quality left on it, no matter how much money you throw at it.

[MaximRecoil]

S-VHS tape and even VHS tape store Y and C separately. So S-video is about the best you can get out of it signal-wise. Going beyond that is merely asking which device does the separation from C into Pb Pr.

That makes sense. It also makes things easier since S-Video VCR's are easier to come by and I already have a video card with S-Video input. Thanks.