Second opinion on digitising VHS home videos

[hiptune]

Regarding other ~TBCs, at the end of the day I sold my TBC-3000 and AVT-8710 for a fraction what I paid. I'd probably keep the 8710 if I were doing XP captures.

Really, I am surprised you were not able to at least triple your money on that DataVideo 3000 box. Arent those in demand just like the TBC-1000 models?

more often than not the depressing fact is you'll wind up needing a dedicated TBC to eradicate dropped frame issues. At this late stage, the only one you should even consider buying second hand for VHS work is the DataVideo TBC1000. These cost a minimum $600 in working condition, with the average closing price now approaching $1200. While sturdy and for the most part repairable, they had some build quality issues and some parts are no longer replaceable, so make sure you get an ironclad return/refund guarantee from the seller.

I was about to list mine for sale on ebay, but have decided I'd better hold on for now, as I might yet still need a VHS tape transferred. I am going to want $1,299 for my unit since I had it recapped not that long ago.

The DataVideo TBC1000 remains the standalone TBC of choice in both PAL and NTSC markets.

I tend to agree with this, but I still read some folks stating it can or does harm the quality of the picture. I have not noticed any dullness to my captures that utlized the TBC-1000

[Brad]

Gave a shot myself with the $300 Magewell Pro Capture HDMI (the PCI card) for VHS capture on a Windows 10 system, using it with a JVC SR-W7U with the Panasonic ES-10 as passthrough.

I've done about 30 home movies and off-air cable recordings with it and while overall I'd say it has a nice picture, it seems to have a fatal flaw with intermittent duplicated frames

Don't know how intermittent you're talking about, but Panasonic's DVD recorders themselves randomly duplicate frames with VHS input (both in passthrough and on DVD recording). Off the top of my head, I think it's usually a handful per hour, so it's not something people normally notice during playback.

[dellsam34]

Dropping or adding frames occasionally is normal to keep the audio and video in sync, It's math, all frame TBC's do it, audio is sampled in frequency and video in frames, it will never digitally match 100%. What is not good is when the capture software drops or adds frames which means the frame TBC is not doing its job.

[lordsmurf]

Yes, but the passthrough is excessive compared to true frame TBCs. ES10/15 is a magic item under certain conditions, but it's not suggested as a "always on" type item. However, it's being used that way, as a hit-or-miss "poor man's TBC" that may or may not work. And when it works, it's just passable, better than no TBC whatsoever, usually, maybe, hopefully. It's a gamble, but odds are at least in your favor. You'll have best odds with an "ignore anti-copy" type cards (Tevion ATI clone, for example), and a suggested non-TBC JVC S-VHS deck. The more random the hardware gets, the more the workflow breaks down, and the more the captures will suffer quality loss (or not even be captureable).

The ES10/15 really just varies per source tape, as far as how many inserts are made.

And as mentioned, the software can add another layer, and those drops/inserts are not good at all, something is wrong. A few is fine, but no more.

@orsetto: The TBC-1000 is not the best TBC. A good TBC, but it was never "the best". It has flaws, even after being modified, as some of the flaws are located within the software on the bitlocked chipsets. Sometimes it's the best TBC for a scenario, when choices are more limited (and limited is typical), but sometimes not. For example, there are times where I'd fully recommend the green AVT-8710 over a TBC-1000. And there are times where I'd recommended neither, something else entirely. Sometimes multiple TBCs would work for the scenario. When it comes to TBCs (or VCRs or capture cards), too many people randomly buy things, without consulting somebody like myself that can help guide them to the right gear that they actually need.