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  1. Capturing Memories dellsam34's Avatar
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    No, tape preamps are specific to a tape formulation, speed and magnetic layer thickness, You can't just put an audio cassette pre-amp and call it a day although it will produce sound but it will be off spec, Read about tape equalization and frequency response it's a fun subject.
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  2. True to an extent, though if you are only gonna use it for playback and not recording, it might be a bit simpler since you don't have to worry about biasing (which is going to be quite tape formulation specific and probably differs a fair bit between audio tapes and vhs ones.)
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  3. Capturing Memories dellsam34's Avatar
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    Even playback, frequency response is crucial, especially for a low quality track like the linear one, The high frequencies above 10KHz will suffer the most from wrong equalization.
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  4. There is some work being done in an attempt to take the luma and chroma TBC files and spit them through a pair of Fresco Logic FL2000 chips on common USB to VGA adapter dongles. These can be put in a raw sample stream mode at well over 100MSPS over USB 3.0, and up to 14MSPS over USB 2.0. The file playback software will show a warning if the sample rate doesn't match the next closest rate the DAC can send out. In that case the source TBC file(s) will need to be resample first to get the correct payback rate.

    https://osmocom.org/projects/osmo-fl2k/wiki

    Result so far:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqIP6tCmqww

    The core issues are the use of TCP/IP to send two unsynchronized data streams, and the fact that two dongles with imperfectly synced clocks are used. The ideal solution for s-video would be to use the additional channels on the same dongle as they are crystal locked. Or just use a combined composite signal file and send that out over a single channel.
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    Last edited by Titan_91; 8th Oct 2022 at 11:19.
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  5. Capturing Memories dellsam34's Avatar
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    Do you mind asking what's the purpose of this?
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  6. Not sure what you mean. It's a possible inexpensive DAC solution at very high sample rates.

    Edit: Update! vrunk11 got it working using multi channel output!

    haha im so proud off me i edited the fl2K_file program and now i can chose 1 file per RGB chanel @9954tony @.Zcooger (making BUSINESS) @Stephen_Neal 🥳
    this is with s-video and 2 tbc file chroma + luma
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    Last edited by Titan_91; 9th Oct 2022 at 21:41.
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  7. Harry requested an initial list of parameters that may improve picture quality. For future reference here are my NTSC adjustments:

    1. Set RFParams_NTSC_VHS["video_bpf_low"] = 1500000 in vhs.py
    2. Set rfparams["deemph_gain"] = 12 in vhs.py
    3. Set rfparams["deemph_mid"] = 280000 in vhs.py (I have not confirmed this)
    4. Disable double band pass filtering to improve sharpness slightly by commenting out the following lines in process.py:

    Code:
    if self.options.double_lpf:
                # Double up the lpf to possibly closer emulate
                # lpf in vcr. May add to other formats too later or
                # make more configurable.
                self.Filters["FVideo"] *= filter_video_lpf
    Last edited by Titan_91; 14th Oct 2022 at 13:04.
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  8. In contrast, ltewreed did some similar adjustments for PAL tapes to improve teletext decoding. As a result this also improved sharpness and reduces smearing a bit. Harry is documenting these parameters as well as the NTSC parameters above.

    Code:
    rfparams["deemph_mid"] = 210000
    RFParams_PAL_VHS["video_bpf_low"] = 1400000
    RFParams_PAL_VHS["video_hpf_extra"] = 1120000
    RFParams_PAL_VHS["video_lpf_freq"] = 4500000


    Last edited by Titan_91; 19th Oct 2022 at 20:04.
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  9. Documenting how to use fl2k_file2 as of October 20, 2022:

    GitHub page: https://github.com/vrunk11/fl2k_2

    Compiling

    In order to compile and install the code, you first need to install the libusb headers if not already present:

    On distributions based on debian

    Code:
    sudo apt-get install libusb-1.0-0-dev
    Then you can continue with:

    Code:
    git clone https://gitea.osmocom.org/sdr/osmo-fl2k
    mkdir osmo-fl2k/build
    cd osmo-fl2k/build
    cmake ../ -DINSTALL_UDEV_RULES=ON
    make -j 3
    sudo make install
    sudo ldconfig
    Before being able to use the device as a non-root user, the udev rules need to be reloaded:

    Code:
    sudo udevadm control -R
    sudo udevadm trigger
    Usage:

    Code:
    [-d device_index (default: 0)]
    	[-s samplerate (default: 100 MS/s) you can write(ntsc)]
    	[-u Set sample type to unsigned]
    	[-R filename (use '-' to read from stdin)
    	[-G filename (use '-' to read from stdin)
    	[-G filename (use '-' to read from stdin)
    	[-R16 (convert bits 16 to 8)
    	[-G16 (convert bits 16 to 8)
    	[-B16 (convert bits 16 to 8)
    	[-tbcR interpret R as tbc file
    	[-tbcG interpret G as tbc file
    	[-tbcB interpret B as tbc file
    so if you whant to play a file on the red chanel you do -R files -G for green and -B for blue
    for the samplerate you can do -s ntsc or -s pal
    and then if you want to do tbc playback you need to do the 16 to 8 bit conversion with -R16 for red -G16 for green -B16 for blue and you also need to use -tbcR or -tbcG or -tbcB for remove the extra line on each frame
    Example command line to play a single TBC file out the red channel:

    Code:
    ./fl2k_file2 -u -R16 -s ntsc -tbcR -R example.tbc
    And to play luma out the red channel and chroma out the green channel for s-video:

    Code:
    ./fl2k_file2 -u -R16 -s ntsc -tbcR -R example.tbc -G16 -tbcG -G example_chroma.tbc
    You should see this:

    Code:
    Allocating 6 zero-copy buffers
    libusb: error [op_dev_mem_alloc] alloc dev mem failed errno 12
    Failed to allocate zero-copy buffer for transfer 4
    Please increase your allowed usbfs buffer size with the following command:
    echo 0 > /sys/module/usbcore/parameters/usbfs_memory_mb
    Falling back to buffers in userspace
    Requested sample rate 14318181 not possible, using 14318170.000000, error is -11.000000
    When the end of the file is reached:

    Code:
    (RED) : Nothing more to read
    Also, to enable USB zerocopy for better I/O stability and reduced CPU usage:

    Code:
    echo 0 > /sys/module/usbcore/parameters/usbfs_memory_mb
    And reboot. This was added to the kernel back in 2014. The default buffer size is 16.

    https://lkml.org/lkml/2014/7/2/377
    Last edited by Titan_91; 21st Oct 2022 at 12:45.
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  10. 9954tony also made a GNU Radio flow graph that does single channel playback:

    https://github.com/tandersn/GNRC-Flowgraphs/tree/main/tbc_via_fl2k
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  11. Vrunk11 has now added support for combining luma and chroma TBC files from vhs-decode on playback:

    yes you basicaly put -R2 -G2 -B2 to set the second file to combine with the first one
    Example:

    Code:
    ./fl2k_file2 -u -R16 -s ntsc -tbcR -R example.tbc -R2 example_chroma.tbc
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  12. Another development on crosshatching: Rockstar743 on Discord may have a lead (literally). He was initially using an oscilliscope lead to test his capture setup which, when measured at DC, has 350 ohms of resistance between the probe tip and BNC connection for the scope. When using this, it would resolve an issue with white fishes on the left side of the image he was getting when using a direct coax connection to the test point of his VCR. And the other thing that disappeared when using the probe lead was the crosshatching. It is now of the belief that crosshatching may be caused by heavy loading of the test point (low resistance/impedance).

    I have not personally tested placing a resistor in series to the signal. I'm pretty sure I could not get away with that without an external amp (which I have had bad luck with).
    Last edited by Titan_91; 4th Dec 2022 at 19:09.
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  13. Others have made progress on closed captioning decoding, porting the CXADC driver to more types of Conexant cards, and isolating the crosshatch diamond pattern that often appears in areas of strong color. Tony has made a GNU Radio flow graph to simulate this effect.

    I made a graph that produces a pattern similar to the VHS crosshatch on NTSC. What one might deduce from this, is open for consideration. Possibly a discrepancy between the color frequency between odd / even heads?


    the apparent rotation is just the interplay between the frequency and the display rate. The lower frequency causes diagonal lines in one direction, and the higher frequency in the other. here's a picture of the fields NOT interlaced:


    50 ohm resistor right after the jhooks compared to none. I can still see faint crosshatch in the left one, but probably only when in comparison (i.e. if i just looked at the 50 ohm frame independently, it might not be as apparent).


    Following this, Oln seems to have nailed a way to filter it out via phase cancellation, an effect I discovered on my own with drfsupercenter's Spider-Man capture:

    hm, a 1h y comb filter does seem to help on this sample at least (didn't help too much when I tried on a PAL a bit back but could have done something wrong not sure)




    Tony then adds:

    Hmm, this adding a resistor might be a red herring. There are several other problems with my resistor added capture:
    A) Detail is lost, look at the hair on the left side of her head, more detail in the non resistor capture
    B) Lower SNR
    C) More eradic SNR


    And Oln goes on to clarify:

    It's just averaging each line with half of the signal 1 line forward and half of the signal 1 line backwards, (and before averaging the difference is clipped to not blend too much)
    Yeah 1x line frequency

    added it earlier for testing if it helped with (what I think is) luma track crosstalk on a EP sample. In LP/EP mode and in some other formats the luma frequency is offset slightly on each alternate track, which supposedly makes signal read from adjacent tracks cancel itself out if a y comb filter is used. It's discussed in one of those technical docs
    Last edited by Titan_91; 24th Jan 2023 at 22:25.
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  14. Adam_T is also working on and has tested capturing video and Hi-Fi via 2 Conexant cards using the CX88 driver!
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  15. Oln has officially implemented the y comb filter. Use option - - y_comb to enable it when decoding tape RF.

    I added a command line option for it in the latest commit. Don't want to put it too high as it can smear vertical detail a bit. Not sure if it's the optimal way of dealing with the crosshatching either but the function is needed for slow speed recordings in any case
    also since it's on the tbced signal anyhow it would be possible to add it on the ld-chroma-decoder side instead which would make it easy to dial it in with ld-analyse

    it just blends each line with the one above and below really (with the difference between them limited to the specified value), it's not very sofisticated
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  16. A few updates. I have learned the black magic of using a video editor, ld-chroma-encoder, and the fl2k_file2 player to crop, resize, and interlace 59.94FPS video files to NTSC composite video signals. Resizing using guidance on the ld-chroma-encoder usage wiki page, quoted at the time of this post below:

    The input is assumed to be either 922x576 for PAL (top field first) or 758x486 for NTSC (bottom field first).
    The second channel is playing back an upsampled audio signal. To create the video signal I used the following command:

    Code:
    ffmpeg -i input.avi -an -vcodec rawvideo -pix_fmt yuv444p16 -f rawvideo - | ld-chroma-encoder -p yuv -f NTSC - output.tbc
    If you don't care about interlacing and just want to use a 29.97FPS progressive video source 480 pixels in height, you will need this command instead to do resizing and padding:
    Code:
    ffmpeg -i input.avi -an -vf "scale=758:480,pad=758:486:0:3" -vcodec rawvideo -pix_fmt yuv444p16 -f rawvideo - | ld-chroma-encoder -p yuv -f NTSC - output.tbc
    For creating a PAL video signal change -f NTSC to -f PAL, using a PAL sized video at the correct PAL frame rate as the source of course.

    To create the mono audio signal to use the left channel of the input file:

    Code:
    sox input.flac -r 14318182 -e unsigned-integer -b 16 -t raw -c 1 output.r16
    Finally, to play back both 16-bit unsigned integer encoded signals in sync, video to the green line and mono audio to the blue line:

    Code:
    ./fl2k_file2 -G16 -s ntsc -tbcG -G output.tbc -B output.r16
    I have added these samples here for anyone who wants to play these back on a monitor or view them in ld-analyse:

    https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1aPud-u9YnAAlLG5H5HppmmqEjPm_juG-

    Original YouTube links, I chose those 2 videos for that 90s flinging-your-camcorder-all-over-the-place-at-60FPS aesthetic:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqJOyxjNA7s

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F_uVz9dSxk

    These are the control signals with "ideal" SNR to be used as reference. I have recorded these 2 captures onto a Video8 test cassette and will be RF capturing them back to further assist with Video8 decoding support.

    Here is my method for RF tapping my Sony EV-A60 Video8 VCR:

    I located the test header and referenced the service manual to find the appropriate pins:





    https://archive.org/details/sony_ev-a60_ev-c200_hi8-vcr_sm

    The cable I used is this Dupont female to BNC male adapter, 6" in length:



    https://www.ebay.com/itm/334430017388
    Last edited by Titan_91; 18th Feb 2023 at 20:18.
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    I've got a tape that was recorded in 1990 from Hungarian TV channel. These years they are aired in SECAM. I wanted to decode it with vhs-decode, but I've got an error: "vhs-decode: error: unrecognized arguments: --MESECAM"
    How can I decode it? Or secam/mesecam not working yet?
    Thanks
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  18. Capturing Memories dellsam34's Avatar
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    It's at a hobby stage for now and who knows if it ever becomes a consumer product, The best option now is to capture your tapes the conventional way, Depends on the workflow you use you can far exceed what the vhsdecode can offer now.
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  19. Originally Posted by dellsam34 View Post
    It's at a hobby stage for now and who knows if it ever becomes a consumer product, The best option now is to capture your tapes the conventional way, Depends on the workflow you use you can far exceed what the vhsdecode can offer now.
    Not entirely accurate for all cases, most of the time you at least get the benefit of software time base correction to stabilize the image. I'd say over 50% of the time, if you get a good RF signal, the resulting picture exceeds what conventional capture is capable of. At a minimum, in all cases, you also get the benefit of eliminating dot crawl using a better comb filter and capturing more picture bandwidth, and more sharpness. On top of that, you get s-video style luma/chroma separated decoding and all data such as closed captions, teletext, embedded secondary audio, and anything else outside the visible picture area. There are many benefits. To say the contrary is kind of a slap in the face to myself and others who have poured years into improving this passion project. Not saying that was your intention, but it can come across that way. The objective is not a commercial all-in-one solution. That's just the nature of the VHS technology involved. With those hardware accessibility limitations in mind, we have a wiki page that's always being updated to make the process as straightforward and inviting as possible.

    https://github.com/oyvindln/vhs-decode/wiki

    Originally Posted by peppi001 View Post
    I've got a tape that was recorded in 1990 from Hungarian TV channel. These years they are aired in SECAM. I wanted to decode it with vhs-decode, but I've got an error: "vhs-decode: error: unrecognized arguments: --MESECAM"
    How can I decode it? Or secam/mesecam not working yet?
    Thanks
    To give a more helpful response, I checked the command list on GitHub and see MESECAM support was recently added. Are you using a current build?

    --MESECAM = MESECAM Support Added.

    If you're still having issues there are more people willing to help on Discord:

    https://discord.gg/pVVrrxd

    Updates: stu in the Discord server started successfully decoding a MUSE HD LaserDisc!



    And we now have some captures of the open reel C-Format broadcast material. This encapsulates a full frequency modulated composite video signal.
    Last edited by Titan_91; 28th Feb 2023 at 10:28.
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  20. Capturing Memories dellsam34's Avatar
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    Yes vhs-decode has other benifits, But I was talking specifically about video quality, try a proffesional analog to SDI device and get back to me, If you haven't played with those you don't know what a conventional video capturing process is capable of, I'm not here to undermind the project but I have to be realistic and set a reasonable expectations for others that see this as a complete product when in fact it is just a hobby project.
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    Originally Posted by peppi001 View Post
    I've got a tape that was recorded in 1990 from Hungarian TV channel. These years they are aired in SECAM. I wanted to decode it with vhs-decode, but I've got an error: "vhs-decode: error: unrecognized arguments: --MESECAM"
    How can I decode it? Or secam/mesecam not working yet?
    Thanks
    To give a more helpful response, I checked the command list on GitHub and see MESECAM support was recently added. Are you using a current build?

    --MESECAM = MESECAM Support Added.

    If you're still having issues there are more people willing to help on Discord:

    https://discord.gg/pVVrrxd

    Updates: stu in the Discord server started successfully decoding a MUSE HD LaserDisc!


    And we now have some captures of the open reel C-Format broadcast material. This encapsulates a full frequency modulated composite video signal.

    I use the latest code from github.

    vhs-decode --MESECAM -t4 --10cxadc3 secam/wall_secam_01.r16 secam_test
    usage: vhs-decode [-h] [--system system] [-s start] [--start_fileloc start_fileloc] [-l length] [-f FREQ] [--cxadc]
    [--cxadc3] [--10cxadc] [--10cxadc3] [-t threads] [--ct] [--sl sharpness] [--notch notch]
    [--notch_q notch_q] [-p] [-n] [--pm] [--NTSCJ] [--debug] [--tf tape_format] [-L IRE Multiplier]
    [--high_boost High frequency boost multiplier] [--nodd] [--clamp] [--nld] [--y_comb [IRE]] [--cafc]
    [-T Track phase] [--recheck_phase] [-nocomb] [--dp DEBUG_PLOT] [--sclip] [--drh]
    [--level_detect_divisor value] [--no_resample] [--fallback_vsync] [--use_saved_levels] [--noDOD]
    [-D value] [--dod_t_abs value] [--dod_h value]
    infile outfile
    vhs-decode: error: unrecognized arguments: --MESECAM
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  22. The correction option would be
    Code:
    --system MESECAM
    , though it's not properly implemented yet. We don't have a working SECAM decoder yet other than some quick prototype thing in gnuradio.

    Besides TYPEC we also got PAL hi-band Umatic and EIAJ samples. So have added some preliminary support for that too though needs some work still.
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    Originally Posted by oln View Post
    The correction option would be
    Code:
    --system MESECAM
    , though it's not properly implemented yet. We don't have a working SECAM decoder yet other than some quick prototype thing in gnuradio.

    Besides TYPEC we also got PAL hi-band Umatic and EIAJ samples. So have added some preliminary support for that too though needs some work still.
    I upload my secam sample to here: https://mega.nz/file/AAcFzbDK#73MgtQDlmPkRStM4wxcPfH2U8TXTSSVzmZQSf3tNFhs

    Tried the --system MESECAM option, but the output is not color.
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  24. I just want to thank you all for keep making vhs-decode so good.
    I have a JVC HR-S7600, a Panasonic NV950, an ES10, ES15, an AIW usb capture card (bought it in digitalfaq), also I just got an AJA LHi card, and a Sony VCR I use with the DdD to capture the RF signal. I probably have more stuff around, but these are the primary one.

    I am sure and I agree that with a good setup/workflow and a lot of money, traditional capturing is awesome and perhaps the way to go for anybody who wants to live out of this.
    Me, I'm capturing my tapes very slowly using both methods, traditionally and with vhs-decode, and to be honest, I find vhs-decode better.

    I won't enter a debate with anybody from digitalfaq about how wrong I am and how great a svideo vcr + AIW usb card + frame TBC (just a few left in the planet for many thousands of dollars) are,..... I've already spent a lot of money already, I will keep my "traditional" svideo workflow for sure. However, you guys here are doing an amazing job with vhs-decode, and I'm so grateful you made the software so good at this point. Again, to me right now, I prefer vhs-decode. It just takes a lot of space and time to do a tape, but it's so worth it.

    Keep the work guys!
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  25. Originally Posted by javidial View Post
    I just want to thank you all for keep making vhs-decode so good.
    I have a JVC HR-S7600, a Panasonic NV950, an ES10, ES15, an AIW usb capture card (bought it in digitalfaq), also I just got an AJA LHi card, and a Sony VCR I use with the DdD to capture the RF signal. I probably have more stuff around, but these are the primary one.

    I am sure and I agree that with a good setup/workflow and a lot of money, traditional capturing is awesome and perhaps the way to go for anybody who wants to live out of this.
    Me, I'm capturing my tapes very slowly using both methods, traditionally and with vhs-decode, and to be honest, I find vhs-decode better.

    I won't enter a debate with anybody from digitalfaq about how wrong I am and how great a svideo vcr + AIW usb card + frame TBC (just a few left in the planet for many thousands of dollars) are,..... I've already spent a lot of money already, I will keep my "traditional" svideo workflow for sure. However, you guys here are doing an amazing job with vhs-decode, and I'm so grateful you made the software so good at this point. Again, to me right now, I prefer vhs-decode. It just takes a lot of space and time to do a tape, but it's so worth it.

    Keep the work guys!
    Thank you! Here's an old comparison I did between conventional capture and vhs-decode:

    https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/394168-Current-status-of-ld-decode-vhs-decode-(tru...25#post2629620
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  26. Originally Posted by dellsam34 View Post
    Yes vhs-decode has other benifits, But I was talking specifically about video quality, try a proffesional analog to SDI device and get back to me, If you haven't played with those you don't know what a conventional video capturing process is capable of, I'm not here to undermind the project but I have to be realistic and set a reasonable expectations for others that see this as a complete product when in fact it is just a hobby project.
    Originally Posted by dellsam34 View Post
    It's at a hobby stage for now and who knows if it ever becomes a consumer product, The best option now is to capture your tapes the conventional way, Depends on the workflow you use you can far exceed what the vhsdecode can offer now.
    The best option will always be FM RF capture today and it has been for the last few years, you need to promote the best preservation today, not the best "picture" because thats like just saying the print is fine and burning the negatives nothing conventional offers anyware near the the go-back and run though decoding again potential of FM RF capture.

    2 years ago before high-detail docs from use to 1-2-3 fabrication of the DdD were added absolutely it was a pita hobby project with a dead-end path to the LD-Decode docs, but today it's the only hassle-free plug-copy-paste and play solution to preserve the entire video signal along with any possible VBI data.

    Now after using the FA-310P and DMR-ES10 for the reference captures to V210 with Blackmagic SDI kit, alongside extensively looking into the adv7842 chip and all current products that employ it and I really don't care what people say its the last current era AIO IC chip that anyone will use for analogue unless its a ground up FPGA solution.

    Basically you're asking for the same price as a DdD and a decent VCR or an entire skint budget workstation setup with 2 CX cards modified for just one modern BrightEyes Box or Magewell AIO unit with the TBC functions enabled, it's utterly insane to compare the top end SDI to FM RF capture.

    I think everyone at DigitalFAQ likes to ignore facts and label this as a "product" in development when it's not a product it's a collection of tools brought together and built up by each other within one community if you can spend 300~500USD deploying an SDI workflow you can spend 50~200USD deploying an RF capture one on top of it and cry about it later when your sill shilling out for solid archive media.

    Decoding produces a far cleaner picture for PAL media without fail to my eyes on reference monitors and there is over 8TB of captures publically available to prove that fact also quite a lot of captures from all formats and TV systems to aid in the development enough to the point of AI-assisted tools could replace the current software decoding of FM RF today in the near future and give an utterly hands off experience.

    To consumers its the most cost effective entry into archival and to restoration houses and national archives FM RF is an addon method to existing workflows not some obscure black box fixed product, VHS-Decode ostensibly is just a means to an end for the resulting archives that FM RF captures via practically any solution generates, again it's not the product but a collection of solutions for the analogue problem we are left with in the digital era.
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  27. Capturing Memories dellsam34's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by harrypm View Post
    The best option will always be FM RF capture today and it has been for the last few years, you need to promote the best preservation today, not the best "picture" because thats like just saying the print is fine and burning the negatives nothing conventional offers anyware near the the go-back and run though decoding again potential of FM RF capture.
    No, You're wrong, I'm not implying that this doesn't have potential, I've even offered financial help to the project, I just have to be honest with newbies who think this is a cheap way of getting tapes digitized, They must know that this is not a plug and play method, requires knowledge in both software and hardware and requires a lot of tweaking, When it's ready for prime time I will be the first one promoting it.

    Not to mention that you will have to modify every tape machine for every format, Not everyone has that knowledge, Not sure who you are adressing here, restorations firms, sure, I'm addressing the average person who comes here looking for solutions after facing problems with cheap chinese devices, those folks my friend cannot use VHS-decode.
    Last edited by dellsam34; 3rd Apr 2023 at 02:01.
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  28. Originally Posted by dellsam34 View Post
    Originally Posted by harrypm View Post
    The best option will always be FM RF capture today and it has been for the last few years, you need to promote the best preservation today, not the best "picture" because thats like just saying the print is fine and burning the negatives nothing conventional offers anyware near the the go-back and run though decoding again potential of FM RF capture.
    No, You're wrong, I'm not implying that this doesn't have potential, I've even offered financial help to the project, I just have to be honest with newbies who think this is a cheap way of getting tapes digitized, They must know that this is not a plug and play method, requires knowledge in both software and hardware and requires a lot of tweaking, When it's ready for prime time I will be the first one promoting it.

    Not to mention that you will have to modify every tape machine for every format, Not everyone has that knowledge, Not sure who you are adressing here, restorations firms, sure, I'm addressing the average person who comes here looking for solutions after facing problems with cheap chinese devices, those folks my friend cannot use VHS-decode.
    I'm not trying to be the hatchet guy here, but you need to read the docs not just the forums.. and the next wave of updates is going full-hand hold level of info but already it provides enough to get set up with a free weekend if not the discord is always still a thing and ware 99.9% of development and users have congregated.

    It is plug-and-play with 2.54mm headers and DuPont cables on decks like the Sony VCR's, really for most users a copy-paste deployment and that is due to the docs being kept updated within hours to a day of any real changes, CVBS-Decode is quite plug-and-play, now that we have a copy paste set of validated parameters that allow for capture without issue on current cards.

    https://github.com/oyvindln/vhs-decode/wiki/Hardware-Installation-Guide#soldering-free-setups

    Whole sub-section on soldering-free setups across 3 different formats.

    Easy craps are the market this project is slowly helping kill but to do so requires education and dedication to promoting that education, so stop saying when ready for prime time and start promoting the concept and help build mindshare of the projects and the preservation methods as that is what it needs more mind share more sample data and more VCRs tested and reports made for, same for basics of cleaning maintaining and repairing such equipment less black-box mentality helps people save money and time.

    Notably, today it's all fully deployable on windows 10 thanks to the DdD having a windows capture app with the suite and decoders ported too ld-decode can be run 100% Linux and WSL2 free, CVBS-Decode too with SDRS that covers the CVBS signal range and have a working capture application on windows validating SDR units is something that's being worked on slowly by me but well it costs money, the RTLSDR as soon as the GNU HiFi decoding scrips were working I tested and added it to the wiki out of pocket because of its value.

    It really does not require an insane amount of tweaking not for captures nor for decoding for the majority of people who have used the suite this year it's been a very easy and fluid chain of options to set up and the docs for what does what is fully in order both for basic and advanced users.
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  29. Capturing Memories dellsam34's Avatar
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    That doesn't change the fact that it is not the average person's tool, you can argue all you want but as it is right now, it is not a plug and play device like the easycap, and as it stands it doesn't make a dent in easycrap sales, When it becomes a marketable box with video in digital out with a driver on Windows 10/11 we can come back to this discussion.

    However it will never be wide spread like easycap did due to the VCR modification part, it's a big handicap since the average guy cannot modify a VCR, This would be limited to a certain population with repair skills, Moded VCR's will be certainly available online with an added price tag and depends on the demand vs supply prices could excede high end S-VHS VCR's with line TBC.
    Last edited by dellsam34; 3rd Apr 2023 at 16:46. Reason: added paragraph
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  30. Originally Posted by dellsam34 View Post
    Yes vhs-decode has other benifits, But I was talking specifically about video quality, try a proffesional analog to SDI device and get back to me, If you haven't played with those you don't know what a conventional video capturing process is capable of, I'm not here to undermind the project but I have to be realistic and set a reasonable expectations for others that see this as a complete product when in fact it is just a hobby project.
    The PAL Transform 3D decoder implemented in ld-decode and cvbs-decode will out perform pretty much any commercially available PAL decoder - the BBC has the only 19 hardware Transform decoders ever manufactured and they were never commercialised (as Transform doesn't work for NTSC). It's not there yet as a replacement for a baseband PAL Transform hardware decoder - but for PAL Laser Discs it pretty much outperforms any other capture route.

    Transform 3D decoding doesn't work effectively for non-mathematical PAL signals like VHS and Betamax, though software timebase correction can implement algorithms that hardware TBCs and capture solutions may not - so it's a useful tool in the arsenal.

    vhs-decode will never be a replacement for EasyCap style captures - but it wasn't really meant to be. It's a kit of parts that can be used by people who know what they are doing. I know people looking at it for 2" and 1" capture where modern demodulation, timebase correction and decoding techniques could outperform the integrated stuff, and for older consumer formats like EIAJ and Skip Field that need a lot of TLC to make them watchable.
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