VHS Convert Project Signal Stabilization/Enhancement?

[dhbaird]

Hello,

I am trying to determine which several units I have seen advertized are appropriate for my needs..Please be patient with me... I am on this steep learning curve of video, signal, interlace and all that kind of stuff and I am finding it difficult to find information on what I precisely need in this signal stabilization/enhancement/filtering area to make a decent quality backup of our existing tape library.

I have an extensive collection of VHS tapes that I want to transfer to DVD. While many are our personal VHS tapes from our video camera we also have quite a few that are copy protected with Macrovision. Many of these tapes are almost 25 years old and need to be converted soon before they deteriorate any further. We are intending on eventually coonverting some 400 to 500 VHS tapes to DVD in the next year or so.

We also have some scratched early DVD's that we would like to make some back-up copies of. So we are looking for a versatile solution that will create good DVD-s with a minimum of effort once the setup has been tweaked.

My current VHS player only has Composite out video out plus stereo audio jacks.

My current video capture card on my computer has composite in jacks as well as an adapter that takes S-Video in.

What advantages does a unit the Sima SCC-2 give me over the GODVD CT-2 or Red Pro or the Clarifyer? Should I be getting something with plenty of versatility with signal adjustment? How much tweaking and adjusting is needed to create a good DVD version of our tapes?

After giving this a try the last few weeks I already know that eventually I will be purchasing a stand-a-lone DVD recorder for this conversion project so I will want something that will work for that set-up in the future. Is there a particular DVD recorder that works better in tandem with image stabilization filters?

Thanks for your time to answer a neophyte to this complex world of DVD and video.

David

[FulciLives]

Buy a stand alone DVD recorder such as the new JVC models which are getting high marks. Pioneer is also good.

Then get a TBC device such as the DataVideo TBC-1000

Should do everything you want to do assuming you want to go the stand alone DVD recorder method VS computer capture method.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[dhbaird]

Then get a TBC device such as the DataVideo TBC-1000

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

What exactly is a TBC device and where can I learn about them?

David

[teegee420]

http://digitalfaq.com/capture/vcrtbcsuggestions.htm

[FulciLives]

TBC

Time Base Corrector

Corrects sync errors helping with tapes that have playback problems such as drop-outs etc.

Also happens to defeat all forms of copy protection.

LINK: http://www.videoguys.com/datavid.htm#tbc1000

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[dhbaird]

TBC

Time Base Corrector

Corrects sync errors helping with tapes that have playback problems such as drop-outs etc.

Also happens to defeat all forms of copy protection.

LINK: http://www.videoguys.com/datavid.htm#tbc1000

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

Hey John, thanks for the link!

Any reviews about the Sima SCC-2? It appears to be a TBC if I read in betwen the lines.

David

[teegee420]

Google is your friend

[FulciLives]

Hey John, thanks for the link!

Any reviews about the Sima SCC-2? It appears to be a TBC if I read in betwen the lines.

David

Someone said they spoke to a tech at Sima and was told that the SCC-2 is not really a TBC

You are better off with the DataVideo TBC-1000 or perhaps the AVT-8710 though that unit (which was once only $179) is now either $200 or $250

The best seems to be the DataVideo TBC-1000 which is $300

I say it is the best not from actual ownership on my part but from all the very many things I have read about it from people who do have it and use it.

If I had the money I'd have one but ever since I started video capture (not that long ago) I've had some bad luck with jobs and long stretches of uemployment ... so far 2003 has sucked for me and 2004 ... so far ... ain't much better.

But I'll get one sooner than later I'm sure

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[indolikaa]

The answer to your question depends almost entirely on HOW you want your VHS tapes to look on DVD.


I did my own VHS conversion project. It involved looking through 2000 VHS and Beta tapes, previewing the content, deciding on what to extract and what to trash, and then trying to bring that video into the digital realm. Luckily, most of my tapes were in good enough condition that I wasn't overly concerned with getting them into the computer.

I sought no enhancement or improvement in my collection. I just wanted them transferred. I wanted to preserve the 'VHS' look and feel of the signal (nostalgic reminders of a simpler time) so all I needed was something to stabilize the signal. The TBC-1000 worked perfectly.

If all you want to do is transfer, edit and burn, you don't need anything else. If you want to try and improve the original picture quality, with filters and such, well, get ready to do A LOT of learning.

If I had to do it all over again, I might have gone with a TBC and a Panasonic DVD Recorder. Would've been just as easy, and a whole lot faster.

[dhbaird]

Someone said they spoke to a tech at Sima and was told that the SCC-2 is not really a TBC

You are better off with the DataVideo TBC-1000 or perhaps the AVT-8710 though that unit (which was once only $179) is now either $200 or $250

The best seems to be the DataVideo TBC-1000 which is $300

I got a cryptic response from the folks at Sima they said:

There is no TBC circuitry inside. Sima has a proprietary circuit that we use for sync pulse recursing.

I say cryptic because I have no idea what the difference is between TBC and synch pulse recording.

That being said, which technology will give me the most hassle free automatic copying from one medium to the other?

David

[/quote]

[anzimike]

I own two different sima stabalizers. They are currently buried in boxes in garage. They worked fine copying to vhs, but the two I have will not remove CGMS, which is responsible for the "cannot copy protected source" message. When I purchased standalone dvd recorder it would not copy protected source even using sima devices. I even tried copying first to s-vhs then to dvd recorder without success. I purchased Datavideo tbc-100 mentioned in prior posts, works like a charm. I have read several posts about a device "video stabilizer" for about $90 that can also defeat macro and cgms. Can be found at www.facetvideo.com. Might be worth a try. Unless they have developed new circuitry I would avoid the sima devices.

[nelson133]

I have found the canopus 100 box is the best solution for me. It removes macrovision and gives you dv input that can be captured as (large) avi files. There are no dropped frames and no loss of synch. Unlike stand alone recorders, you will have to do things with these files to make a dvd, but there is much software free to reasonably priced that will do that and give you a lot more control over the output. I do not see a need for a tbc with this product. I have personally done several hundred vhs to dvd conversions with good results. nyah levi

[dhbaird]

I own two different sima stabalizers. They are currently buried in boxes in garage. They worked fine copying to vhs, but the two I have will not remove CGMS, which is responsible for the "cannot copy protected source" message. When I purchased standalone dvd recorder it would not copy protected source even using sima devices. I even tried copying first to s-vhs then to dvd recorder without success. I purchased Datavideo tbc-100 mentioned in prior posts, works like a charm. I have read several posts about a device "video stabilizer" for about $90 that can also defeat macro and cgms. Can be found at www.facetvideo.com. Might be worth a try. Unless they have developed new circuitry I would avoid the sima devices.

Thanks for the feed back on the Sima units, I was almost ready to purchase one and decided to check back here for one last time.

Do you know of anybody who has reviewed that Facetvideo Clarifier unit? I am not in the position to drop 300 bucks for the tbc-1000 and then another 3-4 hundred for the recorderat the present time so I want to get something taht will work with my video capture right now and then stand-alone with a dvd- recorder in the future..

David

[GregN]

sorry if this confuses you more, but I think that the SCC-2 DOES have a Macrovision defeat feature. Yes, it's true that none of the Sima family products prior to this model had that capability. But with this model, now they do. It's also an easy way of doing some minor contrast/color adjustments to your VHS picture before you transfer, particularly to a dvd recorder. (The computer method would give you even more options there, but as previously stated, it may take alot of time and research to make it worth your while).

Now.. I could be wrong as it's been a couple months since I researched this model.

[FulciLives]

I've read a couple of comments of users of the Facetvideo Clarifier unit. Most seem to happy more-or-less because it does indeed allow you to copy i.e., breaks all forms of analog copy protection.

However some have reported that it makes the video look a bit "shaky" which really is the opposite of what a TBC should do.

But then again that unit is NOT a TBC ... just it only designed to remove copy protection.

Hence the reason why a real full frame TBC costs $250-$300

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[dhbaird]

sorry if this confuses you more, but I think that the SCC-2 DOES have a Macrovision defeat feature. Yes, it's true that none of the Sima family products prior to this model had that capability. But with this model, now they do. It's also an easy way of doing some minor contrast/color adjustments to your VHS picture before you transfer, particularly to a dvd recorder. (The computer method would give you even more options there, but as previously stated, it may take alot of time and research to make it worth your while).

Now.. I could be wrong as it's been a couple months since I researched this model.

that is all well and good, but what is the difference between the synch pulse recursing that is present in the SCC-2 and the TBC circuitry in the TBC-1000? As a neophyte to the video signal technology, they sound close to being the same to me.

I am not adverse in doing this via the computer in the short run, but it sounds like it will be more time consuming by at least a factor of two.
I am not trying to do too much tweaking with the original videos, but I have seen enough darkness/lightness problems in the little video capturing that I have done to know that I need something with a bit more adjustment than what I have seen with the DVD2Go or RedPro. Unless all that darkness to lightness fluctuation I have seen is due to the macrovision circuitry in my playback unit. (even if the tape does not have macrovision itself)

David

[GregN]

[quote="dhbaird"]

that is all well and good, but what is the difference between the synch pulse recursing that is present in the SCC-2 and the TBC circuitry in the TBC-1000? As a neophyte to the video signal technology, they sound close to being the same to me.

David

Well, I surmise that the TBC-1000 is simply more robust than what the SCC-2 would be.

I'm in a somewhat similar position as you, i.e., feeling my way around all the various options trying to balance expense, effectiveness and time consumption.

I've come to the point that, at some point, I need to just dig in and find out for myself as there are so many opinions about all this stuff. Helpful, definitely, but sometimes these various opinions keep you from ever making a decision as to which way to turn.

Me, I've decided to get a better VCR, the JVC 9911 that is popular on this site. It has a TBC built-in, maybe not as robust as the TBC-1000, I don't know, but likely to be good enough for me requirements (I don't have tons of VHS tapes to convert). Plus, I haven't much need for something that will defeat Macrovision.

Also, it will (hopefully) improve the picture quality of what I will be outputting to my standalone dvdr, and eventually, the quality of what I will send to a capture card/converter for computer work. Later on, I will attempt the computer method of dvd conversions for: 1) to see how it compares to the other method, and 2) more importantly, for some PAL to NTSC tape conversions, which the computer method evidently is the better altenative for this type of work.

I anticipate, shortly after getting the new VCR, that I'll pick up the SCC-2, for color correction and the occasional PAL to NTSC tape conversion. I'll see if it's effective for my needs and then go from there..