selection of a TBC

[distendad]

I am attempting to back up old VHS tapes to DVD. Many of the tapes have good images part of the time, and the rest of the time the image tops tend to tear. Tracking adjustment does not help. Asumming sync stabilization and time base correction would help, what hardware should I consider? I see four hardware paths: Panasonic AG-3200 VCR, JVC SR-V10U VCR, DataVideo TBC-1000, or AV Toolbox's AVT-8710 TBC. The first three are between 270 and $320, while the last is about $175. I have one new inexpensive and two old VCRs. The newer unit produces good images with good tapes. Help with a selection to eliminate the tearing would be appreciated.
Radman

[Zetti]

TBC 1000, satisfied, but I don't know the others,

Zetti

[DaveS]

I am attempting to back up old VHS tapes to DVD. Many of the tapes have good images part of the time, and the rest of the time the image tops tend to tear. Tracking adjustment does not help. Asumming sync stabilization and time base correction would help, what hardware should I consider? <snip>Radman

Radman - I would suggest that whatever you buy, get it from a place you know will take it back if need be. Only reason I mention that is I had some tapes w/ a problem that was more likely related to the physical media than anything the TBC could affect. In this case, the TBC didn't help. The TBC is probably a good tool to have if you can swing it, so you may end up keeping it anyway, but just wanted to mention it. This goes to your assumption as you mention. If you post several pics from your tape you might get some feedback on what the problem might be (not foolproof).

[OmegaSupreme]

I would recommend the JVC SR-V10U as being the most versatile of the group. It has a built in TBC, digital noise reduction (you NEED some type of noise reduction with analog sources) and has a video stabilization mode that is very helpful with unstable recordings that have a lot of vertical jumping.

[lordsmurf]

I think the JVC would do more in this case.

[anzimike]

vcr should work fine if tapes do not contain macrovsion. If they do you will need tbc or perhaps facetvideo "clarifier" http://www.facetvideo.com/ described in other posts to remove the macrovision and cgms. I also have datavideo tbc 1000 and it works great

[msugny]

avt-8710 (ctb-100) perfect for home videos when u don't want dropped frames...

[distendad]

Thanks for all the advice. I have ordered a Clarifier from FacetVideo, and will report on results when available. The JVC SR-V10U may be the better choice, but I see no long term or continuing use for another, perhaps better, VCR. The Clarifier can be returned if it does not solve the problem. A second choice will be the the TBC-1000. Stripping out and replacing the video sync signals appears to be an excellent solution providing my VCRs are reasonable. They seem to do well with non commercial tapes.
Radman

[lordsmurf]

I don't think a pure TBC is going to do anything for your problem. Good luck.

[distendad]

Ordered a Clarifier video stabilizer on the March 29th; was delivered on March31. Two VHS tapes previously too unstable to process were today captured with an ATI AIW 8500 card as rock stable. The little box was well worth the $90 to me.
Radman