Can US VHS tapes play in Japanese VCR? (NTSC vs. NTSC-J)

[OldZisty]

I've been searching for a good deal on a JVC HR-S9600+ deck for a few years now, because I just can't justify the $500+ price.

I recently found a few Victor D-VHS VCRs listed for a much more reasonable price. (Victor is JVC in Japan from my understanding.)

However, I'm wondering if the resultant playback will be worthwhile. I know NTSC-J has a higher color subcarrier frequency and more video bandwidth.

From my research so far, playing a Japanese VHS on a us VCR will result in crushed blacks because the US IRE Black signals are at 7.5 vs the Japanese 0 - similar to PAL.

So... would playing a US tape in a Japanese player result in more nuanced blacks? Or will it crush them all the same? Any other issues?

Finally - even if the signal turns out fine, will any of my other video equipment accept such a signal?

Thanks in advance for any answers!

[lordsmurf]

It's not "more nuanced", but just the wrong IRE, too bright. Similar to DVD recorder IRE issues.

[latreche34]

Yes you can capture a NTSC US tape with a Japanese model, Just make sure you have the right voltage going in to the Japanese deck which is 100V AC, and set the correct IRE in the capture setting, The NTSC-J as far as I know is an off air broadcast standard it is not related to tape.

[OldZisty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

It's not "more nuanced", but just the wrong IRE, too bright. Similar to DVD recorder IRE issues.

Lemme rephrase: I mean, "without data loss." Crushed blacks = lost data. Too bright should be much easier to correct with a proper proc amp... right?

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by latreche34

set the correct IRE in the capture setting

Where, exactly?
No such setting exists, as it's tied to NTSC or PAL, or the variants.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldZisty

Lemme rephrase: I mean, "without data loss." Crushed blacks = lost data. Too bright should be much easier to correct with a proper proc amp... right?

Wrong IRE = crushing in either direction, damage regardless.
If not blacks/darks, then whites/highlights.

[latreche34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

Where, exactly?
No such setting exists, as it's tied to NTSC or PAL, or the variants.

Good question, You're right most consumer capture cards don't have that feature, in that case just tweak the gain until satisfactory results are achieved.

[OldZisty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

Where, exactly?

Wrong IRE = crushing in either direction, damage regardless.
If not blacks/darks, then whites/highlights.

Ah, okay that makes sense. Thanks as always Lord Smurf!

I think I'll just wait until I can snag a proper US model instead of fiddling with NTSC-J.

[dpalomaki]

Regarding IRE settings (where available) for capture of NTSC video.

I used a SMPTE color bar pattern from a US standard signal generator with setup at 7.5 IRE.
On a properly setup US NTSC monitor anything below 7.5 IRE is displayed as black.
0.0 IRE is blanking level.

I fed this signal through a BMD analog-to-sdi converter and captured with Media Express.
I configured the analog-to-sdi for both 7.5 and 0 setup.
I viewed the captured AVI file in Edius X

With the 7.5 IRE setting anything below 7.5 IRE was clamped to digital 16, the REC 601 black level
With the 0.0 IRE setting signals above 0.0 IRE had digital vales above 16 as expected.
In both cases white was digital 235, the REC 601 white level.

No surprise there. But what this means is that capturing a signal with brightness/contrast level issues may lose shadow and/or highlight detail, or dynamic range. These can arise from a variety of sources including poor original recordings, improperly aligned playback gear, impedance mismatch in the signal path, capture system settings, etc. Playback and capture system components' AGC may or may not compensate for this.

I guess the take away here is know what your gear is doing and check the recordings you are about to capture. It is where a waveform scope and proc amp can come in handy if one knows how to use them.