Well, VHS capturing Mostly cartoons, having some questions:)

[sanlyn]

Clean white printer or copy paper for the video heads is used by most hobbyists today, mainly because the chamois-tipped pads and real head cleaner are getting hard to find except on the internet.

Electronics stores carry cleaners for electronic parts and instruments. This doesn't include the so-called "monitor and tv screen cleaners", which leave a smear or residue and will ruin the anti-glare coating on most of your screens. Electronics cleaners are usually in spray cans, but you don't want to spray that into your VCR. Spray some onto a clean dish or bowl and moisten the paper or swab with it. As for head cleaner fluid, most people use too much; you only need a little moistener, some people have it dripping on the cleaning pad and it seeps into the video head slots and corrodes tiny solder connections inside. I don't know why people think they have to drown parts with these cleaners.

[zerowalker]

I see, well it´s nice that something so cheap and common works so good i guess

And yeh have read about that, you need to be careful with cleaning the monitor thanks to that. And as you say it often come in Spray Cans.

I can confess that i am one of those that often thinks, better more than less, and sadly it´s almost always the opposite when it comes to cleaning.
But how am i supposes to properly dip the paper in the alcohol?

[sanlyn]

Pour a few drops of alcohol onto a dish or bowl, lightly press one end of the paper strip against the alcohol's surface, then shake the strip a little and let it drain so it isn't dripping.

[jagabo]

Rubbing alcohol is more commonly ethanol (denatured to make it undrinkable) because it doesn't smell bad like isoproply alcohol.

[zerowalker]

Pour a few drops of alcohol onto a dish or bowl, lightly press one end of the paper strip against the alcohol's surface, then shake the strip a little and let it drain so it isn't dripping.

Okay, thanks

Rubbing alcohol is more commonly ethanol (denatured to make it undrinkable) because it doesn't smell bad like isoproply alcohol.

So ethanol and isotropy is the same thing?
And denatured was just that from what i read awell, though as i understood some stuff are added for it to be undrinkable, but i guess those are harmless and evaporate.

[sanlyn]

They are similar, but not the same. I don't think either would make a tasty drink.

[jagabo]

Ethanol = grain alcohol = the stuff you drink:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol

IsoPropyl alcohol is one form of propanol, is poisonous, and has a distinctive odor:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propan-2-ol

[zerowalker]

So i guess the Purest/Cleanest of them both is Isopropyl?
As it doesn´t make much sense pouring a drink to clean?

[jagabo]

There purest is the one that's the purest. The label tells you how pure it is. But purity is only one thing to consider. Either may contain other solvents or dissolved solids. When pure, both are mild solvents that won't damage the heads. And both are hygroscopic -- they will suck water out of the air and become less pure as soon as you open the bottle.

[zerowalker]

I see, but is that something to really care about?
Or is it just something you can´t do anything against, and it doesn´t do any harm?

[jagabo]

Is WHAT something to care about? You really need to be more clear in your posts.

[zerowalker]

And both are hygroscopic -- they will suck water out of the air and become less pure as soon as you open the bottle.

Sorry thought it was the only issue in your post.
But this is what i meant

[jagabo]

A little (pure) water won't hurt.

[zerowalker]

Nice

A fast question about an "issue" i have.

I got a premium S-video cable, but can´t use it in my capture card as it doesn´t fit, the card is a bit deeper than normally.

Normal:
:
My card
=:

: S-video
= top and bottom, like a hole.

It´s not very deep, but the metal surrounding the end of the cable prevents it from reaching in.
Is it possible to remove the Metal without damaging the cable, like scraping some off?

Here is the cable:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LOOPS-1-5M-S-VIDEO-MALE-FEMALE-EXTENSION-CABLE-LEAD-/3101822...item48384d909d

[jagabo]

So something near the plug is blocking the metal casing of the cable? Is it possible to move the card a little to unblock the cable? If you open the computer case and loosen the screw that holds the card in place you can move the card a little from side to side. That might be enough to allow the cable to fit. Then tighten the screw again. If other cards, or the covers of the other slots, are keeping the capture card from moving you may have to adjust them too.

Regarding removing the casing, you may be able to remove it without effecting the internal wiring.

[zerowalker]

No what i meant was that the thing blocking the plug Is the card itself, the plug is a bit deeper than normally for some reason.
And for record, i haven´t been able to screw stuck the card, as if i do it doesn´t go into the PCI and the PC doesn´t recognize it.
I always seems to have these problems, can´t see that the motherboard is wrong place either;S

[sanlyn]

Granted, the connecting part of the cable shown doesn't extend very far from its base. I believe I've seen that same plug sold elsewhere in the U.S. and UK under different names (no surprise). Here are a few samples of other s-video products from Amazon USA, but you'll find them or similar ones on eBay in Europe and elsewhere.

Of these, one type extends farther from its base, the other type is rubber or plastic-tipped cable that can be shaved away at the end. I'm amazed at the way some of these card makers design their gear, but they might have had a specific connector in mind. I saw one reviewer who said the cable he used had a great picture but he had to ream out the main component's s-video input to accept a larger diameter plug (not recommended!).

http://www.amazon.com/S-Video-Cable-ft-Gold-Plated/dp/B0002MQGK4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qi...=s-video+cable
http://www.amazon.com/Acoustic-Research-PR-121-Series-S-video/dp/B000246RLK/ref=sr_1_4...=s-video+cable
http://www.amazon.com/RCA-VH913-S-Video-Cable/dp/B00005T3F8/ref=sr_1_97?ie=UTF8&qid=13...=s-video+cable

Note that one of these isn't gold-tipped. Gold has nothing to do with overall performance, and it happens to be a poor electrical conductor.

[zerowalker]

http://www.amazon.com/S-Video-Cable-ft-Gold-Plated/dp/B0002MQGK4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qi...=s-video+cable
http://www.amazon.com/Acoustic-Research-PR-121-Series-S-video/dp/B000246RLK/ref=sr_1_4...=s-video+cable
http://www.amazon.com/RCA-VH913-S-Video-Cable/dp/B00005T3F8/ref=sr_1_97?ie=UTF8&qid=13...=s-video+cable

Note that one of these isn't gold-tipped. Gold has nothing to do with overall performance, and it happens to be a poor electrical conductor.

I got an S-Video cable from a local store which looks pretty much like the First Link, except it´s not gold.

Isn´t gold tipped good?
I know it probably don´t make a difference, but isn´t it atleast somewhat better than metal?

[sanlyn]

The marketing story is that gold plating prevents corrosion. There are lots of ways to prevent corrosion (including cleaning the connector with alcohol and contact cleaning solvents). Think about it: at very low cable prices, how much gold do you think is in that plating? A lot of it is simply baked-on or electrolyzed gold paint. Can't tell you how many gold-plated connections I've seen that have greenish or darkish black-red junk growing on them. If you go to industrial suppliers who sell bulk cable and connector supplies for broadcasters and pro shops, you'll see very little gold plating. The tv cable that comes into your home probably doesn't have gold; it's a copper metal alloy of some kind. My local cable outfit uses solid copper-chromium connections.

Anyway, gold is OK but not necessary.

[zerowalker]

Yeah i know that it´s not much Gold in the plates often, but i thought it helped prevent unwanted noise as Gold is better than any counter part(i think?).
But when you put it like this i will have to agree with it.

I know you like the Acoustic Research cables, atleast for Composite?
something about the colors if i remember correctly.

Why do you think those are better?

High quality shielding and materials?

[sanlyn]

The Acoustic Research Pro-II series are pretty nice consumer cables, low-noise, fairly well designed and made (why their end-connector shell keeps coming loose is a surprise, but so do many others that use those metal barrels, which you can just tighten. I believe the metal barrel used by many makers is for repairing internal connections. Probably cheaper to just buy a replacement). Has nice contrast and clean flesh tones, whites, grays, blacks. One of my few favorite s-videos. But most people see no difference.

[jagabo]

I would try ANY s-video cable to see if you get an improvement over composite/SCART.

[zerowalker]

Okay, sure would like to get a hold of one, as it feels better to have Good cables than random consumer cables, even if it doesn´t make a difference.

And jagabo, what do you mean with that, as S-video (True S-video) is sure better than any Composite right?
Or do you mean if it´s the cables fault for producing bad image(crosstalk), if so i can pretty much confirm that it´s the devices in these cases.


But i have bought an Panasonic SV-121, and hopefully it doesn´t have crosstalk in the S-Video, if so i will get pretty angry as it´s a pretty high end VCR Deck i think.

[jagabo]

There's virtually no difference between the cheap and expensive s-video cables unless you get a defective one. The improvement over composite is significant.

https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/221249-Test-Caps-various-composite-and-s-video-cabl...ight=composite

[zerowalker]

There's virtually no difference between the cheap and expensive s-video cables unless you get a defective one. The improvement over composite is significant.

https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/221249-Test-Caps-various-composite-and-s-video-cabl...ight=composite

Yeah have read and compared, and i make the same judgment as you there.
But it´s more like a feeling, if you waste money on the equipment, it feels better to have high quality cables (No Monster though).
If you get what i mean, it´s not much true meaning in it.

When you say the improvement over composite, i guess you mean Composite -> S-video, and not Premium Composite vs Standard right?

[jagabo]

I mean composite device to composite device via a composite cable is lower quality than s-video device to s-video device via s-video cable. That's assuming the source device doesn't use a cheap composite to s-video converter internally (like many laserdisc players).

I wouldn't spend more than US$10 to 15 on a 6 to 10 foot s-video cable. Obviously, very long cables will cost more, and the cable quality will will matter more.

[sanlyn]

There's no advantage to spending big money on video cable. I use plenty of budget cables that perform well. Very few "premium" products offer any advantage; you'd have to get into some big names and large price tags to get better (Chord, QED, VanDenHul, etc.), and even then price alone is no assurance.

[zerowalker]

Okay from what i get of it, the shorter the cable is, the less impact quality materials and isolation has?
And i guess we are talking 5m +?

But another thing, i was going to try the VCR again, as i was gonna tweak the capture card, and i didn´t get a signal.
I tried to see if i got audio, and i did get Very faint audio from the Scart adapter with RCA. But when i connected to a separate RCA (only got for audio) it was brilliant.

I thought that the Scart was broken and try to play around to see if i could get a picture but i couldn´t.

I then tried to use the Scart i used for the DVD passthrough (not an adapter but a Scart->Scart), and connected it to the TV and got picture and sound.
I then tried with an adapter to the TV with Composite and RCA, and got nothing.

I don´t have any idea what to do really, as the Scart seems to work on one cable but doesn´t with an Adapter (i have tried like 3-4 adapters and 2 different cables).

EDIT:

Is there any difference between a Scart adapter with S-Video compared to one without?
Except for the S-video output of course.
Cause that´s what i have been using on it normally, but i don´t have it here right now so can´t try it.

[jagabo]

Is there any difference between a Scart adapter with S-Video compared to one without?

http://pinouts.ru/VideoCables/scart_adapter_pinout.shtml

[zerowalker]

So if i understand right, the only difference is pretty much that the S-video sends Chroma and Luminance separate, while Composite sends everything through luminance?

So there should not be any difference in the works between an S-video Scart and Normal Scart, if Composite is connected?
Hopefully i read the scheme right, though i will not be suprised if i am wrong.

But if it´s correct, i can´t understand why normal Scart works but an Adapter don´t.
I can think of one thing, and it´s that the VCR is sending RGB (which can´t be true).
And even if it did send RGB which is only available in True Scart, Composite is sent at the same time (atleast i am pretty sure it is).
So you can get RGB and Composite from the same connection.