Some Questions About "Sima CT200 GODVD"

[Tom Saurus]

I have ordered this from "The Source" formerly known as Radio Shack Canada. It seems to be able to do alot of nifty things to stabalize what one has on VHS, when one is converting it to a digital format to put on DVD.

I have some questions:

I have a AIW 9800 Pro Video Capture Card, and it is hypersensitive to Macrovision, with this between the vcr and the capture card will this allow me to convert some of vhs tapes I bought?

My vcr has several options built in that allow for stabalizing video, it is just a normal vhs hi fi stereo vcr though, I notice on some videos if I have on "Picture Control" and "Video Stabalizer" both selected the capture card doesn't like it and the picture in the capture window is very unstable, sometimes shutting off the "Video Stabalizer" option seems to clear that up. So what settings do I need on the vcr end? I would imagine one would leave picture control on, with its auto setting and shutting off Superimpose. The majority of my tapes are taped at ep speed, where one gets six hours crammed on one tape, so the quality isn't as good as it could be.

Sima has S-Video Imput and Output, now since I am putting a rca imput cable in, is there any advantage to me using the S-Video Output into the capture card?

My final question would be since there is no audio imput or output through this Sima Gizmo and you hook your audio output directly from your vcr into the capture card, are there any issue with the sound being out of synch with the video. I am curious because I imagine there is a slight delay between the video being dealt with and the audio isn't delayed.

It seems to me to be a privalage to be able to buy this gizmo and it seems to have alot of potential. Any information is appreciated and I thank you in advance for any help you can be to me in this matter.

[thecoalman]

I have one and used it briefly before getting a full frame TBC. It allowed me to capture a non commercial tape that my Vivo card was flagging as copy protected. the same tape was previously rejected by a AIW 9800 as well. I always wondered if the Sima would work with the AIW but never got a chance to test it because I sent it back.

My opinion on it though is that it introduced noise , at least that is what it appeared to me. the other features it had like changing to B/W really didn't impress me either. I really didn't have a need though.....

[BrainStorm69]

It should work. I have an old CT-1 that does, although I don't use it anymore since I have a full frame TBC. I don't use my ATI much either, but I may start again.

[Tom Saurus]

So perhaps I made a mistake ordering this Sima Gizmo. I don't think Radio Shack carries "A Full Frame TBC", and I can't do business with EBay. This is depressing, it might be too late to cancel this order now. I really thought this Gizmo would help with transfering vhs into the capture card. Introducing "noise" doesn't sound good. I am going to have to research what a "Full Frame TBC" is. The one guy on staff at the local Radio Shack showed me a little square box that removes macrovision for about 40 bucks, maybe I should of bought that instead and saw what it could do.

This Sima is going to set me back about 200 bucks when the tax is included on it. I feel stupid for ordering this before asking the questions I had about it. One would think this would be a nice little piece of technology to help get stuff off of vhs, but if it introduces problems, it doesn't seem to be very worthwhile. I was kind of in a hurry to buy it because I thought that it would soon be yanked off the market; I did read about Sima being taken to court by Macrovision and I figure Macrovision will drive them out of business before it is all said and done.

Thanks for the advice Brainstorm69 and the coalman. It was kind of you both to respond to my questions.

[thecoalman]

This Sima is going to set me back about 200 bucks when the tax is included on it. .

That sells for about $70 US with the tax.

I only used it briefly, I didn't do extensive comparisons so you may want to test it out yourself. Full frame TBC's are not cheap, especially if the price you indicated above is any indication. The datavideo 1000 is $350 US and the one most commonly used by others on this site.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=185957&...ughType=search

There's another model I've seen mentioned that is cheaper but can't recall the name at the moment. A TBC does much more than remove MV though,

nothing is wrong with the standalone tbc you own. Those things are overrated crap. They do next nothing in terms of truly correcting picture quality.

Tape players (VTRs, VCRs, camcorders, etc.) use mechanical parts to move and read the tape. You have rollers, tensioners, a spinning helical head, gears, pulleys, etc. All are subject to slop. If there was no slop, they wouldn't be able to assemble them.

They are also subject to distorting the signal because, for example, tapes are made of mylar, which is a plastic, and will stretch. In order for the helical head to read the magnetic imprint on the tape, it must be in intimate contact with it. That means pulling the tape tightly across the head. That also means the tape will stretch slightly. Add mechanical slop of the other parts into the equation and you have a range of pressures that the tape may be applying to the head as it's stretched. Since the head won't distort, the tape must.

You also have long-term changes in tape speed across the head, called Wow. You have short-term speed variations called Flutter. You have alignment and tape registration changes with different tape brands, and they are compounded by mechanical wear.

Plus you have the usual problems like tape head magnetization after a while, and oxide buildup on the heads.

Add up all the ways a signal can be degraded, and it seems amazing that it works at all.

The effect these variables have on the signal is not only poorer video quality itself, but timing errors. Each horizontal scan read from the tape is ideally a precise time value in length, and these should fall precisely the same distance, timewise, from the previous scans, and the ones to come.

Each group of hoirizontal scans makes up a field. Two fields make up a frame. Again, the timing between fields, and between frames, should be exact.

But, we've seen from the issues above that they are not.

So what does that mean to the viewed picture? A TV set is very forgiving in matters of timing. There is an amount of "slop" built into the design. But vary the timing too much and you get a horizontal or vertical hold problem. Generally they do a good job ...with precisely timed broadcast signals.

On older sets that had a manual knob to adjust these, it was more noticeable than it is today with automatic locking circuits.

But capture from a tape, author to DVD, and play it back, and now you're feeding a signal to the TV that is timed poorly, analog-wise. But you've locked it in by authoring and when it gets to the TV, it can't correct it because by that point, it's timed beautifully again. But the actual material has changed.

The result? Vertical edges in the picture are no longer straight (horizontal scan timing issues). You also have color shifting (field and frame timing issues). These are just two examples of picture quality problems. Throw in dropped frames in the capture device, and now you have audio/video sync issues as well. Remember that non-linear editing is not forgiving, like analog television is.

Add in actual tape damage (curl, excessive stretch, etc.) and you have a horrible quality signal that is almost guaranteed to cause problems in that non-forgiving digital world

Enter the TBC. As the signal enters a full-frame TBC/Frame Synchronizer like the TBC-1000, the video information is digitized and stored in a buffer memory, one field at a time until an entire frame is stored. The timing information is discarded. Then the TBC replaces each and every horizontal line timing with its own. The timing information is determined by the length of the "retrace" area of the signal. This is also where the color information resides. It's the part of the signal you don't see on the screen.

The TBC also takes each completed field and does the same with the vertical "retrace" portion. This is where the vertical timing is stored, and is also where Macrovision pulses appear in the original source material. Line TBCs, like those found in camcorders and VCRs, do nothing to help vertical timing ...only horizontal.

The TBC then passes the clean, precisely-timed signal through a digital-to-analog converter and outputs it.

Without a TBC you wouldn't have a fighting chance of regularly capturing from various tape sources with any measure of success. If the sync issues didn't eat your lunch, the color shifts and raggedy vertical lines in the picture would ..assuming the signal wasn't MV-protected. If it was, you'd need to rely on a signal-degrading filter, such as a "corrector" or "Stabilizer" which do nothing to correct timing ...they just notch out the MV signal, and usually some of the legitimate signal as well :P

So ...a TBC is just "overrated crap"? I won't even comment on that remark.

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1115672#1115672[/quote]

[Tom Saurus]

Thanks for the additional advice "thecoalman". I will try to cancel the order, I just asked him to order it yesterday, perhaps he can cancel the order, if I phone back early today when they open up for business. I feel really stupid for not posting these questions before hand. It is kind of sad that some of these Gizmo's are not as affordable as one would like them to be. I hope this doesn't cause hard feelings between the local Radio Shack Employees and myself. It is probably a big pain in the neck to have customers change their minds about ordering items.

Maybe someday I will get the Datavideo 1000 TBC. I got really enthusiastic about what I believed the Sima could do. Once again thank you very much for the advice; you may very well have saved me spending out money for something that would not live up to my expectations.

[Tom Saurus]

I got the Sima Gizmo cancelled, and they were quite understanding about it. Thank you once again "thecoalman" for your advice.