Protected VHS

[joelson]

Hi ALL!!

My friend has a VHS tape, that he's trying to capture to the computer. However, it seems to be "protected". When he tries to captures, it either comes with no sound, or in black-and-white.

Some notes: the tape is a foreign one (he thinks it's from USA), and I'm from Brazil. However, our VCRs are able to play NTSC tapes as well.

Can anybody help me?

Thanks for the attention!

[jtoolman2000]

If it's a commercial tape then more likely it is protected by Macrovision. You need some sort of bypass device between your VCR and the 2nd VCR. I do not do this sort of thing so I don't have specifics. Others in this forum will now for sure.

[joelson]

jtoolman2000: the problem is not about VCR to VCR copy, but VCR to computer capture.

Can anybody help?

[Cornucopia]

As your computer capture card is acting much like a VCR, it IS about VCR to VCR copying. Therefore, use of an in-line TBC is a very good idea when encountering questionable quality sources (or sources where Macrovision has hindered viewing).

Scott

[FulciLives]

The problem could be the format you have the computer set to capture in.

If I recall the format in Brazil is not "normal" NTSC ... at least not the same as in the USA nor the same as in Japan.

So when you capture to the computer you can't pick "normal" NTSC but ... something else.

I could be wrong but I thought I read abuot this somewhere else.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[joelson]

Do VHS tapes may contain Macrovision protection? I thought it was just on DVDs...

Do you think a TBC would fix the lack of sound or the missing-colors problem?

[ROF]

The problem could be the format you have the computer set to capture in.

If I recall the format in Brazil is not "normal" NTSC ... at least not the same as in the USA nor the same as in Japan.

So when you capture to the computer you can't pick "normal" NTSC but ... something else.

I could be wrong but I thought I read abuot this somewhere else.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

Correct. Brazil uses the NTSC-M standard but with Pal Color Encoding. This problem sounds more like macrovision issues though.

[Cornucopia]

Do VHS tapes may contain Macrovision protection? I thought it was just on DVDs...

Do you think a TBC would fix the lack of sound or the missing-colors problem?

Answer for Q1: VHS tapes were what Macrovision was originally created for and the MV sync-distorting signal is actually encoded on the tape in place of the standard sync pulses. DVDs actually don't have MV encoded on it anywhere. All they have is a digital flag that tells the DVD player to GENERATE a new Macrovision sync (instead of a Normal sync). That's why DVD players can be made or modded to ignore that flag.

Answer for Q2: TBC does NOTHING to audio, for better or for worse (barring the compensating sync option I already mentioned). Neither does Macrovision. If you have problems with your audio, it's either a mismatch between Normal vs. HiFi audio head/track reading, or it's a tracking issue, or something along those lines. Similarly, MISSING colors isn't fixable with a TBC--though "weak" colors is--and again isn't the sort of problem created by Macrovision either. MV creates (in varying degrees, depending on type used): Rolling/Flipping, Tearing/Warbling/Shaking, Cyclical Over/Under Saturation of color, Cyclical Over/Under Contrast.

I'd test that tape on a known USA-compatible VCR & TV combo. Do you have any friends/relatives which such a thing in Brazil? Sounds like it could still be a mismatch in TV systems.

Scott

>>>>>
edit: bit about already mentioning audio delay is from THIS THREAD

[joelson]

Hi,

You came close. The color system in Brazil is PAL-M.

So you think a TBC won't help me?

How could I fix this?

Thank you!

[jtoolman2000]

toolman2000: the problem is not about VCR to VCR copy, but VCR to computer capture.

Doesn't matter. It's still a Macrovision problem whether iit is VCR to VCR or VCR to Computer or VCR to DVD Recorder.

Do VHS tapes may contain Macrovision protection? I thought it was just on DVDs...

Oh my!!!

Of course they do.

I'm my small studio I have about ten VCRs ( yes I still use them ) and accassionally I get a request to salvage a dmaged educational VHS cassette for one fo the local schools and the only way I have been 100% successfull is with a very old VCR I still have which seems to "allow" me to pass it to one other particular VCR with out any of the effects of Macrovision. Any other compbination I try and BINGO, as soon as I press RECORD, Macrovision kicks in. You can pass it through and view it but it's when you press record that some forms of Macrovision kick in.

[FulciLives]

Hi,

You came close. The color system in Brazil is PAL-M.

So you think a TBC won't help me?

How could I fix this?

Thank you!

I don't think the issue is COPY PROTECTION such as MACROVISION.

I think the issue is that you have NTSC frame rate and frame size but PAL-M color.

There is a way to capture this I think ... I read about it ... other threads here ... I just don't remember much about it.

Maybe try PAL-M but capture at NTSC frame size and frame rate.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman