sanlyn |
08-20-2019 02:59 PM |
VC500 usages and quality questions?
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A while ago I was looking for modern decent capture devices, and you suggested either the Hauppauge 610 USB-Live, VC500 or ATI 600 USB. Because I don't want to raise and old post from the dead, I figured I'll ask three questions here if possible please.
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You don't have to raise an old post from the dead. Just start a new thread.
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The ATI 600 USB is hard to find. Even when it shows on EBay, it's missing some part. So that leaves me with the Hauppague or VC500. Out of the two, you mentioned the VC500 slightly better as it makes darker videos look more decent. Here's couple of questions regarding it.
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That's not quite correct. I'd prefer the VC500 because it doesn't crush blacks. With the other devices you can work around that with an external proc amp if necessary.
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1. I'll order the dongle from Amazon. When you say VC500, your referring the current VC500 in stock? or your speaking about older models that is also called VC500 but may have better chipset compared to the modern VC500?
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I haven't taken any VC500 apart to look at the chipset, but I see reports that the chipsets used are changed over the manufacturing life of the product, as happens with many other devices. In my own experience I haven't noticed any major differences with different issues of the V500's I used. I've had three of them over the years. The first was unfortunately stepped on and damaged. Its replacement from Amazon was lost during a home renovation, was replaced again with a third copy, and was found again when we packed and moved to a new home. All three copies were satisfactory.
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2. Some people mentioned VC500 is not that good of a match connected directly to the VCR. Is that a specific problem with the VCR they had? or a known issue with VC500?
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I have no idea what those other users are talking about, and I suspect they don't know either. Capture devices are sometimes connected directly to a VCR, in which case you'll have to use your capture software (e.g., VirtuaLDUB) to control input levels and other factors for capture, the same way you would with any other capture device. Sometiemws the device is connected after the VCR is connected to external devices such as frame tbc's, pass-thru's, proc amps, etc. In any case you still have to adjust input levels to suit the situation. You have to do that for every card, every tape, and every player.
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I'm pretty amateur - and while quality matters to me and I want to do it as right as possible, I can't spend more than 100$ on the setup for now, so external TBC is not an option as I see those are quite expensive. Is it worth getting VC500 even I don't plan to get external TBC? The VCR I own is LG RC288. The service manual shows it to have a SAA7136 analog to digital video encoder, and an LSI chipset for system control and mpeg2-encoding (for dvd).
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I don't know if your LG can be used a a pass-thru device for its line and frame TBC, nor do I know if the LG applies line tbc to the tape player section. You will ahve to make capture tests to see what's happening. VCR combos are among the lowest-quality tape players to use for playback. The VC500 is a very good and perfectly suitable capture device, but don't blame the capture device for poor playback performance. The VC500 is a capture card, not a player. It can work only with the signal you send to it and translate it into your capture software accurately and with as little damage as possible, which is its purpose. It cannot miraculously make a poor tape player look perfect. No capture card can do that.
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3. I'm planning on following your guide. Is it still relevant?
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I'm using it right now.
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Am I'm missing something important here? or following the above will yield decent results if I follow them?
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You probably need a better player. Otherwise you have to live with the LG's limitations. The vc500 itself together with VirtualDub capture is a popular and time-proven combination that has been around for many years.
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