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  1. Member
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    I have 4 older Vidicraft pieces of integrated equipment. One is an A/V Processor, a Special Effects Generator, a Detailer and a Switcher. All 4 components are in a Vidicraft stand that was originally used to display and sell the units. I believe I also have the user manuals as well. They are in storage and I plan on cleaning out the locker.

    Is there any value to these?
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  2. Search sold items on Ebay and see.

    Well described and with photos and of course if they are in good condition and work well, you may see $40 each, you never ever know on Ebay.
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  3. The Detailer III is the most sought after Vidicraft piece, but you can certainly try offering the bundled set and see what happens. Check previous closing prices before setting your minimum. If necessary you can do a relist of the individual items. If these have been in storage a LONG time, consider replacing the black plastic pushbutton caps before selling. Vidicraft used caps made of a plastic that dries out and splits after a few years, even if yours still look good they may crack and fall off during shipment to your buyer. A couple bucks spent now would save potential trouble later.
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  4. Member Seeker47's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by orsetto
    The Detailer III is the most sought after Vidicraft piece
    But that one (and even the final IV model) were composite connections only, were they not ?
    I've long had some interest in adding a good proc amp to my equipment roster, but would be
    disinclined to consider anything that did not also offer at least S-Video Ins & Outs.
    When in Las Vegas, don't miss the Pinball Hall of Fame Museum http://www.pinballmuseum.org/ -- with over 150 tables from 6+ decades of this quintessentially American art form.
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  5. SVHS actually killed off a large portion of the original market for this stuff, which people bought primarily to make eternally-crappy "normal" VHS look as good as possible: especially 2nd-gen copies. Since SVHS was much sharper to begin with, and copied to 2nd gen much better, those who made the switch to SVHS did not want to risk any additional processing and were satisfied with straight-across dubs. Since those were the same folks who had been pissing money away on proc amps and detailers, the market for that gear evaporated. Thats why none of the vintage prosumer stuff has SVHS connectors. The notion of using the now-renamed "S-video" connector as a general-purpose video line did not occur until some years later, with the rise of DVD players and then recorders.
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  6. Why is it that I have not experienced much improvment using s video over composite, I love the funny little yellow socket gives me a nice image
    PAL/NTSC problem solver.
    USED TO BE A UK Equipment owner., NOW FINISHED WITH VHS CONVERSIONS-THANKS
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  7. Member Seeker47's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by orsetto
    SVHS actually killed off a large portion of the original market for this stuff, which people bought primarily to make eternally-crappy "normal" VHS look as good as possible: especially 2nd-gen copies. Since SVHS was much sharper to begin with, and copied to 2nd gen much better, those who made the switch to SVHS did not want to risk any additional processing and were satisfied with straight-across dubs. Since those were the same folks who had been pissing money away on proc amps and detailers, the market for that gear evaporated. Thats why none of the vintage prosumer stuff has SVHS connectors. The notion of using the now-renamed "S-video" connector as a general-purpose video line did not occur until some years later, with the rise of DVD players and then recorders.
    Appreciate the explanation. Contrary to Victoriabears, I've always noticed a significant superiority of the video signal with S-Vid over composite. It seems to be about the best one can do, if Component or HDMI is not an option.

    I recently had an interesting conversation with a Verizon FIOS rep at a trade show. Friends and reviews tell me that they are the top of the line right now, offering a better product than any of the digital cable or sat providers. The FIOS rep told me some things I'll now toss into this discussion, for whatever they are worth. First, he said that S-Video never really caught on that well as a standard, and so tended to "Betamax" itself. Secondly, he said that most of the S-Video cables people bought were either defective, or partially defective, and so consumers never really got out of them what they should have gotten out of them. (If true, this might be the exception to that advice about avoiding overpriced Monster cables and instead buying from places like that online Canadian discount-vendor often recommended over on AVSforum. I always went with the Monster cables myself -- no doubt paid way too much, even when I got them well marked down, but the results with them were good.) He also told me that the FIOS hardware does not have S-Video connections, whereas my current Time Warner digital boxes do. Since it is my intention to switch to FIOS the next time I move, this could be a sizable problem. I have a big investment in S-Video, with no better options for certain equipment. The rep did tell me that there are adapters I could get to address this issue, but I will have to research that.

    To steer this a bit back towards topic, I still have an interest in gaining some good proc amp capability, which I've never had. (Tape xfer projects have been on a very back burner here for quite some time.) From what I've read so far, another company (SignVideo ?) carried on the Vidicraft designs into recent times, with better-than-composite connection options . . . but the gear is a lot more expensive. There may be others out there too.
    When in Las Vegas, don't miss the Pinball Hall of Fame Museum http://www.pinballmuseum.org/ -- with over 150 tables from 6+ decades of this quintessentially American art form.
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