What to expect from improving VCR?

[bigass]

After seeing Lordsmurf tell us for years that a good VCR makes for better VHS captures, I'm about to buy a Sony SVO-160 for $25. From what I can gather from Google, it's a 1990 pro deck that some rate a second only to that oft-cited Panasonic in terms of picture quality.

Up 'til now, I've been using a late-1990s vintage consumer VCR and a Datavideo TBC-1000 into a Hauppauge PVR-250 card for mpeg2 capture.

How much of an improvement can I really expect from this new deck, described as being in 'perfect condition'? Enough to go back and recapture all the tapes I've done already?

--
EDIT: Well, that was fast. Just received delivery of VCR, and it's actually a Sony SVO-1630; http://www.broadcaststore.com/catalog/By-Brands/S/Sony/Recorders-and-Players---VTR/VHS...30/SVO1630.htm ... Gonna have to get a BNC-RCA adapter.

[bigass]

Well, since that prompted a generous round of indifference, I'll add another question that Lordsmurf would have an answer to, and others might have an opinion as well.

My capture options are the Hauppauge 250, the 150, and my ol' ATI AIW 9800 Pro.

The latter doesn't work in Windows 7, AFAIK.

Would it be worth my while to jump through hoops to make captures in the 9800 Pro -- with which I had little success in past getting well-synced captures -- in some flavour of AVI, or would I be best off following my inclination to capture it in tasty-bitrate Mpeg2 on the 250 and live with the fact that it's not an edit-friendly format?

Quick answers to obvious questions: no, I don't plan on doing much (any, in most cases) post-processing; capture machine will be a now-retired Athlon XP currently running Windows 7-32; source is home-recorded tapes of 1986-1999 vintage; editing-re-encoding machine is a fresh four-core i5-750; bacon; big stack of Verbatim.

Thread-starting question still stands as to quality improvement of 'pro' VHS deck.

[Lodovico]

Thread-starting question still stands as to quality improvement of 'pro' VHS deck.

It depends how "perfect" it is.

The Sony Pro decks often have head usage counters, so I'd start by checking that (if it's present on yours). In fact, it's a good idea to get that info from the seller before buying.

A few hundred hours on the heads is to be expected; less than a thousand is OK; if it's several thousand that's not so good. The manual for my Sony 5800 says "the life of video heads is 500 to 1000 hours". Getting replacement heads for a 1990s VCR in 2010 may be... difficult.

[bigass]

True, true. So, pro deck with very-used heads < consumer deck? Indeed, the manual [thanks, Internet!] indicates an hour-counter in the menus. Unsure so far if I'll be able to *get* to the menus without a remote, but...

[yoda313]

Unsure so far if I'll be able to *get* to the menus without a remote, but...

See if you can borrow a logitech harmony remote. Than you can program it to access the menus.

You might be able to get a "dumbed" down harmony style remote that will have a working menu button. The problem with a lot of basic universal remotes is they never properly have working menu buttons. But maybe a less "smart" smart remote will do the trick for you.

Or try to buy a used harmony remote.

[Lodovico]

I think most pro decks are designed to be operated without remotes.

[bigass]

Yup, all the transport functions are right up front with the jog wheel etc.

Some of the finer setup options, though, seem to be set from an onscreen menu.

[Lodovico]

There's no button marked "Menu" on the front panel?

If it's similar to the 5800, you won't see the on-screen menu unless you connect a display to the composite output marked "Monitor".

[bigass]

Nope, no menu button on the machine. http://www.docs.sony.com/release/SVO1630.PDF

[BrainStorm69]

Do you have an old Sony remote for a consumer VCR lying around the house? The remote in the manual looks pretty similar (though not exact) to a couple of old Sony consumer VCR remotes I have. The menu button is in the same place on all three. Don't know if it will work since I've never had a Sony pro VCR, but it might be worth a shot.

There's a couple for sale pretty cheap on ebay right now if you don't have one lying around

http://cgi.ebay.com/ORIGINAL-SONY-RMT-V130-VCR-VTR-TV-REMOTE-CONTROL-/270623889887?pt=...item3f0270d9df

http://cgi.ebay.com/SONY-VTR-TV-VCR-REMOTE-CONTROL-UNIT-MODEL-RMT-V141B-/150446153913?...item23074a20b9

[lordsmurf]

That's really not a VCR that I would suggest.
My suggestions are here: VCR Buying Guide (S-VHS, D-VHS, Professional)

The Hauppauge is soft-focus quality compared to the ATI cards. I'd opt for the ATI at high bitrate MPEG-2 (15-20Mpbs range). I know there was a recent discussion of that in the digitalFAQ video Capture, Record, Transfer forum. I'd link to that thread directly, but don't see it right away (just search for it).

Glad to see you seeking the best quality possible from your video work.

[bigass]

Tx, lordsmurf. I wasn't really out shopping for a great deck, but this one came up on Kijiji and I figured it would be some kind of improvement over what I was using, even if not the top of the line. I'll check out your forum, too.

I've gone ahead and bought a replacement remote through eBay now ... just hoping any import duties won't burn me for more than the price of the VCR!