VCR questions for my specific old tapes

[donsmith]

Hello,

I have done lots of research and know pretty much what are good vcrs to look for to have quality playback. ie svhs with tbc or external tbc.

I have a few more advanced questions if you guys could help me out some. I was young and stupid and mostly recorded my stuff in 4hr or 6hr mode, was that lp? i also have some tapes that are sp 2hr mode from an older camcorder. macrovision shouldn't be a concern for me.

So, has anyone had different experiences with these models on lp mode, what works well, what to avoid, etc.

Hr-s7600
hrs-s9911s
sr-v10 or 101
panasonic ag pro series, ie ds555, ds545, ag7750 (if i can find a cheap one)

i'm looking at these because of cost and availability mostly. i'm probably going to get the 9911 unless something else comes up.

i thought i read in one post that the pro models might not play the lp recordings back at all. others mentioned they had better luck with consumer vcrs for lp. is there a pattern? it seems you just have to experient but i thought at least asking first might save me a few hassles down the road.

also, is there a different in the 7600 and 9911 as far as what settings can be turned on and off at different times? i have a hard time keeping it all straight sometimes after reading so much.

i assume the v10 or 101 wouldn't necessarily last longer even though its a pro series would it? i thought the 10 might be more robust but still not as good as a 7600.

i bought a refurb dr-msv1s a few days ago and so far have been happy but was never really planning to use the vcr part, i just paid less than the dvdr only and figured i might like to have another option. the idea of progressive scan vhs output was kind of interesting. i know lordsmurf thought it would be inline with the s2900 or s3900 models, but i didn't know if it could be slightly better. not enought equipment for me to compare. anyone make some comparisions or have any input?

anyway, feel free to add some input and correct any mistakes so people don't get the wrong info from this post. i appreciate any advice

don

[heman28]

Hello, Well to start off with the JVC svhs vcr's vary on certain features. The lower cost units in the 2000 series is really bad most of the time from what I have read. I have the 5902U series and its really nice for picture quality but it does not have all the features like the high priced models and most of the models in the 9000 series has a digipure technology that helps with many things and also it has a built in time base corrector and other features like a stabalizer. I would email lordsmurf of go to www.digitalfaq.com and look up all there. He is a expert on things. I use a Jvc 5902U then a Datavideo Time Base corrector 1000 then a Panasonic dvd recorder. I also use other items like the Signvideo Dmr 1000 image enhancer to sharpen up tapes that can use it. I also use a Sime Color corrector for slight color change and other items. I would recommend the site from Lordsmurf above as he can help you out with many things. If you want to email me any more you can ask. If you wanting to go the computer rought I would reccommend the Hauppauge Win TV Pvr 250 card as it does a awesom job for capturing and from what I can tell some ways does a better job then the panasonic dmr e55 recorder wich I have been using but the 8x media does not work well on it. I would reccommend a Pioneer 233 model wich you can get at walmart for under 200.00 and it has a Pioneer 109 burner drive inside it and will work with 8x or 16x media just fine.

Eric

[donsmith]

thanks for the reply.

I started with a bt878 capture card, then a mpeg2 avermedia card, then a pvr150 for pc. i've actually rarely used them because of all the difficulties and massive amounts of time needed to use them properly. I thought the pvr150 would be an answer because of the direct mpeg2 encoder. it does seem to work well but on my direct to tv captures i have a decent amount of hiss. it only has an svideo input and have not yet had a chance to try a s-video capable vcr into the pvr150. i am sure i will make a comparison of the jvc dr-mv1s dvd recorder to the quality of the pvr150. different ways of doing a similar thing.

from all that i have done, i would definitely say that hardware is the way to go. i experimented so much with .avi capture and messing with filters and software encoders and such. i guess it might be easier now with the more advanced processors available but it seemed to take forever and i was never really impressed with any of the mpeg2 produced with software. i always think, should i have used this filter or click this setting. the truth is i want to make the best possible captures and convert to dvd and then probably won't watch them all that much. it will be nice watch old home movies as they are being converted and give copies to close family members, but how much do you really watch them. i have old stuff on home video that i've never rewatched. i dont' have the patience for countless hours of conversion.

at the same time, i do see the benefit of doing it right the first time. i hope that all makes sense. its really a time vs money issue. if you want to save on money you will probably spend a lot more time doing it. i've decided to give the mostly hardware approach a try. i'm sure i'll find it appropriate for about 95% of all my stuff.

and like i said before, some of the stuff i'm starting with isn't fit to watch anyway, with 6hr recording mode, recording over and over, etc.

i do like the pvr150 for sageTV and i may even pull out the bt877 someday to mess with, but i doubt i use them for capture.

and i could be wrong but i always thought the 2000, 3000, and 5000 series jvc were pretty similar expect perhaps for some of the recording features and other things that were not important for playback. i do hate the idea of buying a deck with all these features i will never use. its funny to me that people rip the 9911 for things like not having commercial advance or other things that don't affect playback quality

take care,