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  #1  
06-18-2011, 12:38 PM
rodbuilder rodbuilder is offline
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i purchased a vidicraft detailer III to transfer some old family films from vhs and I received it today.. I told the seller not to ship it parcal post.. they always break my electronics shipping them this way.. told him I would pay extra for the priority mail... well I get the unit today and it won't power on... the seller had almost 2500 positive feedback 0 negaitive and he states the unit works.. so I popped the 5 screws out to see if there was a fuse.. and sure enough it's been blown.. I plugged the unit into a known good surge protector so I know I didn't kill the fuse..


what can I do with it? who know it may be more then the fuse.. but I don't know what it will cost to even fix if that is possible..


I needed this this weekend because I want to do these films for a birthday next week.. I doubt I can get one locally..

any suggestions ? please help
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  #2  
06-18-2011, 02:47 PM
rodbuilder rodbuilder is offline
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I have a few more questions.. I am doing about 40 to 50 family vhs to a magnavox dvd recorder that had a hard drive from the 1980's and 1990's and some are the originals and some have been copied and passed along to other family members.. seems like 1/3 are in SP but quite a few are in LP.. my vcr sucks and was told to get a video enhancer but it showed up DOA.. what VCR can I get that all help with sharpness and color and tracking on a few of my tapes.. I don't mind spending a $100 or $200

if some one can advise me on a vcr and a possible idea on the Vidicraft detailer III if it's fixable I would deeply appreciate it..
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  #3  
06-18-2011, 02:50 PM
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I'll answer these for you later today. I can sense your desperation, but weather here is ugly right now, and I'm in the process of turning computers off for several hours. Give it several more hours, and we'll get you on the right path to finishing your projects. Thanks.

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  #4  
06-18-2011, 03:05 PM
rodbuilder rodbuilder is offline
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I understand.. I am in Oklahoma and had them last night....thank you Kindly.. no rush
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  #5  
06-18-2011, 07:49 PM
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Quote:
and he states the unit works
I don't trust eBay sellers any farther than I can throw them. As far as I'm concerned, all eBay sellers are guilty liars until proven innocent. Out of my last five purchases of video gear on eBay, only three of them were as described, and then other two had significant problems. Sure, the device "worked" if by working you mean "the power light comes on when plugged in". But the actual device had serious audio or video flaws that made it closer to a boat anchor than a piece that could be used in a professional video project workflow.

Quote:
so I popped the 5 screws out to see if there was a fuse.. and sure enough it's been blown.. I plugged the unit into a known good surge protector so I know I didn't kill the fuse..
I doubt you caused the few to blow. But at least you had the foresight to know to look for a fuse. Indeed, that may be all that is needed. Simply buy a new one. Radio Shack carries many fuses. And then depending on what major city you may be in or near, there are likely other specialty electronics stores.

Quote:
seems like 1/3 are in SP but quite a few are in LP
SP = 2 hours (when recording to a standard T120 tape)
LP = 4 hours
SLP or EP = 6 hours

So these are a mix of 2-hour and 4-hour "mode" recorded tapes?

Quote:
my vcr sucks and was told to get a video enhancer
You received bad advice. The detailer III has one function, and ONLY one function: to slightly increase perceived sharpness detail on already-excellent video tapes. If you want a highly-quality SP mode recording to look closer to the sharpness of a DVD, then a detailer is perfect. For anything else, it's not helpful.

If your VCR sucks, then you need a better VCR. Read this: VCR Buying Guide (S-VHS, D-VHS, Professional) for restoring video
You need a VCR from that list, and possibly a full-frame TBC. More on TBCs here: What is a TBC? Time Base Correction for Videotapes

Please let me know where you received the bad advice! (What site, if online.) We like to showcase BS in our tech myths section of the forum. There's just really no excuse for bad advice.

Quote:
what VCR can I get that all help with sharpness and color and tracking
See the list, as linked above.

You don't want to overly artificially sharpen video, as it will lead to "ringing" (halos and other noise), as well as make video that is hard to compress. (i.e., the DVDs will look overcompressed and have digital noise artifacts).

A good VCR will generally track a tape well.

VCRs are not going to alter color quality, although a good VCR will play with good color quality (or at least as accurate as the source was recorded as). To alter color, you need a proc amp (i.e, SignVideo PA-100, Elite Video BVP-4 Plus). A "proc amp" is a color processor/amplifier, which adjusts "brightness, contrast, tint and saturation" -- or more technically accurate, and using video terms, adjusting luminance, chroma, IRE, burst, etc. The available corrections varies from proc amp to proc amp.

$200 will probably get a decent VCR. Maybe you could also find a Vidicraft Proc Amp for cheap, though I doubt it. (Usually $75+, but I see some for as low as $25 during low-demand times, or simply due to poor sales location or description. For example, NOT eBay.) The budget works, which is good.

I think I was able to answer those questions.

Generally such detailed advice is reserved for Premium Members, but it was a slow day for new questions.

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  #6  
06-18-2011, 10:15 PM
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Thank you.. I planned on after doing this project for the family I was going to do a bunch of old football games on vhs..my wife is tired of my moving them. I will research the info you gave me.. Thank you kindly for the extra info
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  #7  
06-18-2011, 11:03 PM
rodbuilder rodbuilder is offline
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One more question... is a HR-S7800U a good unit for old tapes? any good sites that sale these type of vcr's and proamps? thanks
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  #8  
06-19-2011, 02:58 PM
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Again, refer to the guide: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...ing-guide.html
Generally speaking, it's fine for VHS, but not really suggested for VHS-C.

If you only have a few tapes, it's probably within the same budget to have these professional converted by a service that specializes in restoring VHS to the best possible quality. Having hardware to do it yourself is nice and all, but there's also quite a bit of skill involved, and that takes time for testing/failure, and learning from mistakes. Hopefully not mistakes that ruin the source videos, but that does tend to happen.

Aside from eBay, there's also Craigslist, as well as sites with a buy/sell/trade area. For example, this site's marketplace forum. Gear like this is good, and kept by the owners for long periods of time (often indefinitely!), so you'll never see lots of it available at any given time. It takes a while to find all the piece you'll need, and in proper working order.

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  #9  
06-29-2011, 11:18 PM
rodbuilder rodbuilder is offline
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Hi Admin.. I will be signing up as soon as I get some fund to my paypal

I found a guy that had 2 JVC HR-7600U and got both for $200 shipped.. both arrived today with manual and 2 remotes. both seem fine and working great.. they came out of his editing shop and quite clean.. I also ordered a Vidicraft proc amp and it will arrive tomorrow.. paid $70 shipped.. looks like I am set.. they sure make a difference.. I have one question.. I'll wait till I become a paid member... but a few of the tapes I am getting a twitch at the very top about 2 inches down all the way across.. not all.. just a few of my tapes.. I take the troubled tape and put them in my old Govideo vcr and they play fine.. I don't see these JVC'S having a problem they play most tapes fine.. Well I'll wait until I pay and you can answer.. I should get premium this weekend.. Thank for all the help so far..
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  #10  
06-30-2011, 07:03 AM
rodbuilder rodbuilder is offline
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it seems with the DIGITAL TBC/NR turned on most of the SP tapes play wonderfully.. but there are a few SP that have a 1 or 2 inch tracking issue at the top that flicks all away the cross of the screen.. I turn off DIGITAL TBC/NR and the tracking issue stops and the tape play fine.. but has the poorer quality since TBC is off.. I am hoping there is a fix or a setting to allow TBC to be on these few tapes to get them transferred to dvd.. Glad that 1 manual came with these VCR'S
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  #11  
07-01-2011, 06:05 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rodbuilder View Post
it seems with the DIGITAL TBC/NR turned on most of the SP tapes play wonderfully.. but there are a few SP that have a 1 or 2 inch tracking issue at the top that flicks all away the cross of the screen.. I turn off DIGITAL TBC/NR and the tracking issue stops and the tape play fine.. but has the poorer quality since TBC is off.. I am hoping there is a fix or a setting to allow TBC to be on these few tapes to get them transferred to dvd.. Glad that 1 manual came with these VCR'S
Making reply to remove this from the unanswered post queue...
This has been answered at http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...u-problem.html

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