Buzzing noise coming from GoVideo VCR?

[jimca]

I picked up a GoVideo DV2130 DVD/VHS combo player from the thrift shop to digitize my VHS tapes. It's able to play back tapes, but there's a constant buzzing noise in the audio stream.

There's an audible buzz coming from the VCR, too. I suspect they have a common cause. Anybody know what might be causing this buzz and how I might fix it? Sample video attached.

[RewindWizard]

Not exactly helpful, but I am having the same or a similar problem. I purchased a cheap Sony SLV-D350P from our local Goodwill, so maybe that's part of the issue. However, it works fine when connected directly to the TV. I've tried new cords and moving my setup to different rooms, which seemed to help slightly, but the buzzing wasn't completely resolved.
I've also tested it with two different VCRs, two different USB capture devices, and a ClearClick device. The latter had the least amount of interference but didn't completely eliminate it. Then, I even threw a ground loop isolator into the mix just to see if it would help. It didn't.
I have a lot of tech in the room I was originally recording in, so I'm thinking maybe that could have added to the noise. Switching rooms and using a different device to record on seemed to help. I am thinking once I get some more time, maybe there is some software to help eliminate the background buzzing in my recordings.

[latreche34]

Possible ground loops, Make sure the VCR, the capture card, the computer are all grounded, also make sure there is not interference from CRT TV/monitor, wifi or cellphone.

[themaster1]

https://www.sct.com.tw/articles/4-ef...o-interference

also:
http://www.siski.de/~carsten/mantelstromfilter.html

[jimca]

Quote:

Originally Posted by latreche34

Possible ground loops, Make sure the VCR, the capture card, the computer are all grounded, also make sure there is not interference from CRT TV/monitor, wifi or cellphone.

The VCR doesn't have a ground pin. My house is old knob and tube so there's no ground pin on the outlet connected to my PC, either. Maybe that's the issue.

I can try connecting the PC to the kitchen outlets, which are grounded. Not sure if that will help considering the VCR itself isn't grounded.

There's an audible buzz coming from the VCR. Like, just powered on I can hear it buzzing. Maybe that's related to the issue?

[timtape]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimca

I picked up a GoVideo DV2130 DVD/VHS combo player from the thrift shop to digitize my VHS tapes. It's able to play back tapes, but there's a constant buzzing noise in the audio stream.

There's an audible buzz coming from the VCR, too. I suspect they have a common cause. Anybody know what might be causing this buzz and how I might fix it? Sample video attached.

The buzzing is pretty much a series of clicks, as per "click noise" file, probably coming from the VCR, not the tape. Possibly from a faulty motor.
Never heard of the Govideo brand. I'd try another VCR. Always test an unknown VCR with an unimportant (to you) tape.

This also appears to be an SLP recorded tape which will never be really hifi because of the extremely slow (economical) tape speed.
Audio wise it takes a good VCR and often custom fine tuning of the audio head to extract the very best audio from such tapes.

As a comparison, the attached sample audio is from a similarly slow speed recording but optimised to extract the clearest audio off the tape.

[jimca]

Quote:

Originally Posted by timtape

The buzzing is pretty much a series of clicks, as per "click noise" file, probably coming from the VCR, not the tape. Possibly from a faulty motor.
Never heard of the Govideo brand. I'd try another VCR. Always test an unknown VCR with an unimportant (to you) tape.

This also appears to be an SLP recorded tape which will never be really hifi because of the extremely slow (economical) tape speed.
Audio wise it takes a good VCR and often custom fine tuning of the audio head to extract the very best audio from such tapes.

As a comparison, the attached sample audio is from a similarly slow speed recording but optimised to extract the clearest audio off the tape.

That's the noise! I'll crack open the VCR this evening and see if I can spot a faulty motor.

Yes, this video was captured from an old VHS-C tape, recorded with an old camcorder (probably a late 80s brand JVC or Panasonic--I don't have it anymore).

I'm currently in the market for a better VCR, but these things are damn hard to find. Hopefully I can find someone willing to sell on this forum.

[jimca]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimca

That's the noise! I'll crack open the VCR this evening and see if I can spot a faulty motor.

Looks like it's the head drum motor. It basically sounds like the one in this video at 5:45. https://youtu.be/N16su5RJfkw?si=fn30Lkzf_disAbkT&t=345

Any ideas on how I can repair this? I'm a bit weary of disassembling this.

[timtape]

Can you upload a photo looking down on the mechanism, or preferably video of it to hear the noise you mentioned.

[jimca]

Quote:

Originally Posted by timtape

Can you upload a photo looking down on the mechanism, or preferably video of it to hear the noise you mentioned.

Here ya go!

IMG_3880.mp4

[latreche34]

You should be clear on the first post that the buzzing is not in the captured audio, you would have gotten your answer right away. All VCRs make that noise, it's the drum with its heads scanning the tape, They are literally scrubbing the surface of the tape and when they hit the edge of the tape they produce a click, each head makes two clicks per scan line, 525 clicks per field (NTSC), 1050 clicks per full frame, or 1.05KHz frequency.

[jimca]

Quote:

Originally Posted by latreche34

You should be clear on the first post that the buzzing is not in the captured audio

The buzzing is in the captured audio. Listen to the attachment on the original post.

I am reporting the noise coming from the motor because I suspect they have a common cause. I could be wrong, but the frequency of the buzzing in the captured audio matches the frequency of the buzzing from the motor. Listen to the buzzing when I hit play in the second video, and compare with the captured video.

Come to think of it, the frequency sounds like about 60 Hz, so maybe this is just a grounding issue. Nothing in my setup is grounded, since my wall plug has no ground pin (I live in an old home with knob and tube wiring). The VCR doesn't even have a ground pin, so if this is the issue, is it hopeless? This page says removing the ground pin removes ground loops...

Could also just be a coincidence. No idea. I'm quite new to this.

[timtape]

Here's your sample audio before and after "declicking". In this case the clicks are very heavy and the tool struggles to remove them without distortion, so as mentioned best to fix the problem at source (playback) if possible.

[jimca]

Quote:

Originally Posted by timtape

Here's your sample audio before and after "declicking". In this case the clicks are very heavy and the tool struggles to remove them without distortion, so as mentioned best to fix the problem at source (playback) if possible.

That's pretty good! Yeah, definitely want to try to fix at the source. I have decided to bite the bullet and get a refurb JVC VCR from lordsmurf.

I think I can get a little more mileage out of this cheap thrift store VCR, at least enough to build a sizzle reel to send off to my family for Christmas. But since I'm trying to preserve and archive these videos, I want to make sure I capture them with much higher quality.

Cheers!

PS: What tool do you use to declick this? I tried using the Noise Reduction effect in DaVinci Resolve plus a notch filter, but the result wasn't nearly as good as your cleanup.

[timtape]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimca

...PS: What tool do you use to declick this? I tried using the Noise Reduction effect in DaVinci Resolve plus a notch filter, but the result wasn't nearly as good as your cleanup.

A standard Noise Reduction or Denoise tool is not in the race, and neither EQ filtering.
Not surprisingly for the clicks in your sample the tool I used was a standard digital Declicker, first used professionally in the late 80's.

Acon sells some economically priced tools as does Izotope RX. They're sometimes advertised on special.
For your sample I used an RX Declicker but these days there are many brands to choose from. For a VST capable video editor VST audio plugins can be purchased.

[jimca]

Quote:

Originally Posted by timtape

A standard Noise Reduction or Denoise tool is not in the race, and neither EQ filtering.
Not surprisingly for the clicks in your sample the tool I used was a standard digital Declicker, first used professionally in the late 80's.

Acon sells some economically priced tools as does Izotope RX. They're sometimes advertised on special.
For your sample I used an RX Declicker but these days there are many brands to choose from. For a VST capable video editor VST audio plugins can be purchased.

Thank you! Looks like Isotope RX 10 Elements comes with the declick plugin. Only $40 for the bundle. Not bad.

Sad that it doesn't run on Linux. Maybe it will work with WINE. Or maybe I should just switch back to my Windoze partition. Was having issues with the FireWire driver but I'm done capturing my miniDV's so I guess that's no longer a concern.