Recommended VCRa for AV Toolbox 8710 TBC

[Sckinhunter]

I am looking for some suggestions for available and dependable VCRs that would be good to use with the AV Toolbox AVT-8710 Multi-Standard Time Base Corrector. I have been down the path of obtaining VCRs with built-in TBCs such as the Panasonic AG-1970 and have not had the best success at finding ones that lasted for long or that ended up giving me problems. Can some members please provide some suggestions and/or other comments. Thanks!

[sanlyn]

No consumer-priced full-frame TBC is as adept as very ver7y very expensive lab units, but the AVT-8710 serves its purpose. Get it from a reputable dealer that will offer service if you need it, such as BH Professional Photo Dept. in NYC (you don't say what country you live in).

The question is, are the tapes protected with macrovision? That's basically why a full-frame TBC like the AVT-8710 is used. It doesn't address the line-sync errors such as wiggles, bent verticals, flagged borders, etc., that are inherent with tape playback. For that, you need a line-level tbc such as those you were trying to get in VCR's. Lacking one of those players, your best bet is to use a DVD recorder as a line tbc pass-thru device. Not all DVDR's can be used as pass-thru, and anything made after 2005 or 2006 will be a very weak contender. The best used gear to look for would be from Panasonic or Toshiba, with the Panny DMR-ES15 leading the pack and the Toshiba RD-XS series a close second. There are several threads that cover the use of pass-thru tbc's. One of those threads is here: https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/319420-Who-uses-a-DVD-recorder-as-a-line-TBC-and-what-do-you-use. Examples of the kinds of problems a line tbc will address are here https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/319420-Who-uses-a-DVD-recorder-as-a-line-TBC-and-wh...=1#post1983288 and here https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/306272-Computer-video-capture-vs-vcr-to-dvd-combo?p...=1#post1882662.

Full-frame tbc's such as the AVT-8710 won't fix these problems.