Sima color corrector SCC vs Vidicraft detailer
 

Which would do a better job on correcting and enhancement?

The Sima color corrector SCC it has s video or

The Vidicraft enhancer/detailer which only uses composite?

I know the Vidicraft by reputation, but is the Sima a good unit?

Let your eyes be your guide, on this topic.

The Vidicraft Detailer probably won't do anything for color, if it's just a detailer. On the other hand, the Sima will alter color, albeit very minor in many cases. It's not a full proc amp.

Just give them both a try, see what looks best.

So are you saying...

Neither is a full proc amp?

Even though the Sima uses s-video it may not produce any better results?

Interesting...I would think a newer s-video unit would do better...I thought there was a fair or noticeable difference working with s-video vs. composite?

Neither is "full" by the definition used on this site, no. While it can alter color settings, it's a far cry from the $300+ SignVideo units or the $700+ (MSRP, now about half) Elite Video BVP-4 Plus BVP4+ units.

The Sima is a consumer "me too" device. Consumers want the extra goodies found in pro gear, but without wanting to pay for it. And so what you end up with is limited version of the pro toy.

That all said, you may only need mild tweaks to your video color, and not the major adjustments available by pro proc amps.

s-video ("separated video", not "super video" as some think) in and of itself is not necessarily better, no. s-video lacks the dot crawl and color/chroma noise often seen in composite video connections. But sometimes composite is clean. And some devices have cheap s-video components.

Sima makes cheaply-built stuff. Most of it DOES NOT WORK as hyped by the company. The copy protection removers are infamous for that.

But don't trash the Sima because of something I say, test it out for yourself, compare both methods, and see which yields the better output. Regardless of my advice, use the one that looks better. I'd wager a bet on the Vidicraft, but your Sima may work okay for your exact tapes (or maybe even better!)

two cents from the peanut gallery...
 

I've used the Sima SCC, too- I still have it. It was/is GREAT to remove macrovision (or whatever other names anti-copy functions go under). Also have used it to provide true "greyscale" for black and white material with excellent results. I NEVER used it to jerk around with actual color correction...WAY too harsh, made most everything I tested look worse- I personally wouldn't recommend it for an application such as that.

I had to save up/wait/shop around until I could realistically afford a proc amp. I got the Elite Video BVP-4 Plus unit that the admin references. And;

When I first tried it, I admit that I wished I had acquired one sooner. The Sima unit does work, but the Elite device makes the SCC model seem as though it were built and marketed by Fisher Price... ;)

The Vidicraft is a detailer and has and seems to do different enhancement than the sima, I have and have used both and have seen some positive results with both, you would not run the two in sync because?...given the composite and s video is not recommended to run together? What if you wanted benefit from both? Is this just not possible? or could you use the Sima and a JVC recorder, get as good as possible with lets say no chroma noise and some enhancement on the dvd, then record that dvd again using the Vidicraft enhancement, or would you loose what you gain? I think I will try this but if it's certain this will not work, it will save me some time.

oooh-
 

You would voluntarily do two re-encodes to the same file? Wow...

Why not if it would work?
I don't have the money to buy one of the good units, but I have time.

Not sure I'm following this conversation anymore... :(

I connect both units, as needed. A workflow can most definitely look like this:

• VCR >
  • external sync filter (specialized broadcast TBC, or passthrough on ES10/ES15/ES20)
    • external TBC (DataVideo TBC-1000, AVT-8710)
      • proc amp (Vidicraft, SignVideo, Studio1, EliteVideo)
        • detailer/sharpener (Sima, SignVideo, Vidicraft, Studio1, etc
          • digital converter (capture card, DV box/cam, DVD recorder)

You use what you need, when you need it. :)

There's no limit on how many devices can be connected, although the quality of the devices in the chain can determine if anything degrades along the way. S-video also become more important in the longer equipment chains.