Weird VHS capturing problem

[Toogy]

I am trying to capture a VHS video of a band that I have (bootleg).

Anyways when I play the tape in a VCR connected to my TV everything plays fine on the TV.

However once I line out the VCR into my computer via my Canopus ADVC-1394 the video and audio is jerky and cuts in and out all over the place. I have tried two different VCR's with the same results.

Other tapes capture fine into my computer and I have never had this problem before.

What would be wrong with this tape, that only my computer has an issue with it?

Please help, I really want to convert this tape to DVD.

Thanks

[FOO]

Perhaps someone really doesn't want you to capture that tape
and have taken measures to prevent it.

[Toogy]

It's just some bootleg video on a Maxell VHS tape I bought off ebay for $10

[gmatov]

Foo,

But that's where this site excels, isn't it? If you can lock it, we can open it?

I admit to a few qualms over the term "bootleg", sounds as though it approaches the bounds of Warez.

Maybe that's why the tone of your reply"

Cheers,

George

[housepig]

first, have you had this problem with any other tapes, or just this one?

second, is there some reason you need to tell everybody it's a bootleg? telling us is a violation of forum rules, and a foot in your mouth.

[JeDiBoY]

maybe the tape is recorded in 'LP' or 'SLP' mode, and ur capture card doesnt support it? its very possible (seen it happen with DV tapes and such)

try another tape that is recorded in LP mode, and see if it does the same thing, if so, u may need a new capture card.

[overloaded_ide]

Not sure I understand why sp, lp, ep would have any effect on an analog capture? Even a DV one?

Isn't that comparable to changing a BIT rate? Still the same signal, as long as the player reconizes the format and that rate and send out the signal. Sure it affects quality, but it's still the same signal so it should be recorded I would think.
I could be wrong, I am still learning too!

Now I have seen that effect in the old days when you record to ep on one player and play on another. But that was becuase the different player used different tapes speed for ep and lp, not a standard! But SP was a standard so they all played SP properly.
Not his problem I am sure though if he can watch it on TV ok, then the speed is not the problem.

Maybe it is a bootleg with macrovision?? Hmm, can you get into trouble for stealing macrovision protection?

Was this a profesional studio made bootleg?? Maybe a Disney studio?
Maybe a Disney 2 day tape? :P

[johns0]

if the movie has been recorded in lp or slp then the capture will have more trouble with poorer video signal and cause more dropouts and glitches

[FOO]

gmatov
You're right.
Now that he says it's a Maxell, I guess it's not Macrovision.
So I dunno.
A lot of people seem to have problems with VHS tapes.
I don't do a lot but I really dont have problems, even on bad
tapes. I get garbage for a few frames on dropouts, but it
doesn't crash the capture or make a bad file.

[geek rock]

he's already said it was a tape of a band. i'm assuming this is a video-camera-type video. "bootleg" is the term used for an unnofficial music recording. why is putting this tape on DVD any more illegal than putting something off the TV onto DVD? nobody is losing money.

[dwisniski]

What is the quality of the tape you are trying to capture? Given the "nature" of the material you are trying to capture, and however many generations this copy has come from the "original" , your capture card may just be having a hard time capturing the material. I have a 4th generation videotape recording of an old band I once was in, and it captures very poorly, with similar problems to which you're experiencing.

[non-linear]

Just a guess, but I'm wondering if this tape you're having a problem with has bad control track (a control track has pulses which are used so the tape deck playing it is playing it at the proper speed). If the control track is broken or uneven, then your VCR could be playing it fine, but the capture device could be having a very hard time with the sync and resulting in the problem you're having. It could also be just a bad tape, possibly the tape is stretched.

You might want to get something like a TBC (Time Base Corrector) or a video stabilizer in between the VCR and capture device. That could solve your problem. If you know someone who has one, maybe you can borrow it and see if that works.

Another possible solution is to dub the tape to another tape and try to capture from the dub. This would be a good way of making sure it is a tape problem. If it works, and the quality is acceptable to you, then you may just wanna use that copy as your source for capturing (although you would lose a generation of quality).

Good luck.

[fbreve]

Sounds like the guy who sold you this tape didn't want you to make copies. Some people insert a kind of macrovision protection in these bootleg tapes they sell at Ebay and similars, because they don't wan't someone that bought the tape making copies and selling in Ebay as well.

I don't know how it's done, but it's possible. A friend of mine bought a bootleg tape and found this protection. The guy who sold it told that he inserted this protection on purpose. Of course he didn't want to tell us how it's done.

[lordsmurf]

It is not possible to add copy protection if you do not have the license and equipment needed (many thousands of dollars). That eBay guy was yanking yer crank.

The problem is often a bad signal and/or picky capture device. Any good TBC should clear that up, as well as a good VCR.

www.lordsmurf.com
Look for the TBC/VCR suggestions guide under the CAPTURE section

It is most likely just the Canopus card being anal and the playback not being perfect resulting in the errors.

Enjoy!

FYI, "bootleg" doesn't mean have to mean "illegal." In the music industry, "bootleg" often means "not professional quality" and is not necessarily illegal. I know many radio stations that play "bootlegs" all the time and show "bootleg" videos on their Web sites. But they're legal and legit. Just shotty quality.

[fbreve]

It is not possible to add copy protection if you do not have the license and equipment needed (many thousands of dollars). That eBay guy was yanking yer crank.

But maybe it's possible that someone can mess with the signal with a homemade device. Isn't it?

Also, everybody in this forum talks about TBCs like they're easy to find any corner. But I'm yet to find any place here in Brazil that sells these equipment. In my searches in Google I found only one place that supposedly build these devices, but they didn't answer my email.

[gmatov]

I hope this is not too far off this topic.

I am having a problem with the whole concept of SP, LP or EP and SLP having different cappping problems.

SP runs the whole reel in 2 hours, 4 and 6 for the others. If you record 2 hours of video, in any of those modes, you write X data to that portion of tape, whole, half or third.

So, why should you not be able to cap and convert, given that you have the same amount of video, granted, analog converted to digital input, in any of the speeds?

Why for that matter should you not drop those frames that are snowy or something, as it would take a hell of a cap card and processor to keep up with such a change in that frame.

But, still, 2, 4 or 6, should be able to cap, except 4 and 6 might have enough "static" like gibberish for the cap to be able to process cleanly, like trying to keep up with an explosion. Pixellation.

My own MSI seems to have no problem keeping up with my VHS, with a 2000XP.

[lordsmurf]

But maybe it's possible that someone can mess with the signal with a homemade device. Isn't it?......But I'm yet to find any place here in Brazil that sells these equipment.

It's highly, highly unlikely as I found from my research some time back. I dearly wanted to add protection to some productions I made a few years ago. In 2000, I searched far and wide for protection, and nothing can be done outside of using crappy tapes that barely playback or using official protection methods that are patented and withheld as trade secrets. The likelihood of these methods being disovered by your run-of-the-mill eBay-er is nil.

This guy probably got a crappy quality tape made from really cheap equipment (likely a dual-deck VCR from GoVideo or cheap players linked with crap cables). And the problem seems to be a picky card. I would bet my setup would play and record perfectly, as I have a great card and great playback equipment.

As far as Brazil, the only thing I suggest is making an order from a large USA store. Try www.bhphotovideo.com. They ship internationally, and have great prices on TBCs. Look at the DataVideo TBC-1000. Also search eBay.

[Metallirat]

I have this same problem. Anyone have a TBC I can borrow