JVC HR-S9911U - Digital R3 question

[quickpick]

Hello...

I am using this unit along with a TBC-1000 and a JVC MH30 DVD recorder to transfer old VHS tapes. I've read many old posts and most people leave Digital R3 off, and I noted some people were quite strong in their feeling. Even the manual says to do so if you are using the unit for playback while editing.

The problem I'm having is that I'm transferring horse racing shows, and during the two minutes of the actual race, I find that the video gets a bit of a blur to it (although it varies tape to tape). Maybe that is just to be expected, because the horses are moving at 35 mph. I should add that the remainder of the broadcast looks quite good when people are being interviewed, etc.

However, I notice that when I put Digital R3 on, the race movement seems a bit clearer (sharper I suppose), which I guess is what the setting is supposed to do. So, my question is whether my observation is logical, or is there a way I can avoid that "blur" aside from turning on Digital R3. I'm just afraid that setting might introduce other issues that I'm not aware of, or is this a case where I should just go with what looks best?

Any advice appreciated...thanks!

[davideck]

You might find this interesting...
https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=275037&highlight=

If you do not notice any additional motion artifacts, then do what looks best.
A little bit of sharpening can help any source going through a TBC-1000, as this TBC softens the image.

[lordsmurf]

Do whatever looks best.

[gshelley61]

JVC's Digital R3 is basically an edge enhancement (sharpening) feature used for playback. It has been known to be too aggressive for some tapes, resulting in edge ghosting artifacts. That's why you normally would leave it off for editing, dubbing or format conversion. It may be helpful with certain tapes, though.

A high quality analog sharpener like the SignVideo DR-1000 does a much better job of detail enhancement, with the added benefit of control.

[quickpick]

Hello...

I thank all of you gentlemen for the responses.

One other question...is it increasing the sharpness that helps clear up what I see as the blur caused by fast movement?

If that is the case, I see why a detailer (DR-1000) would be an even better way to clear this up, without the pitfalls of Digital R3.

Thanks again!

[davideck]

...is it increasing the sharpness that helps clear up what I see as the blur caused by fast movement?

Have you tried turning off the TBC/DNR?
I wonder if the DNR temporal filtering is contributing to the blur that you see...

[quickpick]

The difference was very minimal with the TBC/DNR on or off, and hard to tell if it was better or worse.

[djnice]

In my test, the 3R on + Edit mode add an addition detail:

Auto mode - 3R off


Edit mode - 3R on

[gshelley61]

I do like the sharper second picture in general, but it is a little too aggressive. You can see that it is too much because of the added grain, and there is some visible edge ghosting, too.

[Wile_E]

It's the Edit mode that makes it look considerably sharper/grainy. That first pic is AUTO mode, which smooths out the picture. Post some pics using EDIT for both pictures, and Digital R3 off/on. You probably won't see a different with R3 off/on.

Edit does seem to retain a lot more detail. But the downside is when converting to DVD. IMO digital makes analog look like crap, unless you smooth out the video first. All this "detail/noise" turns into jumping/fluctuating pixels around edges in the digital domain. It won't look smooth in the digital. I want smooth gradations between colors, like you see in hollywood DVD releases, and in real life. Maybe I just don't know how to set up a quantization matrix in CCE? Is there a way to set it to ignore a certain amount of pixel movement? Any encoder I use seems to have this problem with analog video.

Ever use Neat Image or Noise Ninja to remove digital noise from photographs? Well, it makes them look smooth the way they should've been in the first place, while retaining most detail. I would like this for my video too.

[lordsmurf]

CCE is probably one of the worst encoders when it comes to enhancing noise. Procoder and certain MainConcepts (not the MC-made one, however) do well at retaining detail without turning it into micro-noise.

[Wile_E]

I have CCE Basic, and usually turn on the 2D filter, and set the slider towards "complex". This blurs the picture very similar to what Procoder does. Except I can manually adjust this 2D filter in CCE. Procoder's is on permanently.

[lordsmurf]

I've never seen that (blurring) in Procoder.
MainConcept, sure.
TMPGEnc, sometimes.
CCE, never.