Capturing U-Matic Tape Without a Clue

[ubertrout]

Well, not much of one, anyway. I have captured VHS in the past, but I've never used U-Matic Before. Anyway...

I've recently come to have access to a collection of about 200 U-Matic tapes, with a few made in the 70s but most through the 80s (including a surprising number from the late 80s). There's an interest in getting these digitized, but unless I do it myself as a side-project, it's unlikely to actually happen.

We have a working (to the best of anyone's knowledge) Sony VO-5600, connected to a monitor via a connector I haven't seen before (it's sort of a wide rectangular connector).

I have an old laptop running Windows XP (clean install, plenty of HDD space) and a Canopus ADVC-300 that I can use for the digital end. I was thinking of just using Virtualdub as the capture program.

I can see that there really aren't any RCA video ports in sight, but I can use BNC-RCA converters? Should I use the video/audio out from the monitor or VTR?

FWIW, all the videos are of talks at conferences or interviews. So quality isn't particularly important but a clean transfer would be nice. The audio needs to be listenable without distortion but doesn't need the best fidelity.

[smrpix]

BNC video out would be the composite out, so BNC to RCA adapters would work fine. The big, wide blue connectors are for controlling the deck with an editing system, the black ones are monitor multipin which you won't need.

[DB83]

If you want to capture DV (with a ADVC) you can not use Virtualdub. Just use WinDV.

Video/audio from the VTR. The monitor would hardly have audio/video outputs.

[JVRaines]

The VO-5600 is better than nothing, but if the material is truly important, get a machine with Dub Output, such as the VO-9850. Combined with a transcoder, such as the DPS-210, you get an s-video signal with considerably sharper picture.

[ubertrout]

Alright great. I think the monitor has video/audio outs, but I agree it probably makes sense to eliminate a stage and go straight from the VTS regardless.

Also I'm sure there are better players, but given the hassle of getting it in place, I'm planning on sticking with what I have.

Is there anything to know about in regards to handling U-matic tape? Anything I'd wish someone had told me ahead of time?

[smrpix]

That machine and those tapes were built for thousands of hours of use for broadcast purposes. You don't want to abuse it, but compared to DV or VHS it's incredibly rugged.

[JVRaines]

Yes, they're rugged, but a 30-year-old machine that's not in good condition will still eat tapes. Start with a tape that you can afford to lose.

You may come across broken tape that needs splicing and mangled tape that must be removed to avoid risking damage to the video heads. U-matic cassettes aren't hard to disassemble, but they are a minor PITA to put back together again.

Fuji cassettes are the most reliable. I have had to bake a few Scotch reels (take them out of the shell first!) to fix sticky shed syndrome. Some Ampex and no-name cassettes, particularly from the 1970s, drag in the transport, aren't fixed by baking, and introduce really bad timebase errors.

Speaking of which, you will want a timebase corrector of some sort. I use an AVT-8710 frame synchronizer that does a good job with wiggly scan lines.

[Cornucopia]

If it's got a Y/C connector out - usually a round (DIN?), screw-on connector with a number of pins in it (~7), there is a good chance you can wire an adapter to go straight to S-video (although it depends on whether the subcarrier can be set to the proper frequency or not).

Scott

[ubertrout]

I don't really think I'm going to be opening up the cassettes or anything like that. It does make sense to try an unimportant one first. And the tapes are almost all Sony tapes (KCA60, KCA60K, KCA60XBR).

[KarMa]

You are probably going to have lots more problems with the coating of the tapes rubbing off onto the U-Matic head, compared to a VHS. Just because of the age of the tapes and I've recently heard of people having to clean their machine frequently.

[ubertrout]

Is there a way to clean it without opening it up? Because I'm not doing that.

[Cornucopia]

Then you maybe shouldn't be the one doing the transfers. Seriously, if the age of the tapes leads to oxide shed, you will QUICKLY build up the noise to unacceptable levels. And you really ought to be doing the OpenMachine+LintlessSwabs+DenaturedAlcohol method of cleaning to combat this.

Scott

[JVRaines]

If it's got a Y/C connector out - usually a round (DIN?), screw-on connector with a number of pins in it (~7), there is a good chance you can wire an adapter to go straight to S-video (although it depends on whether the subcarrier can be set to the proper frequency or not).

Ubertrout's 5600 has only composite output. The dub connector on other models is Y/C 688 and requires transcoding to 3.58 MHz to be compatible with s-video.

I don't really think I'm going to be opening up the cassettes or anything like that.

You may be lucky and all your tapes will play just fine. But if not, you'll have to skip some of them. I do archival work and skipping tapes because they're difficult is not an option for me.

Is there a way to clean it without opening it up? Because I'm not doing that.

Cleaning cassettes are no longer available. So when your heads clog up and you lose the picture, you'll have to give up I guess.

[ubertrout]

Thanks all for your comments. To be clear, I fully agree that a proper archival effort by a proper archival expert is the best path. I also think that it's not likely to ever happen, at least not in the next 5-10 years. Accordingly, since I have the bare minimum of technical know-how, plus the time and access, I'm just looking to digitize the low-hanging fruit of our collection while doing my other work.

Regardless, I popped in a tape of low interest and the U-Matic player made a lot of noise but the counter barely moved. I'm suspecting it needs a new belt. Accordingly I just did what few VHS tapes we have, and the Canopus performed like a champ. I think the next step is seeing what it would cost to have the player get a new belt and to be professionally cleaned as recommended.

[JVRaines]

It could be the belt, but more likely it's dried up lubricants. Over the years, oil evaporates and grease turns to hardened sludge and the parts just don't move. A good tech will take it apart, clean out the gunk, and relubricate it. I once picked up a Betacam deck for $100 that had only 8 hours on it. Didn't work until I had it re-lubed and now it's a champ.

I would still urge you to learn how to clean the video heads because even after servicing, one bad tape will clog them up. All it takes is a screwdriver, some chamois swabs, 99% isopropyl alcohol and a light touch.