Need advice on image enhancers

[Johnws]

Hi,
I have about 200+ older vhs tapes I need to transfer to dvd.
The problem is - many of them need to have the images fixed up before I do this.
They are all older (black and white) movies.
All of them need to be sharpened for sure.
Details on most of them are ranging from a bit soft to very soft (blurry).
Also many are washed out looking with bad problems in the light areas.
Faces, hands, etc. are very bright white.
Basically they need a fair bit adjustment to look decent.
The problem it seems comes from poorly done telecine work.

I plan to get a Sign Video PA100 amp.

I am trying to decide between a variety of image enhancers as well.
The Sign DR1000 was recommended to me but I haven't found anyone who can give some insight into exactly what it can do with poor video images.
I have been checking around regarding the Elite BVP-4 and it seems to be a powerful piece of equipment but a few folks have told me it can be a bit tricky and has no noise level feature. Also have been told it can easily throw the signal off (but running through the Sign PA100 would eliminate that problem i'm guessing?)
Then there's the Laird VC2000 and the Vidicraft Detailer machines to consider as well.

Hopefully someone can chime in with the pros and cons of these various pieces of equipment.
As I mentioned the images I have to work with are black and white and run from slightly soft to badly washed out, grainy, blurry, etc.
I'm looking for something that can be used to target each specific problem without causing other parts of the image to be affected. (for instance something that can sharpen details without causing grain/noise or something that can reduce some of the washed out whites without messing up the black levels of the entire image, etc)

It's a very expensive trial and error process to purchase all the various models and i'm hoping to learn a bit more about these hopefully from others who have experience with them before buying.

Many thanks in advance.

[guns1inger]

Have you read the first sticky in this forum -> https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=239205

Lots of information there to start with. Also, if you search by name, you will find lots more.

[Johnws]

Hi,
Yes, I read through the post at the top of the forum.
Also searched for older topics and read those as well.

I still can't decide which machine would be best for what I need to do from these posts.

I am looking for something that can improve a specific problem without causing other problems with the image. (like not causing noise/grain when sharpening or not causing the image to get softer when using noise reduction, etc.)

The Elite seems to have a lot of great features, even with resolution boost, but i've heard that using some of the features causes the video signal to go haywire?

It's probably going to be either the Elite BVP, Laird VC2000 or Vidicraft Detailer when I buy (with the Sign DR1000 as a possibility as well). Hopefully someone has used these on old black and white images before and can share what type of results they achieved?

Do any of the enhancers have built in meters to keep the signal "in spec" or is something like the Sign PA100 a must when using enhancers?

Many thanks.

[victoriabears]

I have spent the last two year trying the following:-

AVT 8710 - very very simple and does a good job for the price.

Signvideo dr1000, needs a lot of practice, not sure it is worth the price.

BP4+, is really for images which are badly out of wack, rather than just old and fuzzy.

Vidicraft Detailler 2, great if you can get one.As tend to go for $70 ish.

Software filters, like those in Tmpg, Can yield good results but I have found software encoding makes a more plastic image than hardware.

You have to anaylise what it is you CAN acheive, Certainly Gshellys sticky is excellent, using software like virtual dub and all the filters takes a lot of time, be honest with yourself about the time spent/quality achieved value judgement, how much time do you have and are willing to spend.

Finally, a good vcr, like the JVC s-vhs model often spoken about, I have the 9911 and a SR10VU, and if you use a dvd recorder and can get a JVC then again a lot of the work is done for you.

Complete your profile-where are you?,close by videohelpers may be prepared to liase with you in person and help, I know I would.,and post a shot from the tapes which are the worst.

Good luck.

[mikel]

After converting appx 250 vhs>dvds...

my bit of advice would be to try and gain access to more than one tapedeck.
Some of the tapes I've converted, play back much better on my JVC 9900U.
...some on my Sony R-1000. I've noticed that vertical jitter, grain, and
background audio noise are the main differences that I've run into.
Playback on the original recorder that made the tape is sometimes HIGHLY desirable.

I also use a AVT 8710. a bit basic...but it has worked good so far.

[trhouse]

You may find none of these devices will improve these videos much. Think about what an enhancer is typically designed to do and the underlying assumptions.

If you take a sharp video and record to a VCR, the VCR has an internal filter that is designed to reduce mostly the high frequency content. This results in softening of the image. The enhancer is designed to try to reverse the effect of the filter by amplifiying those same filtered high frequencies to bring back some of the lost detail. This assumes that there are filtered high frequencies to bring back.

If the original video is not sharp and never had those higher frequencies, then the filter in the VCR filtered nothing. An enhancer in trying to bring back what was never there will amplify noise instead creating a noisy, soft video. Mpeg encoders tend to choke on noise and create macroblocks.

I have tried a Laird, own a Vidicraft Detailer III, and a JVC JX-C7. As noted by Gshelley61, use only a little enhancement with a Detailer III. I seldom have it turned up more than about 1/8 of its range.

[Johnws]

Hi,
I'm pretty far off the beaten path (East coast Canada) so I doubt i'm very close to anyone for hands-on help.
I might have a look for one of those Vidicraft detailers (as the price seems to be reasonable for experimenting). The Sign is a bit steep for a trial however.
I recall sometime ago seeing samples of the Elite BVP-4 on their website (can't find it now however?) where they showed before and after pics of some pretty blurry images and I seem to recall the enhanced pics looking very nice (but that was a long time ago that I saw these so my memory might be hazy on exactly what was corrected).
The fact that the resolution boost can't be turned off on these machines however might cause problems on videos that are already sharp but just need a few tweaks to the tone levels?

I'll try to get a few frame grabs of the videos i'm working with over the weekend and post them.

I'm thinking whichever enhancer I get, i'll still need to run it through something to keep the signal from going out of whack? (like the Sign PA100 I mentioned?) or are there others that can serve the same same purpose as the PA100 at a cheaper price?

Thanks again for the replies.

[victoriabears]

OK I am in west coast Canada, happy Canada Day.

What equipment have you already got?

My experiments have shown that keeping it simple is best, if you are prepared to send me one of your vhs's, recorded delivery, I will do some stuff with it, I have just updated my profile to show the equipment I do have.

The BVP4+ is expensive and really for the pros.

You need to start with a v good vcr and a TBC. and good dvd recorder.