Flutter noise in playback of SVHS-C tapes?

[JohnGalt]

Okay, first off I'm new at this and am trying to learn as best I can. That being said there are times I feel like my head is going to explode.

The problem is that when I playback a VHSC tape inside that adapter gadget, for capture of course, I get a background flutter noise at a rapid pace. It reminds me of rotating helicopter blades, but faster. The video looks to be fine and, other than the background fluttering, the audio seems fine also. And the AV is in sync. And this happens with blank tapes as well as tapes that I’ve recorded with my camcorder. When I turn on the volume level meter in Virtualdub you can see it fluctuating from -40 to -23db on both channels.

I am playing back on a JVC7900U/TBC1000/ATI600 USB into a win10 machine with a separate sound card, capturing with VirtualDub/HuffyUV. I cleaned the VCR heads etc. with chamois swabs and 90+% isopropyl alcohol.

And, just to be clear, I can hear this through Vdub without having to do an actual capture, just in preview with audio playback on.

I’ve tried:
• Bypassing the TBC1000
• Capturing with Audio interlacing off and on
• Using Direct stream Audio
• Using Full Processing Mode Audio
• Changing the Audio mode on the VCR to everything it offered
• And of course sacrificing a chicken
All to no avail.

Now here’s where it gets interesting. I put in a prerecorded full size VHS tape from 1989 into the VCR while the VCR was set for Normal Audio and heard the flutter. When I switched to HIFI audio though, the flutter went away.

I quickly retried the same thing for the compact tapes in the adapter, thinking maybe switching back and forth ending on HIFI would help, but no luck. They still fluttered.

Suggestions?

[lordsmurf]

Noise where? In the room where you are, or on the captured audio file -- or both?

It sounds like another dud VCR. The linear audio head is shot.

Did it come from eBay? This has got to be like the 5th bad VCR that I've read about in the past 10 days. All were from eBay.

[JohnGalt]

Well !!

The noise isn't in the room, it's created during playback.

As to the VCR, I'm the original owner and it hasn't been used in a very long time. I don't remember if it always did this or not, as I never really would have played these recorded tapes back that often, and might not have noticed it at that time, or wrote it off to background noise. And when playing regular tapes, the default setting would have been HIFI, which isn't a problem on prerecorded tapes.

So as I see it so far my options are:
1. Track down a better VCR
2. Deal with this via software (is that even an option?)
3. Live with it.

John

[lordsmurf]

Final test is to remove capture card as culprit, direct VCR to TV -- but I don't see it as helping. Just a "just in case" test.

2 and 3 are not solutions.
- 2 is not possible
- 3 would make it a waste of time to even bother converting

That leaves 1 -- the new VCR. (And I have some, PM me.)

[leeoverstreet]

I had exactly these symptoms once, and long story short, it turned out to be the base station of a cordless phone creating noise, even from a few feet away, that the linear head was picking up. This was with a Vtech phone and a JVC S9911U S-VHS VCR.

So look around for sources of electrical interference. Unplug absolutely everything nearby that you don't need on to do the capture. Just in case.

[JohnGalt]

Hot Damn Baby! You nailed it perfectly Lee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you.

It was my router, situated an inconspicuous mere one foot away from the vcr.

I had checked my cordless phone before, but didn't think to check the router. Once I unplugged it, bang, well, un-bang, the noise disappeared.

If you ever get to Seattle, let me know, I'm buying dinner.

And that goes for you too LS!

[leeoverstreet]

Hell YES!!! This makes me SO happy, because I know BUZACTLY what you were going through. And this is why we have forums.

I have a couple of friends in the Seattle area (an one a few hours away in Vancouver), so you never know, I may cash in that dinner coupon one day! ;-)

[favabeans]

OMG, it's 2022 and I registered to this site simply to say THANK YOU! I've been through 3 ebay vhs-c cameras trying to convert our old videos of our kids to digital, then finally gave up and am trying a VCR with an adapter. Soon as I put the tape in, in the adapter, I heard the "helicopter" flutter. For some reason, a regular commercial tape (It's a Wonderful Life) didn't do it... so I figured it was a problem with the adapter. Turns out I had an eero hotspot right next to the RCA cable from the VCR to the PC. Unplugging the hotspot DID THE TRICK! Helicopter sound is gone! Thank you!!

[leeoverstreet]

Ah, wonderful! Glad this thread is still helping someone. Nothing better than finally solving an intractable problem.

That commercial tape was likely using the hi-fi audio heads which don't seem to be susceptible to radio frequency interference. Only linear audio was affected for me.