Troubleshoot a DataVideo TBC-1000?

[ehbowen]

So I have a new-to-me TBC-1000 which I've just powered on for the first time. However, I'm not happy with the results. (See attachment.) Is this problem user-correctable?

Edit To Add: I noticed that when the unit powers on sometimes there is a frame or two which is normal, so all of the test captures were performed while powering up the TBC. There will be a few blank seconds at the start of each test.

Attachment generated mostly with equipment and software I've used before and that I'm familiar with.

Players Roster:

• Sony GV-D800 Video Walkman (Hi8/8mm); composite and S-Video outputs (plus FireWire)
• New-to-me DataVideo TBC-1000
• Hauppauge HVR-1265 Tuner/Capture Card
• Hauppauge WinTV 8.5 capture software
• Corel VideoStudio 2018 Ultimate editor/renderer

[lordsmurf]

Please tell me that's not the new TBC-1000 you got from me.

I sent my best TBC-1000, which had never been used for more than testing. The output signal was flawless.

I've seen that problem before, with other TBC-1000s. I hope you didn't run it for too long, and have it plugged in for too long. That issue was always related to the PSU. Something fried it. And it could damage the unit if left on for too long, or even plugged in. Unplug it now. I'd leave it alone for 24 hours. You have the OEM supply, if mine, but a standard 12V 1.5A or 2A plug from an external HDD works just as well.

What you're seeing is the unit getting bad/wrong/lack of power.

You also need to check all cables.

[ehbowen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

Please tell me that's not the new TBC-1000 you got from me.

I sent my best TBC-1000, which had never been used for more than testing. The output signal was flawless.

I've seen that problem before, with other TBC-1000s. I hope you didn't run it for too long, and have it plugged in for too long. That issue was always related to the PSU. Something fried it. And it could damage the unit if left on for too long, or even plugged in. Unplug it now. I'd leave it alone for 24 hours. You have the OEM supply, if mine, but a standard 12V 1.5A or 2A plug from an external HDD works just as well.

What you're seeing is the unit getting bad/wrong/lack of power.

You also need to check all cables.

OK, I won't tell you.

Unit is unplugged. Actually, I ordered a PSU for the TBC-1000 along with one for the TBC-4000 on Monday night; it should be here Friday. You mentioned that power supply problem were common, so I thought it best to be prepared. BTW, the unit was not powered up for more than 15 minutes at a time; less than an hour total.

I'll re-test when the new PSU comes in on Monday.

[lordsmurf]

Do you have a standard 12V 2A supply for external HDD available? If so, try it Thursday evening.

Yes, DataVideo devices had notorious power supply issues. Honestly, most TBCs did, which includes Cypress CTB-100/AVT-8710. To make it more confusing, both had variants. The AVT-8710 seemed to have less issues for the 15V/12V, but DataVideo had an 800mA that would sometimes cause this exact problem.

We also need to remove all variables for troubleshooting. So VHS with the USB capture card; ie my workflow. Not some other USB card, Video8, etc.

[ehbowen]

I'll do that; I should have a spare power supply. As far as the equipment chain, though, I followed your driver installation script...but my computer didn't. While I got warnings, they weren't the same warnings you advised me to expect. The computer is still not recognizing the capture card. I'm thinking I'll need to try uninstalling and reinstalling.

I do have an XP computer I bought used but haven't taken out of the box yet which I could play around with. Everything else in the house is either Windows 10 or Ubuntu 16.04. (Or Raspbian, but...)

-- merged --

TGrant Photo power supplies for TBC-1000 and TBC-4000 arrived today; I'll do more testing tonight. I will use your (Lordsmurf's) workflow if I can overcome the driver issue with the Tevion; I'll at least do one using one of your JVC VCRs.

-- merged --

I received the new TGP power supplies today. Unfortunately, the TBC-1000 seems to be doing the same thing as last night. I also tried it with a generic Rhino PSU from Fry's rated 1800ma @ 12 volts; same results.

I was using the same basic workflow as last night; I know Lordsmurf wanted me to move to equipment he knows better. Right now I'm going to give the other TBC a try and then work on getting the capture card properly wed to my Win10 machine; once that is done I'll do some more detailed testing as he requested.

Edit To Add: I did try a couple of different output channels on the TBC-1000 to see if I might have just chosen a bad channel; same results all around.

-- merged --

Well, I still haven't had any success with the TBC-1000 or the Tevion capture card. However, a TBC-4000 and a JVC VCR look to be working as advertised.

Scorecard roster:

Sony GV-D800, playing the same tape as last night (original tape from a Sharp Viewcam consumer-grade camcorder)>>
S-Video output connected to front line-in connector of>>
JVC SR-MV45, acting as a pass-thru for the Sony on the first video and playing a commercially-recorded VHS tape on the second video>>
S-Video output connected to Channel A of TBC-4000; Channel A S-Video output>>
S-Video input of Hauppauge HVR-1265.

Using Hauppauge WinTV 8.5 for capture; wanted to use VirtualDub 64 but wasn't able to get it to pick up the Hauppauge output this time although I've had success with it in the past. Not sure what's changed.

Rendered to MP4 with Corel VideoStudio 2018 Ultimate.

Subjective impressions of quality/performance and what I can do to improve them (other than get the Tevion working!) are welcome.

Edit To Add: Forgot to change the title card on the second video, but it's direct from the JVC to the TBC to the capture card. The Sony is not in the loop at all.

[lordsmurf]

Why is the MV45 being used for passthrough?

[ehbowen]

I was being too lazy to unplug and replug everything. On the second video it's not passthrough, it's direct.

Edit To Add longer answer: Due to the physical configuration of my capture station, it's a lot easier if I can plug sources which are only used occasionally, such as the 8mm VCR, into the front of the JVC as opposed to opening the rack and switching everything inside around. I wanted to see if it worked acceptably, and to my untrained eye it looks as if it does.

-- merged --

Now that I have the Tevion capture card working on a Windows XP computer, I decided to take another look at that TBC-1000. When I first started it up the image was still poor, but I decided to try capturing a full tape (Disneyland Fun, again). It was wonky at first, but now that I'm 27 minutes into it it's looking pretty good. I'll post clips later tonight, using both the TBC-1000 and a TBC-4000 and direct into the Tevion.

-- merged --

Expanding upon the post above, I elected to capture the full length of a Disneyland Fun VHS tape. Workflow was:

Panasonic AG-1980 >>S-Video>>
El Cheapo Video/Audio/Game switch (to select from my 3 VCRs without re-cabling)>>S-Video>>
DataVideo TBC-1000 (warming it up made a big difference!) >>S-Video
Tevion USB Capture Card >> Dell Dimension 8250 (Windows XP)
Captured lossless with VirtualDub; transferred to Win10 machine; rendered to MP4 with Corel VideoStudio.

The first video came after the TBC had been plugged in and powered up for only ~20 minutes. As you can see it looks better than the captures in the previous posts, but it's still rather fuzzy. However, I continued capturing, and as the tape ran the quality got steadily better. The second video is from the end of that same tape run...no changes in cabling, settings, anything; just a few more minutes of run time. (There's no sound because I didn't hook the audio cabling up properly and since VDub captures silently I didn't know I had screwed up.)

The third video is with the TBC fully warmed up and the audio cabling issue corrected; it looks almost ready for prime time! Any suggestions for filtering and processing?

Finally, big issue...I didn't realize that capturing uncompressed was quite so bad from the bandwidth issue! Those two 30-minute captures more than half filled the 200GB C:\ drive on the Windows XP machine I'm using! So, I'm planning some hardware upgrades based around a PCI SATA card ordered from Newegg and a hot-swap drive bay (with 2TB drives) which will replace one of the DVD-ROM drives and which can then be swapped out with the 2 Windows 10 machines for editing and rendering. Of course, suggestions from those with experience are welcomed here as well....

[lordsmurf]

Ah, so it seems to have straightened itself out.

All along, I'd been suspecting another issue, but it was less likely than the earlier suggestion. Remember, these devices are 10+ years old. Yes, you have a "new old stock" (but tested!) TBC, and that means there is less wear on the unit. However, age will affect some components regardless of use. I've noticed issues with power boards since 2013, when all of the gear was moved about 1000 miles south. The same issues had not existed when it was moved 1000 miles north, about a decade earlier. In recent years I've seen it anytime was sent north for repair, be it deter or TGrant or otherwise. The hardware doesn't like environment changes. The AG-1980P is especially b!tchy, as I warned you via PM. Although not a great distance, it was apparently enough that the climate and elevation aggravated the TBC-1000. The normal fix for these exact device errors is to let them acclimate to the new environment. Apparently running the TBC as you did was all that was needed. Noting that such errors are more likely a bad PSU, and can be damaging if left on for too long (or repeatedly tried again within short time window). But you already swapped the PSU. And after the variable removal, it was the likely next fix.

You've done well.