VideoHelp Forum
+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 6 of 6
Thread
  1. Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Search Comp PM
    I'm wondering if multiple devices will degrade the video signal?

    My setup is:

    Panasonic NV-HS930 s-vhs player --> TBC-3000 timebase corrector --> VCC-3010 Colour corrector --> Sony XV-C900 Colour corrector --> Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle.

    All connected by short 50cm s-video cables. I guess I could lose the VCC-3010 in the chain but I like the RGB colour controls.
    Quote Quote  
  2. Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    United States
    Search Comp PM
    I'm not aware of any HD capture devices that do a decent job capturing VHS. They are designed primarily for HD capture. SD video capture is just an afterthought, and analog tape sources like VHS are highly problematic for them.

    You would be better off with an SD-only USB capture device. The Hauppauge USB Live 2 and the EZCAP.TV 116 are two models available in the UK that some of out European members like for VHS capture.
    Quote Quote  
  3. Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Search Comp PM
    I've found the Intensity to make good quality lossless captures. The tbc is to fix weak/damaged tapes which were causing dropped frames and the colour corrector fixes the colour issues that I sometimes get from old tapes or have wrong white balance. I would use them whatever capture device I'd be using. Was just wondering if having a number of devices would degrade the signal.
    Quote Quote  
  4. Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    United States
    Search Comp PM
    All I can tell you is that the people on this forum who are either advanced hobbyists or who do VHS capture professionally have noted that adding a piece of equipment to their capture process frequently introduces unintended negative effects (like a darker picture or a softer picture) as well as the intended corrective effect that the equipment is designed to produce.
    Quote Quote  
  5. Every cable and device in an analog capture chain may add noise and reduce quality. The question is whether the benefit the device provides outweighs the loss of quality.
    Quote Quote  
  6. Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    San Francisco, California
    Search PM
    Jagabo is (as usual) exactly right. Short (6 feet or less) cables of the proper impedance and shielding will have a negligible effect. Processing devices are much more likely to degrade picture quality, particularly if they take the signal through an analog-digital-analog round trip. And they will often change levels to an extent, sometimes very idiosyncratically depending on AGC performance. I use the least amount of equipment required to get a time-stable capture within reasonable range and without clipping, then do tweaks in the digital domain.
    Quote Quote  



Similar Threads

Visit our sponsor! Try DVDFab and backup Blu-rays!