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Originally Posted by Nunkin
I'm about to get a DataVideo TBC 1000 or 3000. Any warnings / to-dos / not-to-dos that anyone can advise?
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Where did you buy it?
One of the 1st warnings is to not buy from eBay. More and more dud units are popping up on there. The sellers are almost never video savvy, and just selling unknown-condition units. All those sellers see is $$$$ and don't understand (or care) about the condition of the unit. A recent report (member story to me via PM) was about how the seller sent it with no padding, it arrived broken in an undamaged box, then the seller tried to fight an eBay return. The situation required almost daily communication for almost a month. What a hassle!
Just in the past 2 months, I've probably had 4 reports of problem units. Since start of the year, at least 10. That's a huge uptick % considering how few are even available for sale these days. I don't know what dumpster these units are being dredged from, but it's not pretty.
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I have a surge protection power strip lined up for it as I assume it's delicate like any AV equipment.
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No, no, NO! 
That will not suffice. A UPS is required. These units do not have any sort of fuse/protection against power loss, overage, underrage. Those silly little "surge" strips do nothing, not protection whatsoever.
Something like this is best:
https://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP...language=en_US
Cheaper units exists, but do not get the weakest basic unit. The battery on it will fail before you can shut everything off. Cyberpower is better than APC in 2010s/202s (in the 2000s, it was opposite, APC was best, so disregard old posts on UPS, even mine).
A single power loss while the unit is in use could render your $1k+ item inert ... forever.
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Originally Posted by TheVistaGroup
Do:
Keep out of direct sunlight
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Do not get wet.
Do not feed after midnight.
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Don't:
Expect it to fix flagging/vertical line distortion/waves/weirdness (that's what a full-frame TBC is for — found inside higher quality VCRs like mine, the Panasonic AG-1980 refurb by Tom Grant)
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Line, not full-frame.
I know you know that, just slip of the
tongue keyboard.
BTW, that AG-1980 is actually field TBC, essentially multi-line. It's not necessarily better than line TBC, just slightly different.
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Congrats on your decision to purchase a good external TBC!
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Yes.
