Some questions about the Panasonic NV-HS1000EGC

[nobodyserio]

I did a quick capture of all my tapes some years ago with the Sony SLV 825 and a cheap elgato usb stick ( I know shame on me, an ati aiw 9000 is on the way), using a scart to composite/s-video converter.

Now that I have some more time I would like to capture them again and got my hands on a "Panasonic NV-HS1000EGC".

I did some test With the elgato so far and the picture seems overall cleaner ( I guess if I would have to describe it in words).

I am playing home recorded tapes and use the s-video output.

But I faced a few issues, maybe you can point me into the right direction:

When turning TBC on, some "glitchy" tapes ( that seem to have some tracking errors, I guess?), will switch from colour to black and white. Either only for a few minutes or the rest of the playback. This does not happen, when TBC is turned off.

So TBC on the device is broken? Maybe the fault of the s-video cable? Elgatos fault? I did try using composite and got the same result. I also made sure that the slider on the device is moved from "auto" to "colour". Moving the tbc slider to "off" does not cause this to happen. It only happens to a few tapes , some others just do fine.


The second thing is the picture being too bright or dark. I can actually compare my first captured batch and the colours seem normal. I tried using a scart covnerter on the panasonic and the brightness was normal ( looked just like the ones I captured years ago).

Is this a panasonic thing maybe? Maybe the elgato is at fault ( the ati aiw 9000 is on the way)?

It is recommended to connect the s-video cable directly, instead of using a scart converter I assume?


Is there also a recommendation for the "soft/sharp slider"? I kept it in the middle so far, but maybe it makes more sense to move the slider more to sharp or soft for capture?

Thank you for your time. The idea was to play the tape on the panasonic with tbc turned on, connect it to the ati aiw 9000 put inside a xp desktop pc and use virutaldub writting the files loselessy to an external hdd, to leave the main pc alone.

[The_Doman]

When turning TBC on, some "glitchy" tapes ( that seem to have some tracking errors, I guess?), will switch from colour to black and white. Either only for a few minutes or the rest of the playback. This does not happen, when TBC is turned off.

So TBC on the device is broken? Maybe the fault of the s-video cable? Elgatos fault? I did try using composite and got the same result. I also made sure that the slider on the device is moved from "auto" to "colour". Moving the tbc slider to "off" does not cause this to happen. It only happens to a few tapes , some others just do fine.

It is not uncommon for "simple" TBC's to "glitch" with difficult tapes/signals.
Possible there are other settings to adjust like noise reduction (DNR)?
My only TBC equipped VCR's are JVC's, I seldom ever use them really, mostly i just use a Panasonic DVDR for stabilizing/fixing.
But to make sure you have to test with another capture device or display/TV.

The second thing is the picture being too bright or dark. I can actually compare my first captured batch and the colours seem normal. I tried using a scart converter on the panasonic and the brightness was normal ( looked just like the ones I captured years ago).

It is recommended to connect the s-video cable directly, instead of using a scart converter I assume?

A regular SCART to composite/SVideo adapter/cable just routes the A/V signals from the SCART pins to RCA-Composite/SVideo connectors.
Those adapters not convert any signals.
You would expect the signals to be the same on the SCART and dedicated S-Video connector.
But that model has a switch on the back to set the SCART output to S-Video or Composite.
I assume you have set that switch correctly?
Possible the video circuit used for the SCART is different?
Or aging circuits of course.
Just do some thorough testing

Is there also a recommendation for the "soft/sharp slider"? I kept it in the middle so far, but maybe it makes more sense to move the slider more to sharp or soft for capture?

Mostly the middle is the most sensible to use yes.
But possible there is a so called "edit" option in that machine for neutral/minimal video picture processing?

[nobodyserio]

Thank you very much for the input.

1. I have not seen any DNR settings on the device , but will take another look at the manual. I actually have another dvd recoder lying around to test on, that would be another option. I guess it makes sense to move the old crt tv I have in the basement and check again.

2.Thanks for clearing that up. I didn't really expect the signal to change either just by using a simple scart -> composite/svideo device. It does have a slider for composite/svideo, but made sure to place it correctly. Or the simple answer is really the age of the device (~30 years) after all. I will just check again with different cables for now.

Thank you again this really helps a lot.

[Sharc]

You would expect the signals to be the same on the SCART and dedicated S-Video connector.

On a sidenote only: No, the signals are not the same for Panny Recorders:
- on the SCART output the luma+sync signal of the S-Video is DC-clamped to maintain a fix and stable voltage for "black".
- on the S-video connector the signals are AC coupled, means the "black" fluctuates according to the running average of luma+sync. The "black" level (or sync tip respectively) needs to be DC-restored by the capturing device.
This can have an influence on temorary brightness pumping in worst case.

[The_Doman]

On a sidenote only: No, the signals are not the same for Panny Recorders:

Yes, I read that for Panasonic DVD/HDD recorders to use SCART only.
The Panasonic S/VHS recorder(s) then have similar issues?