|
Video
Guides > Basic Playback Hardware (to Convert Tape to Digital)
Article last updated 2006
Analog video formats, such as VHS, suffer from a few
inherent quality-reducing errors.
The more money you
dump into this hobby, the better quality results you will
get. But this is a multi-faceted hobby, with many things to
consider. Remember, this is digital video. So it's important
to take care of both the "DIGITAL" and the
"VIDEO" aspects, whereas "digital" is
all the computer stuff, ranging from capture cards to
burners to software, leaving "video" as all the
source material and technique and playback aspects.
It takes more than a new computer with a burner and capture
card to make good digital video. That's what this page is
for: playback aspects. The two important devices to
focus on are a "VCR" and a "TBC".
VCR
Suggestions
Your typical VHS
VCR is not good enough for digital video. It can playback
tapes, but VHS tapes are a lossy format to begin with, and
many VHS VCRs tend to amplify those errors rather than hide
them. VHS is a low resolution analog format, and is prone to
have noise that needs to be removed. S-VHS is the best
choice, though it costs a bit more.
VHS
Players:
If you insist on using a VHS VCR, normally due to budget
restrictions, then try to find a player with a good tracking
range that will play anything you throw at it. It will be
less likely to go off track at the slightest error. Only use
HiFi 4-head machines. The 6-head machines are no better than
4-head machines.
Suggested VHS VCRs:
= 1. Sharp: These tend to track really well with
digital tracking, and put out a fairly clean signal. Tapes
made on this machine play almost anywhere. Be sure to turn
off the "enhancement" filters as it makes the
video grainy. Admiral brand units are also Sharp-made.
= 2. Panasonic: These are great machines, and record
tapes that play almost anywhere, as well as putting out a
decent signal. It does have a habit of going to blue-screen
on video errors.
= 3. Sony: These are normally decent, but as with all
Sony items, that can change from model to model. Many of
them play any tape and record well.
= 4. JVC: The VHS units are not too shabby. Certainly
not as good as JVC S-VHS equipment, or even the three VHS
models mentioned above, but they often work okay.
= 5. Toshiba: These are pretty good units, especially
the 6-head models, though they tended to break easily. Very
good image quality, at least for a regular VHS unit.
IMPORTANT! Avoid any 2-head or mono VCR. Emerson,
Magnavox, Philips, GE and Zenith brand machines are
terrible. Most low-end and no-name brands are horrible
machines, often adding errors to tapes and outputting noise
that is seen by capture cards. You must use a VHS VCR that
has RCA. Never use coax unless you are recording directly
from broadcast, satellite (from the coax output) or cable.
Super
VHS (S-VHS) Players:
If you have a
little money (about $200-400), buy a decent Super VHS VCR,
ones that come equipment with digital noise reduction,
audio/video filters, and built-in time base correctors (line
TBC for removing noise and cleaning video). Many brands
of S-VHS VCRs exist, but know that JVC was the inventor of
VHS and Super VHS technology, and they continue to lead the
industry in these machines, especially in terms of quality.
Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Sony, and Phillips all make S-VHS
machines too. All JVC models have a few nifty features that
any video fan should enjoy:
= 1. Video
calibration. This is similar to tracking, but so much
more. It more precisely control the playback quality of your
tape, maintaining both tracking and signal quality.
= 2. Picture Control. This allows you to control how
your pictures looks on screen, and have several modes,
including 1) soft, 2) sharp, 3) norm/auto, and 4) edit/raw.
Most times, leaving the setting on AUTO will provide the
best results. EDIT is used to leave the video in raw form,
without any kind of quality calibration, and is meant mostly
for the editing functions of the VCR. SHARP is good when the
video is blurry. SOFT makes the video a bit softer, often
covering up noise in the signal, and is extremely useful
with cartoons that have quality issues as it covers up video
grain in like-colored areas.
= 3. Digital R3. This is a feature found on the
upper-end models, and is edge correction. It is most
noticeable on cartoons, but gives a cleaner break in
contrast and in smearing or blurry areas of the video.
= 4. Video Stabilizer. This is a very nifty feature
for tapes that have a hard time playing in other VCRs or
have tracking issues that cause the tapes to bounce. This is
a kind of bounce or jitter that is due to the physical
aspects of the tapes, and cannot be corrected by a TBC. It
must be corrected at the playback level, and this feature
provides a solution to that error. The only disadvantage of
this feature is that it cannot be used in conjunction with
the built-in TBC/DNR filter. If turned on while TBC/DNR is
enabled, it will first shut off that feature before
initializing the stabilization filters.
= 5. Audio Monitor. This is a great feature for older
tapes that have buzzing in the sound or have tracking errors
that cause the audio to crackle or break. It can use MONO,
HIFI, L CHAN, R CHAN, or MIX. The cracking is often removed
by changing the audio to MONO. While it slightly muffles the
sound, it will clear out the buzzing that is located in the
upper frequencies of the HiFi channel. The MIX is best
unused, as it adds a "tunnel" effect to the sound.
L and R CHAN allows you to pick just one channel for audio.
= 6. TBC/DNR. This is the built-in time base
corrector on the JVC unit, that incorporates BOTH TBC and
digital noise reduction at the same time. It is a button on
the front of the machine that glows red or green when turned
on. This feature alone makes these machines worth the price.
These seem to provide more horizontal corrections than
vertical ones.
= 7. Rec Level Control. This is an audio level
filter. It allows you to raise or lower the volume of the
audio. Although it is supposed to only work for recording,
on some models, in some situations, it seems to work for
playback also, including pass-through!
Suggested S-VHS VCRs? Any one of these will
do:
JVC HR-S9911U <- the current JVC model
JVC HR-S9900U
JVC HR-S9800U <- personal favorite
JVC HR-S9600U
JVC HR-S9500U <- only has TBC, not all the filters
JVC HR-S7900U
JVC HR-S7800U
JVC HR-S7600U
JVC SR-V10U
Which ones are not so good?
The low-cost $100-200 S-VHS units, such as the JVC 2000-5000
series machines (ex: JVC HR-S2900U), are not made to last
long. They are decent machines, and they will help you to
some extent (using the Video Calibration and other video and
audio filters). However, do not be surprised if they break
down in as soon as one year after purchase, no matter the
amount of use you give it. They go out of alignment easily
as well, and alignment errors is one reasons tapes get
"eaten" when played. (FYI: The other reason is
heat or faulty tape mechanics.)
What's
a TBC? Which one should I get? Where?
While anybody not living in a cave since the late 1970s
knows a VCR is a video cassette recorder, many of you are
probably asking what a TBC is. TBC is the shorthand name for
a Time Base Corrector, a device that adjusts the signal for
proper playback, often seen as "cleaning" the
video.
Time Base Correctors come in many forms. They range in price
from $40 at your local Best Buy to $1,000s at mail-order
video houses. (But before you get your keys and wallet, let
me quickly point out that the $40 unit at Best Buy is junk
and barely works. So sit back down and keep reading...) I've
categorized them briefly:
= 1. Cheap. This is actually more of a cheap
filter/processor, not really a TBC. Does almost nothing.
This unit is good mostly for removing Macrovision. It does
almost nothing else. It's corrections are limited and
visually unnoticeable. It may help with dropped framescaused
from minor signal errors. Example: SIMA CopyMaster.
Price $40-100
= 2. Average. Your typical "line" TBCs.
Does a little bit of work, but not perfect. These are great
at removing errors, but can sometimes cause more harm than
good. Just be sure it can be turned on or off at will in
case it does harm. Some are based on DNR algorithms
(digital noise reduction circuitry), specifically to
"clean up" video. Example: JVC S-VHS VCRs and
certain DVD recorders. Price $100 (or about $100 worth of
the price if included as a feature of the unit)
= 3. Hefty. Your typical "full frame" TBC.
Often called semi-pro or pro-sumer. These do a lot and
are true TBCs by definition. I cannot survive without my
DataVideo TBC-1000, as it vertically corrects the video and
synchs frames, preventing almost all vertical bouncing or
jittering in the image. This is most useful with older,
non-commercial VHS tapes, which is what I primarily use as
source. Example: DataVideo TBC-1000, AVToolbox AVT-8710.
Price $200-350
= 4. Professional. Does everything but cook your
breakfast. These often have features hobbyists and amateurs
would never use or would not know how to use, including
chroma keying, color-bar generation and freeze-frame. Example:
DataVideo TBC-4000/6000. Price $900+
Suggested TBC? The
DataVideo TBC-1000 or AVToolbox AVT-8710.
TBCs can be found at professional video stores like B&H
Photo and Video.
Copy protection notes: Anti-copy protection methods,
most commonly Macrovision's patented form of anti-copy, are
little more than artificially-inserted video errors that
confuse the AGC (automatic gain control) on your video
equipment. A good TBC filters out all errors, including the
artificial ones.
Examples
of a S-VHS VCR and TBC in use
Although
this topic will be more thoroughly covered in the video
restoration guides, here is a quick peak at what a S-VHS
VCRs and TBCs can do to help improve your video. The
following images are of a JVC HR-S9800U and DataVideo
TBC-1000 in action. (NOTE:
The DataVideo TBC-1000 was used to remove slight jitter in
these tests, something that cannot be illustrated with
images.)
| Raw
source. Using JVC 9800 (TBC off) |
Using
JVC 9800 (TBC on). Notice the wavy distortions
in the image have disappeared. |
 |
 |
| Video
in JVC 9800 (TBC off) |
Video
in JVC 9800 (TBC on), video torn at top of
screen. This is a rare error that happens on some
source. |
 |
 |
Was this
Guide Helpful?
If this guide has been helpful as a
book or magazine, then consider a small donation. Donations are how we're able to keep this
site online and up to date. Thanks!
|
