Okay, it seems that I have gathered most of the hardware to do all the analog tape transfer/archiving that I need. Here's what I have so far:
Sony SLV-960HF (VHS deck)
Sony SLV-R1000 (SVHS)
Sony Digital8 TRV-350 Camcorder (with TBC, DNR, and A/D passthrough)
Sony Digital8 TRV-820 Camcorder (older model, but same as above)
Panasonic AG-DS840 (will be in my possession soon)
Panasonic AG-DS850 (will be arriving soon)
Panasonic AG-DV2000
I may consider one more SVHS deck for my arsenal, and right now on Ebay I have been looking at the JVC HR7600 and possibly a 7800. Reading on how somewhat cheaply made the 9911U was, I think I may try to go for either the 7600 or the 7800 (leaning towards the 7800). That will be the final deck I may buy and that should complete my arsenal to do pretty much any tape transfer (with exception to the broadcast formats like BetacamSP). The DV2000 will pretty much take care of all the A/D conversion to the PC.
Thing is, I may have to consider looking into an external TBC unit now to get as pure of a signal as possible. I surely hate I sold the TBC-1000 4 years ago...
. Now I have to buy myself another unit. But since I plan to do this as a serious hobby I need serious gear to get the job done, and done right so its one of those things that needs to be done. I will study the TBC thread and see what I may need to look into. I need to study and identify the typical problems VHS tapes have when it comes to chroma noise and other issues.
For audio, I have a Mackie 1402 for all audio processing as necessary (and needed for the pro decks).
I know the Pro decks I will soon be getting (DS840 and 850) both have TBC and proc amp circuits on them but since they are only SP decks (I love pro gear) they won't do any good for EP tapes. For those, I will have to use the other VCR's with possibly an external TBC to get the job done.
I need to see if I can find the owner's manual for the JVC 7600 or 7800 decks so that I can study up on them.
All that's left now is to build the PC workstation to do the work on, which will take some time since I need to save up $$ for the components to do the build.
Thanks to this forum and from what I have read so far, having several different tools for the job (VCR decks in this case) will ensure that I will have a unit for whatever tape I may end up working with.
Exciting times ahead...
