That flicker again on my DVD-R transfers!

[ministry88]

Wow. I truly MUST be cursed! The brightness level on my VHS is fluctuating up and down again!

A little history: I first noticed this problem when transferring some tapes to DVD. I first had a 10-year-old Toshiba that was in good shape (diagnosed by an authorized Toshiba technician). Every once in a while, I would see the brightness level go up and down on the image of the transferred DVD-R.

I was told on these boards it is probably copy protection. I said that these tapes were not commercially made tapes (they are not "home movies" or anything, but rare horror films transferred to VHS by a rare video dealer who admitted he put no copy protection on his tapes). BUT I was then told that it could be my DVD Recorder falsely detecting copy protection signals.

I did not notice any of this flicker when the VCR was hooked up directly to the TV. Just when it was connected to the DVD Recorder.

I then realized that if I manually adjusted the tracking on the Toshiba while recording, the flickering went away! BUT this wasn't really an option as I'd have to babysit EVERY VHS, wait for the flicker, and then manually adjust the tracking.

SO I bought a JVC HR-7600U machine in very good condition. There is still flicker, but it seems to be on LESS tapes. And it still flickers no matter the settings. I have noticed that sometimes the Video Stabilizer option dramatically cuts the flicker, but not for all tapes. Otherwise, no other settings make a difference (TBC on/off, Video Calibration on/off, etc).

However, with the JVC, manual tracking DOES NOT remove the flicker! Stranger still, I just checked a VHS tape with the VCR hooked directly up to the TV and this time IT STILL FLICKERED, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS HOOKED DIRECTLY UP TO THE TV!

This same tape has flickered on another VCR too. Perhaps it is the tape to blame here?

I've been under the impression that anomalies in tracking can briefly unfocus/destabilize the video signal which could trip the DVD Recorder into falsely reading the unfocused signal as copy protection, and cause the flickering. So I was advised to buy an external TBC so the signal would be as clean and stable as possible so it wouldn't trip up the DVD Recorder and it wouldn't flicker anymore (I have still yet to buy the TBC, but I will soon).

***BUT my question is: WHY would this tape STILL flicker even when it was hooked DIRECTLY up to the TV?! Clearly copy protection isn't the issue since it's not hooked up to a recorder. Could the fluctuation in tracking STILL cause a flicker, even when it's not hooked up to a DVD Recorder? And I thought TBC's can't help tracking issues anyway? But it's not TRULY a tracking issue as the image is perfectly clear and stable, but perhaps little anomalies in the tape integrity as it goes through the tape path could cause a warbling of the signal and cause this flickering, EVEN if the VCR is directly hooked up to a TV and not a recorder?

THANKS for any help guys!

PS: Here is my workflow:
JVC HR-S7600U --> Pionner 340H DVD Recorder

[minidv2dvd]

the copy protection was most likely on the original videos the dealer you got them from copied. the illegal copies he made has the remnants of his attempt to defeat macrovision.

[ministry88]

Thanks for the speedy reply mini! Unfortunately, some of the tapes this dealer made were from his original 35 mm film prints so clearly copy protection can't be to blame there.

And also as I said, I've noticed this flicker when I'm just playing the tapes back on the TV (not through the VCR). In fact, the one that I was talking about in my original post was a factory sealed original I bought that flickers when directly hooked up to the TV!

[minidv2dvd]

still sounds like a macrovision problem, especially it happening with the originals. try only having one macrovision infested playback device hooked up while trying to watch. i.e. only one vcr or dvd player nothing else.

[filmboss80]

Something you overlooked in the equation: faulty video cable. Oftentimes, it's as simple as that.

[lordsmurf]

, but rare horror films transferred to VHS by a rare video dealer who admitted he put no copy protection on his tapes).

A lot of those people who sell are lying sacks of shit. They are rarely the creators.

The real creators did it for fun, not for money. So unless you know this person personally, it may be a badly-made VHS copy of another VHS. Sometimes Nth generation copies, to make matters worse.

These scumbags are all over comic book shows, or at least used to be. They took videos from the real fans/collectors, and are whoring out garbage-quality copies (most often on the cheapest grade crap VHS or DVD blanks they could find at the bottom shelf at K-Mart), and are selling their junk for studio-MSRP prices.

[ministry88]

Smurf, you've been remarkably on target up until now, but I must defend this rare video dealer. He has ALL ORIGINAL source material and uses Maxell PI/Plus Black Magnetite tapes and transfers them first (via his Panasonic AG-1980) to a digital medium and then to the Maxell tapes for maximum clarity and no generation loss.

Believe me on this (rare horror is my speciality). I've been around the block with dozens of rare video dealers over the last decade (many of them now out of business) and you are right about 90% of them. Most of them do use dupes as their source and use K-mart brand consumer VCRs and cables. I didn't waste my time (or money!) with their junk.

But this dealer (the bulk of my VHS are from this dealer) MOST DEFINITELY DOES NOT DO THAT.

And to filmboss: I am using a fresh silver serpent S-video cable from bettercables.com so I don't think cables are the problem.[/b]

[lordsmurf]

New cables can be bad too, double-check it anyway.

Maxell tapes are fairly notorious for various problems, so that could be part of the issue, too! Maxell rates near the bottom, and has for about 10 years now (up until the late 1990s, it was a good tape).

[ministry88]

Thanks Smurf! I'll try swapping out the cable.

Also, most of the tapes I have from this dealer were bought around 1999/2000. So I hope that was before they became problematic. But thanks again for the heads up. Again, something I didn't know!

[lordsmurf]

Maybe, maybe not. In 1999, both old and new stock were sold side by side on shelves. It all depends on how smart the collector was. I can tell based on the design of the packaging, usually.

[Seeker47]

Smurf, you've been remarkably on target up until now, but I must defend this rare video dealer. He has ALL ORIGINAL source material and uses Maxell PI/Plus Black Magnetite tapes and transfers them first (via his Panasonic AG-1980) to a digital medium and then to the Maxell tapes for maximum clarity and no generation loss.

Believe me on this (rare horror is my speciality). I've been around the block with dozens of rare video dealers over the last decade (many of them now out of business) and you are right about 90% of them. Most of them do use dupes as their source and use K-mart brand consumer VCRs and cables. I didn't waste my time (or money!) with their junk.

But this dealer (the bulk of my VHS are from this dealer) MOST DEFINITELY DOES NOT DO THAT.[/b]

When titles are truly rare or OOP, you often don't have much in the way of choices. (And this is hardly limited to any one genre, such as horror.) Sometimes you might get lucky, and find a decent bootleg DVD on eBay. [Hope this doesn't violate one of the rules here. I'm not talking about recent titles, and I'm not advocating illegal commerce, but if a title is not available for love or money, here or in Europe etc., what else can you do ? I could run a couple titles by you that were thought lost to the world for 30 years, because there were no known prints or chain of ownership ! ]

I don't know which dealers you were referring to, but a fair percentage of the entire catalogs of outfits like Something Weird and Sinister Cinema (if they are still around) would fall into the 'No Other Alternative' category. My impression has been that they were generally pretty legit in what they were trying to do -- not the bargain basement sleazeballs Smurf was talking about. Then again, maybe others know more about this than I do . . . .

But -- trust me -- the only folks who do this stuff for love are the collectors who may trade titles amongst themselves. Anyone else has to pay the rent and turn a profit.

[orsetto]

When dealing with "private-label" tapes, you sometimes run up against limitations that are extremely difficult to get around using a reasonable amount of money/time. No matter how "professional" this guy was, and I'm glad to take your word for it, if his source prints had issues they would pass thru to the VHS tapes. I'm sorry, but there's no way this guy was using Hollywood-level equipment and expertise: doing a flawless film to digital to VHS transfer is an art form, it is unlikely in the extreme he had access to the staff and money required to do this perfectly for each tape. I'm not as versed on the terminology as LordSmurf, so I won't go into detail, but the "flickering" is almost certainly caused by flaws in your friends transfer process from film to the VHS tapes. Unless the transfer is performed by a specialist, you will get weirdnesses in the VHS that may not have been noticeable playing the tape on a VCR to a CRT television 12 years ago but that will "suddenly" intrude now that you're trying to encode for DVD or play on a 16:9 flat panel.

When it works , digital can be amazing, when it doesn't, it kicks you in the ass then spins you around for a go at your front. Your best (perhaps only) option is to ride the tracking and babysit the tranfer for each tape, which you said does work somewhat. You might be able to capture to a PC and program software to repair the flickers, but that would be a massive, tedious, lengthy project.