GV-USB2 vs. ATI TV Wonder 600 USB

[Darryl In Canada]

Sharing a clip from the bad tape portion of my ongoing GV-USB2 vs. ATI TV Wonder HD 600 USB comparison.

This tape was recorded in EP (SLP) mode in 1985 off broadcast television. It's my worst tape in the collection – heavy waviness and flagging at the top of the frame – which is exactly why I use it as a stress test. If a capture device handles this tape well, it handles most things well.

Setup details:

• Player: Panasonic PV-VS4821-K (S-VHS) – no line TBC on this model
• Connection: S-Video out to each capture device
• OS: Windows 7
• Capture software: AmarecTV
• Codec: HuffYUV

This clip is part of a full 5-minute test. AmarecTV reported zero duplicate or dropped frames across the entire capture on both devices.
Post-processing was minimal by design. I deinterlaced using QTGMC at its least destructive settings via VCG Deinterlacer and output to ProRes 422. No denoising, no colour correction, nothing else. The two MOV files were placed side by side in a Premiere Pro timeline and exported as H.264 (MP4).

Based on what you can see in these two clips, the GV-USB2 handles this tape more resiliently than the ATI. This likely comes down to what's inside the device. A hardware teardown by Taruru (https://ikidomarinosaki.fc2.net/blog-entry-61.html) found that the GV-USB2 contains a Renesas (formerly Techwell) TW9910 10-bit video decoder, a Cirrus Logic CS5340 audio decoder, and a Syntek STK1150 USB bridge. The TW9910 datasheet specifies "advanced synchronization processing and sync detection for handling non-standard and weak signals."

I'm not an expert, but based on things I've read, I believe the following breakdown is accurate. If I've got anything wrong, please correct me.

There are three tiers of signal correction you can apply to an unstable tape:

PLL (phase-locked loop) – Built into most decent decoder chips, including the TW9910. Re-clocks the sync pulses on each line but doesn't touch picture content. This is what the GV-USB2 has. It's better than nothing – and better than what's in most cheap dongles – but it has a ceiling.

Line TBC / DVEC – Goes further by correcting the timing of the actual video lines, not just the sync pulses. Handles flagging, velocity errors, and mild jitter. Found in better S-VHS decks and some standalone TBC units. Sony's equivalent is DVEC (Digital Velocity Error Correction), built into MiniDV camcorders and the DVMC-DA2 – it does the same line-level velocity correction on the analog input path before DV encoding. The JVC line TBC has an edge over DVEC on badly degraded tapes because it also integrates DNR, but for typical consumer VHS they're in the same tier.

Full-frame TBC – Buffers an entire frame and reconstructs it from scratch. The heavy artillery. Handles severe instability, vertical roll, and the worst-case tapes. Standalone units like the DataVideo TBC-1000 operate at this level.

A few observations and questions:

1. Overall the GVUSB2 performs better, but there is at least one instance where the ATI600 performs better.
2. Often, a scene changes causes the waviness top go away. What is the reason for this?
3. The final commercial is very static with no camera movement and so both devices perform well. Why does movement trigger waviness?
4. What else do you notice about the two videos that points to differences in the way each digitizes?

[Attachment 92080 - Click to enlarge]

[Attachment 92081 - Click to enlarge]

[Attachment 92082 - Click to enlarge]

[Sharc]

Well, I think we agree that both are useless for such pathological cases, and any "conclusions" are doubtful.
Look for example your video where one is readily inclined to "conclude" that the GV-USB2 excels the ATI600. Now look at the pylon in the background: The GV-USB2 shows it stably but badly tilted (like after a thunderstorm), while the ATI 600 shows it straight upright. So which one is better? Comparing bullshit with horseshit

[lordsmurf]

There's too many recent threads right now, same topic.

It started here with a 2026 bump on pg3:
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/418238-Developing-a-analogue-capture-card-with-in-...e3#post2794924

Then these posts popped up:
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/420384-Comparing-I-O-Data-GV-USB2-vs-ATI-600-Flagg...nd-Frame-Drops
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/420443-4-different-IODATA-GV-USB2-s-tested-with-sa...-Like-Activity
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/420448-GV-USB2-vs-ATI-TV-Wonder-600-USB

I debunked the TBC claims here:
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/420443-4-different-IODATA-GV-USB2-s-tested-with-sa...ty#post2796088
and in the follow-up post.

[lordsmurf]

PLL (phase-locked loop) – Built into most decent decoder chips, including the TW9910. Re-clocks the sync pulses on each line b

Two needed corrections":
- "decent" is a stretch
- It doesn't re-clock anything. The PLL just locks line position based on the input frame. It's not correcting anything (ie, not a TBC), and can in fact look worse in some situations.

It's somewhat like a temporal NR. Not great.

Well, I think we agree that both are useless for such pathological cases, and any "conclusions" are doubtful.
Look for example your video where one is readily inclined to "conclude" that the GV-USB2 excels the ATI600. Now look at the pylon in the background: The GV-USB2 shows it stably but badly tilted (like after a thunderstorm), while the ATI 600 shows it straight upright. So which one is better? Comparing bullshit with horseshit

Yep, you see it.

I prefer bullshit. Makes for better manure.

[aramkolt]

Is yours one of the Win11 badged/boxed IODATA's, or is it one of the others?

[Darryl In Canada]

Is yours one of the Win11 badged/boxed IODATA's, or is it one of the others?

I got the box with "Windows 10" and a CD inside. I bought it from Amazon Japan and specifically picked the listing from I-O Data that said compatible with Windows 11, rather than the listing that said compatible with Windows 7 to 10—thinking that would ensure I got the box that said Windows 11. However, according to what I-O Data replied to my question about hardware revisions:

Regarding your inquiry,
This product has been tested and confirmed to work with Windows 11, so it is compatible with that operating system.
*Our products are intended for the domestic market and are compatible only with Japanese versions of operating systems.

The GV-USB2 is a product that has been in production since before the release of Windows 11, and the design of the outer box is changed each time it is sold.
Depending on market inventory, the previous design may still be available for purchase.

However, since only the design of the outer box is different, the specifications of the product itself have not been changed.
Even products labeled "Windows 10 compatible" can be used with Windows 11.

Furthermore, this product requires the installation of dedicated drivers and software before use.
The latest version is available for download from our website.