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Originally Posted by digahole
Trying not to break my budget on capture equipment.
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Always remember: you can buy it, use it, resell it.
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Nearly all the tapes in question are old, recorded in EP (NTSC), cared for poorly, and were usually the cheapest blanks we could get (a lot of the absolute cheapest 8-hour Sony tapes, and some weird off-brands alongside the usual suspects). Testing has shown that there are going to be a lot of dropouts in audio in at least one channel.
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Ah, EP. I know it well. I made some early mistakes myself with cheap tapes and EP, but quickly changed to better tapes. The recording VCR also plays a large part in the recording quality, not just the playback VCR. Of course, nothing can be done about it now. I did at least care for my tapes well, though it hasn't entirely saved off issues (like mild oxide shedding creating dropouts).
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What is likely to give me better results if I have to choose: a pre-TBC Panasonic or prosumer JVC (like an AG-1960U or an HR-s6900U), or a professional JVC with a TBC?
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Transport and trackability matters most, and you need to locate a few specific VCR models. Neither of those you've listed are really ideal candidates for this. The Panasonic AG-1980P is the main one, and a JVC SR-V30U can be quite good if it's in optimal like-new condition. Another optional is to find a model that you can "break" to cooperate with the tracking range, but it really depends on how wildly variable the tape is during playback.
Both line TBC and transport strongly matter for EP. There are some pretty strong inherent timing errors as well as the tracking issues that affect both video and audio.
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Also less of a pressing question since I have both and can just test, but would you except better quality from an HVR-1800 or a Theater 650?
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The 650 has known AGC issues, and the Hauppauge HD PVR cards can have issues as well. I'd not even bother with the known-bad ATI, and focus on getting the 1800 to work. Or better yet, just buy something that is known to excel and VHS work.