s-video

[yowszer]

is s-video really alot better than composite? If it is, would it be worth buying a new VCR in order to capture with s-video?

[snowmoon]

yes and no...

S-video with a TBC would be a signifigant step up and would be able to show the best you can do from VHS. S-video alone does not seem to be worth it.

Cheers.

[txpharoah]

In theory... always.
In practice... normally.

Yes, TBC is the way to go.

[FOO]

"Regular" VCRs cannot use S-Video. The video is recorded on the
tape as composite video. The whole point of S-Video is to separate
the Luma and Chroma so that they don't interact. There is a
"super VHS" VCR out there somewhere that uses regular tape
but records the luma and chroma separately somehow.
They were for professional type people. I only know one guy
who has one.

[snowmoon]

Foo, you are actually wrong.... but don't get upset I thought that too for many years. VHS actually encodes two color channels at different offsets from the B&W image so it CAN take advantage of s-video ( to a much less extent than a true SVHS deck ).

Look up the VHS spec and you will see.

[fmctm1sw]

In theory... always.
In practice... normally.

Yes, TBC is the way to go.

What do you guys think about those SVHS decks with a built in TBC?

[SLK001]

What do you guys think about those SVHS decks with a built in TBC?

Actually, this is a new topic, but if you want to record your VHS tapes, this is the way to go. What deck has a built in TBC?

About S-Video. It contains the separate LUMA and CHROMA channels that a COMPOSITE cable has combined. To be encoded, these channels must be separated again, so if you use S-Video, you skip the two conversions that are needed. If the conversions are mostly lossless (which they are), then you probably won't see much difference between one with an S-Video connection and one with a composite connection (I can't). Just keep your cabling runs as short as possible (this is where a lot of losses can occur).

The biggest problem with recording VHS tapes is that the SYNC PULSE is no longer "standard", so the timing gets all screwed up. A TBC will regenerate the correct SYNC PULSE to allow for perfect timing.

[FOO]

Mr snowmoon,
Before I can comment further I need to know
what you mean by "different offsets from the B/W image"
Do you suggest that the chroma and luma are recorded on
physically different parts of the tape ?
Another question is - do "regular" cheapie VCRs have s-video
connectors ? I have 2 without.

[snowmoon]

Chroma and luma information are stored on two seperate cFM channels in the same location on the tape.

So if you recorded from composite, their is no advantage, but if have a commercial tape recorded from a svideo signal a proper svideo VHS deck will be able to extract a more true repersentaition ofd the signal...

I have attached two very informative links... the first is a general overview of how video tape works and the second is the color under system used in most consumer video tape systems.

http://www.rcc.ryerson.ca/rta/tvtech/the_book/chapter12/main.html

http://www.rcc.ryerson.ca/rta/tvtech/the_book/appendix/main.html#colour2

[FOO]

Thanks
Yes I went and looked it up before your post.
This is pitiful. I am an EE and didn't know how a VCR
works. I Hate it when that happens.

[Mirror_Image]

Some visual examples of the differences:

http://www.hifi-writer.com/he/video/index.htm