I.DEN IVT-7 Woes ...

[skyview]

I recently purchased an IVT-7 off of ebay. I have the following configuration:

JVC SR-V101US ---> S-Video Out ----> S-Video IN [IVT-7] S-Video Out---> Pioneer DVR RT500


With the IVT-7 powered off, the picture has vertical wavy lines.

With IVT-7 powered on, the picture still has the wavy lines but is over saturated at times almost white.

I have 5 days to decide to keep the unit or send it back. Any suggestions on needed adjustments?

Does anyone know where I can find a manual? Should I return it for a different model or brand?

Thanks In Advance!

[FulciLives]

I tried to purchase an otherwise "old" yet expensive TBC from eBay once ... was a disaster. It didn't work right.

You got a bad unit most likely ... just like I did.

Return it !!!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[orsetto]

The specimens of this particular TBC on eBay all tend to be beat to death with a stick: seriously worn out (I tried two and resold them both several years ago). The wavy lines could be due to the ventilation fan going bad, or a bad ground in the power supply. The other picture oddities might just be bad settings on the adjustment wheels behind the front panel (use a jewelers screwdriver to turn them all to middle/vertical positions and see if that helps). Better yet, don't even bother: return it if the seller gave you the option.

These huge old "pro" TBCs are seldom useful for VHS-DVD transfers. Many of them do not consistently clear copy protection, and they generally add more video artifacts than they fix. Most people are better off with the "amateur" DataVideo TBC-1000 and AVT-8710, although their current price of $300+ is a bit rich for occasional use.

Your case is an excellent example of where switching to another DVD recorder can actually be much more helpful and cost effective than getting a TBC. The Pioneer RT-500 combo recorder is not a true Pioneer, it was contracted out to another mfr. It uses one of the earlier encoders which spaz out at the slightest VHS glitch or dropout. Instead of trying to fix this with a TBC, try a more recent Pioneer like a 640 or 450, or the new Phillips 3576. These have very stable input buffers that can *usually* let you dispense with external TBCs altogether (they don't do the bluescreen dance like the RT-500 and they don't lose audio sync). If you need to clear MV interference on some tapes, get a dedicated stabilizer for $50.

[skyview]

Thanks for the responses ... I'll take everyone's advice and ship this unit back.

Thanks Again!