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  1. Member
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    The picture looks distorted or something.

    Captured video is uncompressed without any filters, I'm using virtual dub.

    I am using a high resolution for capturing, 720 x 576, maybe that's the problem?

    VHS (Panasonic NV-L25 HQ) --> S-VIDEO cable --> Capture card (USB, "Plexgear Videograbber 300", I think) --> Virtual Dub.

    What am I doing wrong? :/

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  2. Try using the VHS decks composite output instead of s-video.
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  3. Member
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    Originally Posted by jagabo View Post
    Try using the VHS decks composite output instead of s-video.
    It works alot better! But the image looks alittle more blurry, you can see artifacts on the number plate.

    Why is composite so much better, I've read that S-video is alot sharper and clearer?

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  4. In theory, VHS tape stores luma (the brightness information) and chroma (the color information) separately. S-VHS decks output the separate luma and chroma signals on different wires, the s-video output. Regula VHS decks combine the luma and chroma onto one wire, the composite output. When digitized the composite signal has to be separated again into luma and chroma with a "comb filter". If that separation doesn't work well you get dot crawl artifacts -- what you saw in your first image. Some VHS decks used standard VHS components where the luma and chroma are combined into a composite signal, then added a cheap composite-to-s-video converter so they could claim s-video output. But those cheap converters do not work well.

    Some capture devices have better comb filters work better than others. Giving a sharper or blurrier picture, and leaving more or less dot crawl artifacts. Your second image looks about average. It's not really much blurrier than the first. It just doesn't have the sharp dot crawl artifacts.

    By the way, when you upload samples you should upload them at their original size and un-cropped. Resizing them can obfuscate the problems.
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  5. Member
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    The OP is using a nice Panasonic and I'd be surprised if it does cheapo s-video conversion. Moreover, the first capture looks like herringbone interference rather than dot crawl. Try a high-quality shielded s-video cable and see what happens.
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  6. Formerly 'vaporeon800' Brad's Avatar
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    The picture I'm looking at of this model has no S-Video output.

    Like other Europeans who have posted with this problem while using a regular VCR, you probably used a SCART to S-Video adapter, while the VCR is actually outputting composite on those pins.
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  7. Member hech54's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by vaporeon800 View Post
    The picture I'm looking at of this model has no S-Video output.
    The picture I see of it via Google does have an s-video out.
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  8. Formerly 'vaporeon800' Brad's Avatar
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    I guess I'll have to take your word for that? I was also looking via a Google search.

    I do see a variant without the SCART output (still no S-Video).
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  9. Member hech54's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by vaporeon800 View Post
    I guess I'll have to take your word for that? I was also looking via a Google search.

    I do see a variant without the SCART output (still no S-Video).
    You're right.....that's probably a Sync Edit connection I see.
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