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-   -   Does this workflow seem like it's going anywhere? (https://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-workflows/10605-workflow.html)

CyanUmbreon01 05-07-2020 11:38 PM

Does this workflow seem like it's going anywhere?
 
Hey all,
I've decided that I need to backup all my home movies. My dad just recently passed away and I'd like to preserve his years of work (torture?) capturing us little monsters on tape.
I've been doing some reading for the past few days (a lot to take in). I've been trying to find okay gear at okay prices and I wanted to see what anybody thinks about what I've picked up so far:

- JVC HM-DH30000U
- ATI AIW 9600XT
- I'm currently still searching for a FF TBC
- As far as a proc amp goes..... I'm not really sure if this is even considered one, but it has a bunch of the same features and a couple extra ones...... so I picked up a Faroudja DVP3000. I thought the DVP3000 might also help because it has a line TBC and I was unsure whether my VCR actually has one or not.

And a few questions:
- I guess my biggest concern is whether I should be using the DVP3000 at all or not.
- Should I bother to use component cables? The VCR can output component, the DVP3000 can in/output it... but I doubt whatever tbc I get will take it and the capture card only goes up to Y/C.... which I guess
kinda ties into my next question..........
- What order should I be putting these in? No point in using component at all if the VCR has to go straight to device that only takes Y/C, right?

Thanks in advance!

keaton 05-08-2020 11:26 AM

Hello, and welcome!

According to lordsmurf's post in VCR Buying Guide, your model sort of has line TBC ability such as anti-tearing. http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...html#post37135 Not familiar with the DVP3000, so cannot comment. Usually, what is said on the forum is you either have a VCR with Line TBC built in, or (when you don't) you have to try and get some of the benefits from a DVD Pass thru like Panasonic ES10 or 15. But, the statement about your model from the link mentioned says it already does that. So it seems you probably have as much line TBC as you can get without finding another VCR.

Since you are using ATI AIW, the most you can do is S-Video (Y/C) and in standard def (720 x 480, assuming NTSC capture). Those DVHS machines can output HD resolutions via component. However, many on the forum would say that it is best to stick with the native SD resolution of the medium we are working with and do S-Video at 720 x 480. If you wanted to capture at higher res, you'd need a more modern capture device, which is likely not as good at capturing analog video as the ATI AIW does.

FF TBC is of course highly recommended. However, if you have really good tapes recorded on SP and well preserved, you may get lucky trying to get by without one. May not be 100% successful, but you may have some or much success. Without FF TBC, you could expect a bit of audio/video sync loss when you encounter some bad frames on a tape. Of course, you can try to compensate for this somewhat with Virtualdub capture settings. Find the Virtualdub Capture Guide on this forum, and be sure to get the best settings to try and handle such a situation if it were to happen.

The ATI AIW card you have should provide internal proc amp controls, i.e. adjusting brightness and contrast so you can capture within gamut and not have levels too dark or too bright in the Virtualdub preview histogram. That's all I've ever needed. I have a FF TBC with proc amp abilities. However, I leave it at neutral settings and use my AIW card proc amp controls to adjust brightness/contrast. So that may be all you need. If you are looking to fix things like bad color, you may be best not messing with that with a proc amp, but instead using the tools available in Virtualdub filters and Avisynth plugins to fix color issues. Much more you can do there compared to a hardware proc amp. That's not to say you cannot do that. Some on the forum use hardware proc amp. They may also have a good set of eyes that really knows what to look for when previewing video. Others have better luck in post processing using color analysis tools to help us find the color problems. Just saying that software can do quite a lot in that department, and there's so many tutorial style posts on this forum with example videos to show you what tools to use. Also, VHS is notorious for being inconsistent with color. So if you try to fix color in a proc amp for one part of tape, you may find it's not the same settings you'd want for another part of the tape. In software, you can break the video up and make adjustments when encountering things like this.

The typical order of things is Line TBC, Frame TBC, proc amp adjustment.

Best of luck to you!

CyanUmbreon01 05-08-2020 07:32 PM

Oh jeez.... I haven't even gotten to the software end of things yet. Just been trying to get the hardware components all set.
Looks like I've got some Virtual Dub reading to do.
Thanks for the analysis and tips!

sanlyn 05-09-2020 12:02 PM

It's highly unlikely that you'll find anything better for capture than the AIW 9600XT. It;s one of the best and most popular devices ever made for lossless analog capture, competitive with other cards at the time selling for $1500 USD. Trying to use component or HDMI for low res analog is an inferior choice.

The newer Avisynth capture guide: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...-settings.html

CyanUmbreon01 05-09-2020 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sanlyn (Post 68564)
It's highly unlikely that you'll find anything better for capture than the AIW 9600XT. It;s one of the best and most popular devices ever made for lossless analog capture, competitive with other cards at the time selling for $1500 USD. Trying to use component or HDMI for low res analog is an inferior choice.

The newer Avisynth capture guide: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...-settings.html

Thanks for the link! I'm gonna need that.

lordsmurf 05-09-2020 02:40 PM

Frame TBCs are available in the marketplace subforum. ;)

I'm 99% certain that Faroudja doesn't really contain a TBC, at least by the standards needed for VHS transfer. Understand that TBC is a wide term, and can mean almost anything. It's (ab)used by marketing departments especially.

Never component.
Rarely composite.
You want s-video.

Standard workflow = VCR > TBC > capture card

Ideally S-VHS VCR with line TBC > framesync TBC > capture card.

Not just any VCR, capture card, or TBC, but items known to work well for VCR capturing.

I'm not a fan of D-VHS decks, tracking tends to be B+ at best on my grading scale, but it may be fine. D-VHS decks work best with SP mode tapes, pretty lousy with LP or EP/SLP.

ATI AIW AGP Radeon cards will always get my approval. The 9600 is fine, use one myself.


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