Given up on AIW, need direction

[miker]

I have not been able to get any of my AIW cards working since trying to up date to 8.1 a while back and haven't had any success with 8.2, so I have given up. I need to know what to use instead.

I have been using a Hauppauge HVR-1600 with Beyond TV for TIVO application and recently tested using WINTV6 for capturing VHS in MPEG2. That worked really well except for the overscan on the bottom and right side. This is a problem as I have all of my media files on computer and will not be using anything other than computer for playback.

I am assuming that I will have to capture in AVI to be able to mask the overscan, or that I would have to convert the MPEG to AVI which would not be good for quality. Please advise if this is right thinking and, if so, what capture device I need to accomplish with the best quality.

Also, while I'm here, I have read quite a number of forums where you contribute and am somewhat confused as to which VHS machines you recommend. I have read just about everything on this sight which includes your JVC list of S9000 series. On another sight, you mention the SR-V101US as being the best. So, is the SR-V101US better than the S9800U?

Also, Have you any input as to the best BETA machine?

[admin]

These ATI AIW cards can be tricky sometimes. They're almost pro-level hardware as far as I'm concerned, as it has the same benefits and drawbacks of Matrox and Canopus products. Sometimes simply not having enough RAM or bad RAM on the motherboard can cause it. Other times, it's as easy as the AGP card's fan too caked with dirt, so the ATI GPU overheats. Windows -- any operating system, quite honestly -- is not very tidy with it's code. Sometimes the drivers or other software will adversely affect the system. If you're willing to rip apart the system to add in new hardware (and install new software), it might be time to consider a full format of the main hard drive and reinstall Windows from scratch. I've done that on two machines this year, as they were hitting the 5-year mark of runtime, and typical home/office computers simply cannot go for too long without a virgin-state refresh. I keep most all of my documents on secondary and beyond hard drives, so I can easily wipe and re-software a system drive.

Older drivers from 2004-2006 are best, and ATI MMC 8.7 and 9.02 are the best ATI MMC's around. I have the software installers for many of them, and have uploaded some online here (more available on request).

But if that's simply not an option for you...

Then I would suggest a Hauppauge card, yes. I've not had the time to test your exact card personally, but I've seen work from one, and it looks quite fine. Just be aware Hauppauge's 352x480 really is "soft" compared to other 352x480 encodes (be it DVD recorder or ATI AIW card). I think Hauppauge filters it in the hardware. Generally, I recommend the now-discontinued PVR-250 or PVR-350, because I know they worked.

Concerning overscan, only the ATI MMC software would mask that I've ever experienced -- nothing else does anything even remotely close. So you've got two choices:

1 -- Capture AVI, mask, encode
2 -- Capture MPEG-2 with high bitrate (15k), mask, encoder back to new MPEG with normal bitrate

It mostly depends on the hard drive space available. I would do method #2 on anything off of tv. Only a home movie or something rare would get the AVI treatment.

My advice is always addressing a question. Answers may seem to conflict until the details are revealed. It simply depends on what the needs are in any given situation.

I own a JVC HR-S9800U, JVC SR-V10U and JVC HR-S7965EK. All three machines are wonderful. I own many other machines, and I've used many more beyond that too.

In the JVC line, you've got these:
HR-S7600
HR-S7800
HR-S7900
HR-S9600
HR-S9800
HR-S9900
HR-S99911
SR-V10U
SR-V101U
HM-DH40000U (D-VHS)

Those are chronological order. There are more machines, but the x600 lines are about 10 years old now, and I think that's a plenty long enough list. I've not had the ability to use x500 level machines, and reports conflict as to whether they have the full battery of filters, and whether or not the TBC RAM is as effective. That is also a list of just NTSC equipment, I've not listed anything PAL. I should probably update the site with an expanded list (the site is currently undergoing construction, both updates and upgrades/re-design).

The 7000 series machines have 2MB RAM. The 9000 have 4MB RAM. The SR series have 2MB of next-gen RAM (DDR based, I would guess). The D-VHS machine is more similar to a Panasonic AG-1980P (but better, with a higher JVC-quality image).

They honestly give about the same quality of image. The differences are mostly in warranty, build quality, and parts quality. The SR and 9000 lines are more or less the same. The 7000 are a little less, but they look just as good, and I've used them before with much success. The SR machines are really a mix of the older 7000 and 9000 mixed together (7000 designs, 9000 parts).

I've got "Beta people" and I'll solicit current advice from them, and get back to you. I outsource my Beta work to a few of them.

[miker]

Thank you for the quick reply!

I probably should have given you more info on my computers and how I got to where I am.

I have three computers with AIW cards (X600, 9700, 8500DV). X600 is on an ASUS P5AD2 Deluxe w/ 3.4g Processor, 4g of RAM, a M-Audio Revolution 7.1 sound card, 2) 300g on IDE, and 3) RAID arrays based on the P5 board.

I am a Computer Forensic technician by trade, although this never seems to save me from myself as evidenced by my current dilemma, and have developed certain habits such as wiping my "Programs" hard drive and reinstalling all software once a year. I store all working data on my one of my file servers.

I have done clean installs on all three AIW rigs using at least several combinations of the AIW's and M'boards. I have also done a clean install on my Forensic computer, which has to be forensically clean between each investigation, using the X600PRO and absolutely no other peripherals or cards beyond what is minimally necessary to load XP w/SP2 and dotNET2.0. No Luck.

I haven't gone back as far as 2004-2005 on the drivers and will give that a shot. Something else I have thought about is getting a copy of the registry entries for ATI from a working t200 install. I will ask ATI next time we talk.

I am still working with ATI, so I haven't given up completely, but I have to get on with this project as the timing right now is perfect for this large project.

I have approx 400 VHS and 150 Beta tapes to convert. About 1/3 are OOP commercial concert tapes, 15-20 bootlegged (by me) live concert tapes, and 2/3 off-air recordings. So I guess method #1 for concerts and #2 for tv.

I'm unclear on #2. I assume a Hauppauge capture (will pick up a PVR-250)using WINTV, but what to use for the masking?

Excellent! I made a good decision getting SR-101U. I will also try to pick up another unit on this list.What do I need to watch out for doing this job? How often should heads be cleaned? What other maintenance should be done?

Again, thanks for your input and help. Look forward to any Beta info you can supply.

[miker]

I assume you are busy with the site upgrade, so no rush.

Just an update.

I finally figured out my ATI problems. I stupidly tried to install the latest drivers on the 8500DV. Reloaded old drivers and worked just fine. The X600 and 9700 PRO both had bad Theater 200 chips and will need to be replaced.

Anyway, I will revert back to using the AIW cards for this project. I think everything I need for this is on your site.

Still need to know about maintenance on a job this size and a referral on Beta machines. No rush!! - miker

[admin]

That's a typical experience, when using the "latest and greatest" ATI/AMD drivers. The older ATI drivers are more stable for whatever reason.

On the Betamax tapes, consider Super Beta machines. Only buy Sony brand machines, not other brands. The SL-HF2000 model is regarded as the best. The SL-HF900 is okay, but not the best. The MSRP on these is $1,000+ but eBay will have them for far less. Just 30 seconds ago, I looked on eBay and saw a "near mint" machine with a Buy it Now of $500. If I needed such a machine, I'd grab that one at that price without flinching.

I'm a bit lost on the "maintenance" question. What is that again? Reading above posts, I'm not understanding that.

Indeed site upgrades/updates take a lot of time. Frustrating.

[miker]

Thanks for the Beta referral, I picked it up.

The maintenance ? refers to the fact that I'll be running some 400 tapes thru the machine in a relatively short period of time. I'm wondering if you can supply any guidance to how often to clean heads and maybe make alignment adjustments. I will be using a separate rewinder.

[admin]

I don't have any information for you, in terms of aligning a machine, no.

For cleaning, simply use denatured or isopropyl alcohol (70% minimum), dismantle the machine, and wipe with a non-cotton swab. Put it gently against the head, and rotate the head once.

You don't need to do it very often.

Be sure the tape rewinder goes at a normal speed, not the super-fast speed that tends to feather or otherwise skew the tape emulsion.