EP VHS, through Canopus 110, to PC

[bthomas]

Hello, new and jumping into capturing VHS to PC

COMPUTER

AMD Phenom x4 9750 Quad Core Processor
750 GB HDD
ATI Radeon HD 6670
Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit SP2
8 GB Ram

CAPTURE GEAR

VCR = SEARS Hi-Fi 30609, DA 4 Head, pro-cision 19u head/auto cleaner, ez-2 programme
(VCR is composite out...NO S-Video out)

Capture Device = Canopus 110
Capture Software = VirtualDub ....also... (I believe it's Windows Movie Maker 6.0)

I'm trying to convert VHS tapes to digital and onto my PC

All the VHS tapes are old and recorded in Extended Play (EP)...so my internet research says that's
about 6 hours per tape in a very low quality

WILL changing my VCR to a better brand/quality with some DNR or TBC actually help me improve
the capture quality of these VHS tapes...even though they are recorded in EP Mode

It didn't sound like my Canopus 110 model has the TBC built into it...so if I did upgrade my VCR
would the Canopus 110 just cause some quality loss...or would my current setup with a better
VCR having S-Video actually make things look better....?

Currently eBay has some JVC VCR's at decent prices some with S-Video out

Could anyone suggest one I should purchase...if it would improve things

JVC Super VHS HR-S5901U $24.99
JVC HRS4600U Super VHS Hi-Fi VCR S-VHS $5.00
JVC Super VHS-ET $35.00
JVC HR-S8000U S-VHS Hifi Stereo Super VHS VCR $19.50

The prices don't bother me...just added them in case someone would have an opinion on whether
they would be attracted to the very cheap $5.00 JVC or Cautious for some reason....?

There are more JVC brands....but what am I looking for?...S-Video out?...TBC? and what
actually tells you that a VCR has TBC?

Again, these VHS Tapes are recorded in Extended Play...so if the capture setup I have is the
best it'll get then please let me know...any other suggestions will be helpful...

[lordsmurf]

WILL changing my VCR to a better brand/quality with some DNR or TBC actually help me improve the capture quality of these VHS tapes...even though they are recorded in EP Mode.

Yes.
Read this: VCR Buying Guide (S-VHS, D-VHS, Professional) for transferring video

It didn't sound like my Canopus 110 model has the TBC built into it...

Correct. No TBC.

so if I did upgrade my VCR would the Canopus 110 just cause some quality loss...or would my current setup with a better VCR having S-Video actually make things look better....?

It's not s-video, but TBC + DNR.
Though s-video does look better than composite or coax.

JVC Super VHS HR-S5901U $24.99
JVC HRS4600U Super VHS Hi-Fi VCR S-VHS $5.00
JVC Super VHS-ET $35.00
JVC HR-S8000U S-VHS Hifi Stereo Super VHS VCR $19.50

None of these. See the guide.

Again, these VHS Tapes are recorded in Extended Play...so if the capture setup I have is the
best it'll get then please let me know..

For SLP/EP tapes, look at Panasonic decks, not JVC.

[bthomas]

thanks for the list....some of those panasonic vcr's are on eBay for a decent
price.

[sanlyn]

I've looked up Panasonics for EP playback for some years now. The best (and unfortunately the oldest) are the 1995 PV-4560 series, the 1996 PV-4660 series, and the 1998 PV-8661. The rest are so-so. Like all consumer VCR's, anything made after 1998 is very lightweight stuff (from all makers) that won't hold up. On eBay, avoid sellers who have a "no return" policy. Some of the "pro" AG-series Panasonics are pretty good, but don't expect performance from the cheapest AG you can find; these were more expensive units to begin with.

Try looking up recent posts in this forum by orsetto, who has probably used and serviced just about every VCR made.

[themaster1]

I recommend this one because it seems to do a better job than the hr-8600ms (with tbc) that i have

It has the video stabilizer feature to fix vertical vibrations that can appear on EP recordings.
If i'm not mistaken, later JVC high end models( D-vhs) have this feature + tbc but the price will go upper...

I haven't compared with panasonic's (never had any)

[VideoTechMan]

If you can manage to score a decent Panny AG-1980 on the 'bay that's in good condition and not beat up, that would be a good bet since it has a line TBC and DNR that can help clean up the tapes pretty well. External TBC would be ideal to stabilize the signal before capturing with the Canopus.

[sanlyn]

I recommend this one because it seems to do a better job than the hr-8600ms (with tbc) that i have

It has the video stabilizer feature to fix vertical vibrations that can appear on EP recordings.
If i'm not mistaken, later JVC high end models( D-vhs) have this feature + tbc but the price will go upper...

I haven't compared with panasonic's (never had any)

But most of the O.P.'s tapes are EP VHS.

[themaster1]

But most of the O.P.'s tapes are EP VHS.

..So what ?

[sanlyn]

But most of the O.P.'s tapes are EP VHS.

..So what ?

I wouldn't try EP tapes with any JVC except their $5000 HD models.

Again, these VHS Tapes are recorded in Extended Play...so if the capture setup I have is the
best it'll get then please let me know..

For SLP/EP tapes, look at Panasonic decks, not JVC.

The only JVC's I've ever usd that could play EP tapes as anything but blurry fuzz were the ones I owned back in the early 1990's. My own bad choice that I sold both of them when I moved with my wife to a smaller place in 1998.

[smartel]

i have a HR-S5800 and it does pretty good

[sanlyn]

HR-S5800U. Earlier JVC, presaged the "digital" big boys and probably plays EP VHS better than newer ones. I bought my two JVC's in 1990, don't recall the model numbers but they were certainly earlier than "5800", weighed twice as much, and I recall that playback was so stable it made TVC-equipped models look ill. Sorry I sold 'em. But don't say I didn't warn the O.P. Smartel has already read about it:
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/330592-JVC-HR-S5800U-questions?p=2047860&viewfull=1#post2047860

[bthomas]

Thanks for all the tips so far....however....

I have Just received my Panasonic AG-1970P from my purchase on eBay.

$140.00 original asking price, I live in Canada bought in USA, once you add shipping, customs,
taxes...my final total was about $230.00

Everything seems like it Functions

To repeat myself....All my tapes are in Extended Play (EP) mode

This is my editing set-up

Panasonic AG 1970P----> 6 ft S-Video cable into ----> Canopus 110----> 6 pin Fire wire into ----> Computer

(S-video cable is gold plated...Purchased on Monoprices.com)

So far I've only captured with Virtual Dub but I'm not really seeing much, if any, improvement
in the video quality....the audio sounds more clear coming in with the composite audio cable
it sounds less foggy than capturing from my SEARS brand vcr

My Panasonic did have the Noise Filter set to ON and the TBC set to ON when I did my first
capture...other than that I'm not sure what other settings to tinker with...any advice how I
could/should set this Panasonic up for capturing

[manono]

...any advice how I
could/should set this Panasonic up for capturing

Sharpening off or at its lowest setting. DNR off if it has a separate control from the TBC. TBC on.

[bthomas]

I've applied the above settings.

The Soft and Sharp slider is beautiful and I can actually see it happening as the tape
plays....however...

I've come to the conclusion, after several differing capture attempts, that TBC is causing me
issues...every several seconds the video seems to skip like it is quickly being tossed to the
side (left to right) and a multi-color squiggle/thing cuts down the center...it all happens very
fast...but constantly as long as TBC is on...

Also, if it matters, there is a fairly thick black line on the right side edge of the video as it plays
and the edge where the color meets the black has this constant swaying motion going on...
it doesn't seem like the whole video is swaying...just that edge...it almost seems like the video
image needs to be centered more to the right side...but I've read that capturing may require
some edge cropping later...thought I'd just mention it.

All of this I'm viewing on my computer with my capture software VirtualDub so....could VirtualDub
be the problem...or perhaps the type of VHS Tape...the video tape is Kodak T-120 HG...recorded
in Extended Play

Has TBC been known to act this way?

[davexnet]

If you're using the Canopus device that outputs DV, you should use something simple like WinDV to capture through Firewire.

[manono]

Like davexnet, I agree that WinDV is good for capping from the Canopus products.

Has TBC been known to act this way?

I haven't ever had the problem you describe, but I have read before of line TBCs sometimes causing problems. Someone more knowledgeable than I will have to post about it. Maybe the TBC has gone bad?

My setup isn't all that different from yours. A Panasonic NV-HS860 PAL S-VHS VCR to an AVT-8710 frame TBC to an ADVC-300 capping with WinDV. I always have the line TBC of the VCR on, the DNR off, and the sharpness setting at its lowest. It works well.

[bthomas]

So...just installed and used the WinDV program

When I use the WinDV with the following, below, settings on my Panasonic AG-1970 I don't
get the TBC issue that I described above...so maybe VirtualDub has TBC issues???

Sharpening off or at its lowest setting. DNR off if it has a separate control from the TBC. TBC on.

my only complaint is that I can't seem to get any preview from the WinDV window...I'm
running Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit, if that matters, is this normal on some
Operating Systems...do I just run cables to my TV to preview my captures???

Also...are there any particular settings I should be using for the WinDV capture

( this is off topic ....how do you credit a users name to the "quote" box...ie originally posted by___ )

[manono]

Because I have the ADVC-300, it has its own Preview window with video and audio. After I get that set up (it also has an included software program you can use to adjust the brightness, contrast and a bunch of other stuff, most of which I don't use), I close it out and then open the WinDV program. I get video without audio in its Preview window (but both video and audio in the capped DV AVI). I'm on Win7 32 bit. If there are problems peculiar to using a 64 bit operating system, someone else will have to advise.

I use the default WinDV settings (I think).

To get the guy's name in your quotes, hit the 'Quote' button below and to the right of the post you'll be quoting and just remove the stuff you don't want included.