I recently have traded with some people online for some tapes of shows I was looking for. I want to convert these to DVD, so I would like to record them to the computer first using my TV Wonder PRO card. I've been reading at the main site about SVHS players, and I'm wondering, is it worth a purchase of one to put my tapes on DVD? They are all SP, from about 5-10 years ago, and though are good quality, defianetly have some VHS video problems(and audio, but I know that can be fixed on the computer.) How much would a good SVHS player fix the picture? I'm talking about those JVC ones that lordsmurf talks about on his site. Also, are the TBC's on these players good ones, or would a purchase of that 300 dollar TBC be required to fix up the picture?
Sorry for the delayed response, this one slipped under my radar...
The S-VHS players, especially the high end ones by JVC, have the ability to take a less-than-perfect tape and make it near-perfect in output.
It has video and audio filters, and upper end ones have an embedded TBC (time base corrector) that uses DNR (digital noise reduction) algorithms to purify the video signal.
The dedicated TBCs (like the DataVideo TBC-1000) is mostly good for stabilizing a tape, it will have zero affect on visual quality (aside from removing motion, side-to-side, up-n-down, jitter, etc ... stuff that is NOT part of the original video signal, but is caused by a bad tape).
Good wires are also important, use Monster if you can, at minimum thick gold plated and insulated. Use RG6 for all coax, not RG59.
Here is a simulated sample of what a JVC can do. This is very close, no exaggeration. Just today, I have been working on a similar project:
BEFORE JVC:
[img]uploads/lordsmurf/badcap.gif[/img]
AFTER JVC:
[img]uploads/lordsmurf/teentitans-cap.jpg[/img]
Notice how it elimated that red/blue gamma noise, and then it can soften and/or remove grain. This is especially helpful on old EP/SLP mode VHS tapes.
For the record, I have no JVC stock, I am not a salesman, and I get no kick-back from JVC. But this is a piece of equipment I could not exist without.
WOW lordsmurf thats a really amazing difference. I'm saving up to buy one, which one do you recommend I buy, and where can I purchase it? At most I will spend 400 dollars.
Also, do these tapes have to be 1st gen? My tapes are mostly all 2nd gen SP tapes, so I want to make sure this has no effect on the effectivness of the video filters.
As far as generation, I've done good work with 1st-3rd gen tapes. Anything beyond that can get tricky, depending on how compounded an error has become.
Linear Mode
