Preferred composite cable for VCR>TBC?

[PeterPanComplex]

Do you have preferred composite cable or tips on what to look out when picking one out or does it not matter?

Thanks.

[lordsmurf]

Composite? Good shielding, gold tip doesn't do anything. Well-shielded is often thick, but thick isn't always well shielded.

Same for RCA audio.

3 feet max runs.

s-video needs good shielding, but it less prone to noise than composite/RCA. Main issue with s-video is how good/bad the head grasps. I've seen too many tight cables damage TBCs and VCRs, joints get unsoldered from boards, too much force required to insert/remove.

[latreche34]

Since you are using TBC I assume you are capturing analog tapes and not LD. I think the most important thing to do if quality is important to you is to use a player with S-Video (S-VHS, Hi8), Composite throws out 40% of the original quality on tape, Trying to get 0.5% back using better shielding is kind of waste of effort.

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by latreche34

Since you are using TBC I assume you are capturing analog tapes and not LD. I think the most important thing to do if quality is important to you is to use a player with S-Video (S-VHS, Hi8), Composite throws out 40% of the original quality on tape, Trying to get 0.5% back using better shielding is kind of waste of effort.

Budget workflow, composite-only TBC.

I don't know that I'd agree with those %. Composite, although not as good as s-video, is also not necessarily bad. Most bad and blurry/smeary composite is due to the exact hardware device itself, not the carrier. Cables can introduce excess noise, and it's definitely more than <1%.

[dpalomaki]

Quote:

...Composite throws out 40% of the original quality on tape,......

It does if the composite signal is passed through equipment that uses simple Y/C separation methods, especially with S-VHS material. For example, use of quality comb filters to split the Y/C signals should result in substantially less quality loss although there still will be some.

The analog broadcast video signal has a round 4.5 mHz of bandwidth for the luminance information, S-VHS close to 5 mHz, VHS more like 3 mHz. but with a composite signal the area above about 2.7 mHz contains the chroma information. Using simple low-pass/, notch, and high-pass filtration to separate the chroma will reduce effective luma bandwidth.

In theory gold plated connectors reduce the incidence of corrosion at the connector, and might be a benefit for cables used in harsh environments. For most users is is mainly a marketing gimmick. It is more important to use shorter cable runs, keep signals cables separated from power cables, avoid environments that are electrically noisy, and use a common ground to avoid ground loops.

[latreche34]

But if a VHS or Video8 video cassette is played back in a S-VHS or Hi8/D8 deck/camcorder via S-Video output using a S-Video cable there is no comb filter needed, The Y & C signals are separated at the origin.