#1  
08-23-2010, 03:04 AM
lordsmurf's Avatar
lordsmurf lordsmurf is offline
Site Staff | Video
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 13,503
Thanked 2,448 Times in 2,080 Posts
continued from PM...
To get advice from lordsmurf, always try the digitalFAQ.com forums first!
And feel free to ask for me. Thanks.


Quote:
Originally Posted by CobyUser
Hello, I would greatly appreciate your advice, as I am a newbie at the following:
I have many PAL tapes that I would like to transfer to DVD so that my grandchildren will be able to watch the shows. I cannot rely that I will always have a working PAL videotape player here in the US.

I am using a Samsung SV5000W (set for THROUGH Output since setting it for NTSC output gave only a blue or vertical wide striped screen) and a Philips DVDR 3390/37. The Philips has been modified to be region free, and is set for NTSC output , so basically the input to the Philips is PAL and the output on the Philips is set to NTSC- (In the past I have been able to use the Philips to record DVDs from the UK with output as NTSC) I am using composite cables to connect the 2 machines (yellow, red, white)
That's a good VCR -- I have one too, although it's a secondary unit to a much better JVC S-VHS HR-S7965EK model. It's still a consumer VHS VCR, however -- not really a pro model VHS VCR in terms of playback quality. Then again, none of the multi-format VCRs are. Good, yes. Decent picture, sure. The best? Not really.

Philips DVD recorders vary from terrible to okay. None of them are really great for digital versions of VHS tapes, as they have NO FILTERS for improving video or audio quality. The noise is not only encoded into the picture, but it often lends itself to even worse-than-tape DVDs. The DVDs end up having little mosquito noises around objects, you get visible MPEG blocks, etc.

The PAL>NTSC conversion isn't really the best, either, although it does function at some level. You may end up with ghosting.

Quote:
I am encountering the following problem -- visible streaks of "noise" spots (actually very tiny horizontal streaks that look like horizontal raindrops that are not contiguous) running across the screen. Thinking that this may be the “snow” that others have described with the Samsung SV5000W, I have tried the suggestions that I saw on videohelp.com and other forums: effect a partial reset: Eject the tape, go to the front panel and hold down the PAUSE and STOP buttons at the same time for ten seconds. Turn off the machine for ten seconds then turn it back on. (this helped somewhat the first time I did it, but the streaks or snow reappeared soon after, tried it again, no further improvement. I have also tried Unplugging the Samsung VCR for 12 hours.
This isn't anything special or unique to the Samsung. What you've run into is referred to as a "dropout", and is generally caused by dirty heads in the VCR.

The Samsung deck does seem to get dirty quicker than other VCRs, but it's still a simple issue of being dirty. The tapes you have may be aging or damaged, and debris is now on the heads. All that is required is a simple cleaning.

The proper way to clean a VCR has been mentioned here recently: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/show...1353#post11353

DO NOT USE COTTON SWABS! DO NOT USE RANDOM CHEMICALS! STICK TO THE INSTRUCTIONS!

However, in some cases, it's very much an issue found on the tape itself. Tape damage can show up as dropouts, because the tapes are dirty and/or missing information. This is especially true of tapes that were recorded poorly, and what you're actually seeing are tracking lines that have the same outward appearance as dropouts. Visibly, it's hard (impossible?) to distinguish.

Quote:
The streaks do show up on the recorded DVD, and are very distracting. If it wasn’t for the steaks the recording would be very watchable.
Yes, that will happen. If for no other reason than the DVD recorder does not filtering of the quality. But even a better DVD recorder would have trouble fixing this issue.

Quote:
If I just play the PAL tapes , connecting the Samsung directly to the TV instead of through the Philips, with the Samsung set the same way-THROUGH output- the streaks are nearly imperceptible, if present at all.
Playing a NTSC VHS tape on the Samsung connected directly to TV is very clear
That isn't really possible, so I would suspect this is happenstance and coincidence, more than anything else. The TV would not filter it, and the DVD recorder would not cause it.

Quote:
I have tried to following with no improvement
Setting the Philips to PAL output-I get an abnormal TV picture since I do not have a PAL TV and cannot therefore see what or how the recording would proceed if the Philips is set to PAL output ( I tried it because I have a few DVD players that are set to be region free and thought I could use DVDs recorded in PAL output)
This is honestly the best method to transfer the video to DVD -- leaving PAL as PAL. Simply record the DVD, maybe just leave the TV off. Then finalize the disc. Then play the new PAL with the a Philips DVD player or recorder in NTSC output. I bet you'll now see the PAL signal. As time goes by, PAL DVDs will look better and better on NTSC equipment. As we approach div/25 Hz on TV sets (600Hz, for example), a PAL DVD will look as perfect as an NTSC DVD, on newer TV sets. Currently many sets are 120Hz, 240Hz, etc -- or div/24 + div/30 multiples. No more ghosting, etc.

This won't affect dropouts, however.

Quote:
Placed a SIMA GODVD in between the Samsung and the Philips –No help
Tried both settings on the SIMA -- NTSC and PAL output (tried this in case there is some invisible copy protection coming through)
No reason this would help. In many cases, Sima gear harms image quality more than anything else. Sima wasn't a very good device manufacturer for video. It wasn't professional gear, for starters.

Quote:
Tried placing a Shinybow Multisystem Video Converter SB3690 using Composite Video cables between the Samsung and the Philips tried setting it to both NTSC AND and alternatively PAL output No help either
No reason this would help, either. If anything, many of the PAL>NTSC converters do absolutely lousy jobs, often deinterlacing the video, making it far worse than simple ghosting framerates.

Quote:
I do not know if I am experiencing some type of Macrovision problem, as I DO NOT receive a message from the Philips “RECORDING STOPPED COPY PROTECT” that I see at times when trying to make backup copy of some of my British DVDs.
Nope, probably not an anti-copy issue. The recording signal may be too lousy, due to dropouts.

Copy DVDs on a computer, too, not analog like you would treat two VHS tapes. A computer DVD copy will be perfect (D>D). A DVD player to recorder copy will lose a lot of quality from the original (D>A>D).

Quote:
I have defaulted to simply accepting the streaked recording to DVD direct from the Samsung set at THROUGH output as the best I can come up with at present, with obviously unsatisfactory recordings
Nope, that's no good. Clean the VCR. A few times I'v cheated, and just used a "cleaning tape", but those aren't really easy to find these days. I'd still suggest the proper method mentioned above, as the cleaning tapes sometimes just move the dirt around instead of actually removing it.

Quote:
The only videotape machine that I currently have that plays PAL tapes is the Samsung.
I do not have any special card or software currently (or experience) on my computer for intermediary transfer.
Computer card would not make a difference anyway. This is completely an issue of the VCR or the tape(s) in question.

Quote:
I would be most grateful for any advice you can offer, and if you feel it would be quicker to speak to me as opposed to writing emails back & forth I would be happy to talk by phone, whatever is best for you! I do thank you in advance for taking to time to read my message & for any help you may be able to offer!
Sincerely,
Pam
Don't do phone.
Seeing how it's 3 a.m., you probably wouldn't want to talk to me right now anyway.

Good luck.

- Did my advice help you? Then become a Premium Member and support this site.
- For sale in the marketplace: TBCs, workflows, capture cards, VCRs
Reply With Quote
Someday, 12:01 PM
admin's Avatar
Ads / Sponsors
 
Join Date: ∞
Posts: 42
Thanks: ∞
Thanked 42 Times in 42 Posts
Reply




Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
LiteOn / JVC DVD recorders for VHS transfer? admin Videography: Cameras, TVs and Players 2 03-05-2010 04:31 PM
Photo slides transfer to DVD cyber-junkie Photo Processing, Scanning & Printing 2 02-12-2010 12:03 PM
Need help with a PAL transfer of some cartoons stoogedog Encode, Convert for discs 3 01-06-2007 02:42 PM
Does anyone here transfer 8mm reel to DVD? Tcel93 Capture, Record, Transfer 8 07-19-2006 02:23 AM
MPEG2 transfer to DVD Sujit Author, Make Menus, Slideshows, Burn 3 05-06-2005 09:12 PM

Thread Tools



 
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:25 AM