Has anyone used scratchbox?(And is it worth the money?)

[Cyrax9]

Awhile back I was talking with a friend about remastering some very badly damaged VHS Tapes. He suggested a device called "Scratchbox" to remove VHS Scan lines and other artifacts.

I don't know where to find this tool, nor it's cost -- although I've heard it was expensive. So can anyone tell me the following:

1. How much does scratchbox cost?
2. Is it worth the (presumably) high price tag?
3. Does it act as a glorified TBC, or does it do something else I'm not familiar with?

Thank you for any help regarding this item.

Regards,
Cyrax9

[tdan]

Looks like it's part of a full blown commercial system. You could probably trade in your house for it


http://www.edifis.com/press_todd.htm

http://www.edifis.com/products_scratch.htm

[Cyrax9]

tdan, thanks for the info, a friend of mine knows a few people using this and it sounded like something Eisner or Spielburg would keep in their basements. I am a TV Production major in college so perhaps down the road I'll be able to buy something like this, but it definitely seems like the "solution" to finding the right TBC/DNR/Detailer etc.,etc. if you have the cash and don't know where else to look.

[lordsmurf]

I'm not impressed, so far. That website was like a politican: tons of words, but nothing was said.

[anitract]

So who wants to buy one and let everyone know how it is? I nominate lordsmurf.

[Cyrax9]

I'm not impressed, so far. That website was like a politican: tons of words, but nothing was said.

LOL so I'm not the only one who felt like I was reading the dictionary when I saw their website?

Okay, this information is "third-hand" since I got it from a friend who knows a guy who cleans up "Dr. Who" videos through someone who has one of these but this is what he said it does: (I don't claim to be an expert on this thing but it sounds like a glorified TBC.)

- Removes magnetic scan-lines from VHS Tapes and 35mm film that aren't visible when you watch a VHS Tape but are when you convert VHS to DVD. (I think I know what he's talking about but I'm not sure.)

- Gives your image a "cleaner" look that's less distorted and "noisy" from the analog source.

- Stablizes the image and compensates for loss of image quality in spots where there was "white noise" on a VHS Tape. (E.g. tape particles came off, etc.,etc.)

- Supposedly is able to improve audio quality of old tapes.

- Removes singal noise/improves clarity of the video.

- Captures your analog source footage to internal memory to avoid having to capture it again and re-encode sections you made a mistake on repairing. Said footage can be deleted manually when a project is done, but isn't "altered" the way most PC Files are upon edit after edit. Translation: Copies original footage, makes new copies of the same damn thing when you edit it to idiot-proof your remastering.

That's really all I know about it, I don't know what it costs, if it's a glorified TBC, a Remastering Studio in a box, or a prosumer level machine that's the size of a univac and does what a PC Does. I'm going on what I was told which may or may not be totally accurate. One more thing he said -- "the quality differance is noticable, if you compare a scratchboxed VHS Tape on DVD to the original, the DVD will look like it was pro-pressed, the VHS Tape can look as if it came off of a terrestrial TV Signal in the 1980s using Rabbit-ears." Apparently there is a signifigant improvement with this device. I'm just curious to know if it's worth that much cash or if it's a device designs for people with names like Iger and Jobs who puke if they see a quarter of a pixel visible in remastered video.

So who wants to buy one and let everyone know how it is? I nominate lordsmurf. wink.gif

I second that motion, he seems to be the one who knows everything about anything on this forum and has enough VCRs to put Best Buy out of business! Besides, maybe he could "decipher" what the politician was trying to say when he wrote the scratchbox website.