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02-15-2005, 09:57 AM
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Thought this might help, for those seeking the press release type information on the unit.

from http://www.videomaker.com/scripts/article.cfm?id=1743

Quote:
BVP-4 Broadcast Video Processor
Elite Video
321 Ouachita Avenue
Hot Springs, AZ 71901
($700)

Anyone involved in making videos, especially prosumers and those who make video for a living, need control over the video signal when editing. After all, you won't sell many wedding tapes if the bride's face is purple, or the scenes are too dark to see. Video signal processing amplifiers, called proc amps for short, are what you use to correct these problems. While it's true that some consumer equipment is available with proc amps built in, the limited range of this equipment may be unacceptable for those who pay the rent with the quality of their work.

New from Elite Video is the BVP-4 Video Processor, a full-range, broadcast-quality proc amp. Useful to people who are serious about their video signal, the unit offers a wide range of signal control. Housed in a trim, black and white steel cabinet, it's about the size of a big yellow page phone book, though slightly longer. All of the controls are front mounted (except for an input select switch on the back), and are either rotary knobs or toggle switches. Access to controls is a breeze.

Control

Primary controls include tint adjustment, luminance adjustment, resolution contour and black restore. There are additional controls for flesh tone, color level and split screen. Let's consider each of these controls one at a time.

A series of two toggle switches and two knobs come next to control color tint. The first toggle is simply an on/off for switching the tint controls in and out of the signal. Once you've switched in the color tint circuits, the second toggle switch and the knobs provide a full range of color tint control. The tint control knobs effect all colors equally throughout their range.

Two more knobs control the Luminance adjustment. The first of these is the PTP knob. PTP stands for point to point luminance which, put simply, uses internal computers to place the greatest luminance detail within the range you can adjust. In doing this you gain the best possible adjustment of black, white and grey tones.

The next adjustment is the Resolution Contour. It uses an Enhancement Processing circuit that boosts the high frequency bandwidth without causing ghosting, clipping, added artifacts or noise. The result gives the appearance of adding up to 70 lines of visible resolution.

You can switch on/off a Black Restore section. When on, a Depth knob works to search out the darkest portions of the signal and restore them to full black. This fixes areas of the picture which should be black but have washed out to grey shades.

A Flesh Tone knob follows which you use to restore flesh tones to a natural look. This is especially useful with multi-generation tapes in which flesh tones tend to go reddish or purple. The manufacturers claim that this is the first proc amp to offer this control.

A Color Level knob is next which will adjust the chroma level from black and white to over-saturation. If your videos don't have the color level you wish, you can boost the color with this control or bring down colors if they are too strong. Or you can kill the color for B/W effects.

Next follows a Split Screen knob which wipes between the original signal and your processed signal. You can set the wipe to any part of your screen to make the comparison.

The second knob adjusts the IRE setting. This is your basic brightness setting as viewed on a video monitor or waveform monitor.

After the on/off power switch (with red LED to indicate power on) we come to an on/off switch for the HBF (Herring Bone Filter). Herring bone is an undesirable effect on video images caused by nearby electrical interference. Turning on the HBF switch will reduce or possibly eliminate this effect.

You make hookups at the rear of the unit, which offers switchable inputs and outputs for either composite or S-video. A 12V DC power connection also resides here. The BVP-4 will operate with the included A/C adapter, or (with the right cable) any battery source with the above output.

The included manual covers every function, but its four pages of instructions (plus Q& A and specs pages) could stand considerable enhancement.

Painting Pictures

The BVP-4 fulfills all its claims quite nicely and can be downright fun to play with. The herringbone filter (HBF) seemed to improve on more than just herringbone noise. The flesh tone adjuster (which only works when you bypass the tint control) works well on fleshtones in small increments, but will effect the tint of the whole scene when swept through its complete range.

With the tint controls switched in, the range of color adjustment is considerably expanded (the flesh tone control does not work with tint on). A true full range of tint is available.

The luminance adjustments and black restore control work well with the PTP control, affecting contrast as promised. The manual notes that if you set the luminance and black restore controls too low (way below accepted NTSC standards), the black portion of the video signal may drop into the sync area, making your images unstable. This turns out to be true and, when I adjusted these controls haphazardly, I also induced a grainy noise into the picture. Used properly, these controls combine to increase detail and proper shading in your video.

With the above controls properly adjusted, the apparent increase in resolution afforded by the resolution contour knob was quite evident. This is, of course, a circuit which enhances the detail already present in the image and does not actually increase resolution. The results are quite visible and gave the impression that standard VHS tapes I tested it on were producing over 300 lines of resolution. The effect is very nice.

I tested this unit with both composite and S-video signals. S-video signals gave a slight improvement in obtainable results.

To put it bluntly, the BVP-4 Broadcast Video Processor is a good unit at a good price. If you're shopping for a good proc amp, give it a look.

Technical Specifications
- Elite Video BVP-4 Broadcast Video Processor

Format - Composite NTSC, S-video
Video inputs - Composite, S-video
Video outputs - Composite, S-video
Resolution - Up to 800 lines (with resolution contour improvement)
Signal to noise - 58dB
Features - Split screen, color level, flesh tone adjust, herringbone filter, 360 degree tint adjustment, full IRE scale luminance adjustment, black restore, resolution contour
Dimensions - 3 1/8 (height) x 15 (width) x 7 3/4 (depth) inches
Weight - 6 pounds


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02-15-2005, 10:09 AM
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Mitsubishi S-VHS recorder review on the same page:

Quote:
HS-U770 S-VHS VCR
Mitsubishi Electronics America, Inc.
6100 Atlantic Blvd.
Norcross, GA 30071
($949)

Mitsubishi's HS-U770 is the next generation in their line of HS-U series of VCRs. Carried over from previous models are the synchro edit functions, hi-fi stereo audio, audio/video inserts and a high quality tape transport. For those wishing to put together a simple editing setup with the resolution of S-VHS, the HS-U770 will be a good choice either as a source or record deck.

The HS-U770 is visually similar to earlier HS-U units we've probed. A fluorescent display dominates the front of the unit's flat black case. The case is very smooth in appearance with a minimum of transport controls placed around the unit's jog/shuttle knob. These controls provide good tactile response and are easy to use. Overall, the HS-U770 has an attractive, uncluttered look.

What you get
Dominating the tape transport controls is the jog/shuttle knob. As with most jog/shuttle knobs, this one offers four different speeds in either direction if used while a tape is playing. However, if you pause the tape before using the knob, an additional slow-motion speed becomes available. The slow-motion effect is a bit jerky, but is valuable in searching for specific points while editing. An adjust dial in the center allows for frame-by-frame searches.

Near the jog/shuttle is the PerfecTape button. When you press this button, the unit plays and evaluates a small portion of your inserted tape. It then displays a rating of the tape quality and adjusts its record electronics for best performance.

A doorway on the left of the front panel opens on a set of audio/video inputs for use with other VCRs, and the controls for setting audio levels and making audio/video inserts. Also found here, and new for the HS-U series, is a headphone jack with volume control.

You will also find a button here that activates the on-screen display. This will indicate elapsed and remaining tape times, TV channel viewed, signal source, time and the status of the Child Lock function. Child lock is a feature that stops children from messing up your VCR adjustments, or from watching the wrong tapes.

The front panel display offers all the information you will ever need to know, including indicators for A/V inserts, tape speed and selected audio functions. A pair of LED meters located here display your level settings while recording. The display also indicates TV channel and transport status.

At the rear of the HS-U770 are the antenna connections and connectors for composite and S-video in, audio in, two sets of audio out and composite or S-video out. Also found here are the Mitsubishi Active A/V Network connectors. The Active A/V Network connectors allow Mitsubishi products to "talk" to one another through remote control commands.

On the rear of the unit you will also find the Edit connection. Mitsubishi does not claim that this connection will control the pause on other deck brands. Past tests seem to have proven otherwise. You will have to make up your own cable if you wish to try synchro editing with another brand of deck. Most synchro edit jacks use the 1/8-inch mini phone plug, rather than Mistubishi's RCA connector.

The Mitsubishi comes with a full-featured remote control. Every VCR function except A/V inserts is controllable from the remote. The remote's jog/shuttle knob performs every function of the deck's knob and doubles as a fine tracking adjuster. The remote's jog/shuttle knob is easier to use than the slightly recessed deck's knob.

A feature found only on the remote is Function Audio/Video. It allows for monitoring and mixing of any of the audio tracks, turning on or off the audio meters, checking record speed and toggling a dubbing setting that electronically improves your dubs and edits.

Using it
Editing performance was my first interest and when hooked up with Mitsubishi's earlier HS-U650 VHS deck, edits came to within about ten frames of accuracy. This is consistent with earlier tests of Mitsubishi decks with this feature and is not bad at all for synchro editing.

Video inserts are very clean thanks to the HS-U770's dual flying erase heads, but for best accuracy, use the manual's out-point/in-point method of inserting. As in previous models, if you use the HS-U770 as a source deck while synchro editing, it will pre-roll before the edit takes place, providing a more stable edit.

The tape transport is very stable and provides at least a somewhat recognizable picture at all shuttle speeds. This makes it very easy to locate scenes for editing.

Overall, the HS-U770 is a good VCR with solid features and high quality sound and picture. If Mitsubishi added an editing protocol (as Sony did by adding control-L to an S-VHS model), this unit would sell like hotcakes. For straight-cuts synchro editing, it will be hard to beat.

Technical Specifications - Mitsubishi HS-U770 S-VHS VCR

Format - S-VHS
Video inputs - Composite (x2), S-video
Video outputs - Composite (x2), S-video
Audio inputs - Stereo (x2)
Audio outputs - Stereo (x2)
Remote control - Setup menu, index marks, tracking, A/V functions, volume, TV channel, all deck transport controls
Control protocol - Mitsubishi edit jack
Other features - Front panel LED audio meters and level control, dual flying erase heads, audio/video insert, high speed rewind, auto head cleaning, headphone jack, cable box control
Dimensions - 3 3/4 (height) x 16 5/8 (width) x 12 3/4 (depth) inches
Weight - 14 1/2

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10-26-2009, 01:07 PM
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Evaluating Elite's BVP4+
By Mark Goldberg


Quote:
In a perfect world, every professional wedding videographer captures technically perfect video images in the field Cameras-even the new digital video models-are always perfectly white balanced and always deliver images with just the right contrast range. They show deep rich blacks, bright but detailed highlights, and vibrant colors. In the "real world" we are far from that level of perfection. When we view a scene in the edit room numerous factors can lead to an image that does not match our impression of the original scene, or how we want it displayed on the finished videotape. The footage, in other words, may need some "doctoring" to achieve the proper look or tonal rendition we (or our clients) expect. And that's why every real world videographer will appreciate the abilities of a post-production processing amplifier.

Development of the BVP4+

The BVP4+ ($795 msrp) processing amplifier from Elite Video (501-321-0440; www.elitevideo.com) is a successor to the original BVP4 and provides several improvements over the earlier model The BVP4+ has 1200 lines of resolution while the original offered 800 lines. It also features adaptive resolution enhancement (which adapts the process to the characteristics of the incoming video) and a digital gamma compensator circuit, which is designed to boost highlight and shadow detail lost in the compression process of digital video. Both units were engineered and built in the US to the specifications of videographer and company owner, John Cooksey. BVP4+ Controls and Connections The BVP4+ is powered by an external 12-volt adapter block. It can also be operated from an external battery. The unit is approximately 15" deep x 3" wide x 3"high x 8" deep and is furnished with an instruction manual and a videotape. The front panel has four toggle switches including a herringbone filter (to reduce electrical interference noise), tint adjustment pass/adjust, tint adjustment range (+180 or -180) and black restore on/off The unit has nine knobs for controlling: split screen (compare before and after images), color level, flesh tone color adjust, tint adjust 0 to +180, tint adjust 0 to -180, point-to-point (PTP) luminance, IRE adjustment, resolution contour and black restore. On the back panel are switches for selecting composite or S-video in/out, analog or digital input, and Y/C or composite in/out. The BVP4+ has an all-metal, black case.

Inside are two circuit boards-one for the hack panel and a larger one for the front panel. Rear connectors are mounted internally to the rear circuit board, not the rear panel. In setting up the unit for evaluation, I found these connectors to be a tight fit with my S-video cables-tight enough to temporarily distort the circuit board during installation.

Test Setup and Evaluation

I used the JVC BR-S500 S-VHS Edit Desk player (with TBC) as a source, and JVC's BR-S800 as the editor. A JVC JX-5V55 video editing processor was bypassed, but was standing by for comparison. To complete our test set-up we also connected a Panasonic digital mixer, a Videonics Powerscript character generator and a JVCTM-1400 monitor. The signal path was C throughout. The instruction manual recommended connecting the BVP4+ downstream from a digital mixer and upstream from a titler. Initially I followed that recommendation and placed it between the mixer and CG. while this was effective in controlling scene brightness and contrast, the results had a posterized look resulting from the signal quantization that occurs in a digital mixer. Black noise was also excessive. It was too easy to send the signal into instability. To me, the result of this hookup was technically unacceptable. I reconnected the BVP4+ between the player and the JX-5V55 editing processor. The JX-5V55 has been around for eight years, but I still find it useful for adding black or colored borders and mixing stereo audio sources. It also provides two levels of color correction, fades, effective black stretch and enhancement. My digital mixer is downstream from the processors. This seemed to be a more logical connection because it allows the BVP4+ to work with more signal levels--an advantage for an analog domain processor. The results we obtained were far superior to the after mixer connection.

Basic Operation

Both the users manual and the video tape recommend using the controls sparingly, which we found to he sound advice. All controls offer extremely wide latitude, enough to send the video signal into instability at either the black or white. I liked the variable horizontal position of the split-screen, which allowed me to center it over an item of interest for a good comparison. The color level was a very tempting control, one that added a "Kodachrome" saturated look to the original image. What looked nifty in the original playback and edit master, however, gave a somewhat exaggerated color in the release video, so one must be conservative in the use of this control.

The manual suggests using the BVP4+ at the release tape dubbing stage because of the unit's excellent signal-to-noise ratio and near-transparency, but I recommend conservatism here as well. This control can also be used to eliminate the color and create a B/W image. The flesh tone control is more subtle than traditional proc-amp hue controls. Remarkably, it allows adjustment of flesh tones with minimal effect on other colors. In transferring photos to video, I found it particularly useful for eliminating color errors and blueness from a camera flash. The tint adjustment was less intuitive to operate than the joystick color controls found on the JX-5V55 and the Panasonic digital mixers. In operating the tint control, you must first toggle the pass/adjust switch to "adjust," then select the +~80/-180 range based on the color shift desired, and finally adjust the appropriate knob. This adjustment had little affect on the blacks or whites, unlike many proc-amps that shift all colors in the scene. Its range was narrower than other proc-amps I have used. The PTP luminance control affects dynamic range (the span from darkest to brightest), and the IRE adjustment appears to uniformly affect all video levels rather than just raising the black level. These two features are interdependent and offer a great range of control. Over-processing at either end (black or white with either control) could send the video signal into instability. The result could he rolling, tearing and even some bizarre side shifrs when going through digital mixers and CGs like the Powerscript. Compared to the image enhance function I have used on other processors, the BVP4+'s resolution control worked with minimal artifacting, and without the outline-effect typical of less sophisticated systems. Again, one must guard against over processing, because it will enhance inherent image noise as well as desired detail and becomes even more exacerbated if gain-up was used during the original recording. However, this control was clean, effective and relatively artifact-free when used with a well-exposed image. The black-restore function is unique to the BVP4 series and effectively sets selected luminance values to black. The best way to visualize this is with titles on a black background which would otherwise show as a gray hue with PTP or IRE adjustments. If over-applied, the images take on a partially black posterized look. In use, one must start from zero and gradually increase the level until the effect is barely noticeable. The range of control afforded by the three tonal adjustments (PTP IRE, black restore) allowed me to recover some severely under-exposed video, which helped rescue video from a low-light wedding scene. This recovery could not match properly exposed video, but at least it made the image recognizable since boosting the black level also boosted the part of the image containing the most luminance noise, I did not use the resolution contour. (I have set up a special web page of these example images at http://www.markgoldherg.com/bvp4plus.) One quirk of the black restore function occurs when the herringbone filter is on. Normally, this filter is used to reduce interference in the image caused by nearby electrical devices, such as motors. The interferenc47e appears as diagonal lines. If the filter is on, the black restore effect diminishes at the top and bottom of the image probably due to the inherent 60Hz filtering. This was confirmed in my conversation with Cooksey, who advised keeping the filter off unless absolutely needed. The user's manual provides a good discussion of operating features and functions. There's a one-page "cookbook" covering four examples of uses: making a B/W tape from color, restoring faded color, making dupes, and making third and fourth generation tapes. There are no image illustrations in the manual, hut the video certainly has them. The manual gives such directions as, "Reduce the color level by 10-20%," hut there are no numerical markings on the controls, just radial lines. There is also a brief question-and-answer list about internal functions of the unit and a discussion of how to make adjustments for using the unit in conjunction with large monitors. The manual also includes caveats for coping with the particulars of other ubiquitous gear such as the Videonics MX-l and the Panasonic AG-456 and AC. 1970.

Using the BVP4+ with Digital Video

The advent of digital video for acquisition will have many of us wondering about the role of a processor that still operates in the analog domain. Cooksey says, "The fact that a signal is digital does not necessarily mean that it has good color and dynamic range. The analog pass-through can be worth the iniprovements. Even when going to NLE, the BVP4+ works in real time, while the filters in NLE software require extra rendering time.

In Summary

In exchange for the wide control range afforded by the BVP4+ there is a danger of producing an edit master that looks good but ultimately yields unacceptable release videos that have over saturated noisy color or even image disLortion or instability. There is no safeguard or level indicator on the unit to prevent this or to warn you when IRE levels are outside of NTSC specifications. I recommend individual testing by going through all the generations you anticipate. For serious professional applications, checking the setup with a waveform monitor and vector scope is strongly advised. For any level of processing, the BVP4+ required both practice and restraint. Ergonomically, I would like to see numbering on the control knobs to allow for greater precision in making and noting the settings. Mechanically, I'd like to see the circuithoard-mounted video connectors replaced with bulkhead-mounted equivalents to prevent damage that might result from an overly tight cable fit. I was impressed by the BVP4+'s excellent technical performance and signal-to-noise ratio. If controls were set to zero, there was effectively no change. In other words, the unit provides a clean pass-through. The controls offered a wide range of adjustment in an innovative way. The unit's recovery of some of my previously unusable dark video was dramatic. Both the user's manual and the included instructional video were packed with lots of helpful information and examples. In the range of my testing, the BVP4+ performed equal to or better than the claims and illustrations in Elite's demonstration tapes. Even though it is not as intuitive to operate as traditional video proc amps, the BVP4+ offers special capabilities. It is a piece of home-grown technology, developed specifically for the wedding video industry, that will give you much greater control over the post-production quality of your images.
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So: Does anyone have the owner's manual who could post the details on how one internally adjusts to remove the vertical line/patch area that shows up in the right-hand over scan area?? If so, thank you in advance!!
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10-27-2009, 01:49 AM
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The manual is not needed. I recently had to do this for myself, and for a client. It involves tiny screwdrivers, taking the unit apart, and watching your adjustments live on a non-overscan device. I did it while looking at an uncropped ATI AIW capture card preview.

I have photos and can explain more soon.

I thought I had already posted this info in the forum, but maybe not. I may have been sitting on it for a blog entry in the new blog.

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11-15-2009, 02:06 PM
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Quote:
Thank You for your email. We will have to look into this. It's been quite awhile since we dealt with VHS and equipment. We no longer sell equipment.
We can and will get back to you.

Jeri P. @ Elitevideo
Still patiently awaiting necessary information to perform this correction procedure from either source...Preferably NOT with a "live" signal, which I'd have no capacity (correct equipment/funding resource) to create---

Thank you in advance!
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11-15-2009, 09:20 PM
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You have to watch the video signal on a computer monitor as it passes through the TBC, with a live video signal of some kind (VCR is fine). This means a computer capture card is required.

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01-20-2010, 12:18 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by admin View Post
It involves tiny screwdrivers, taking the unit apart, and watching your adjustments live on a non-overscan device. I did it while looking at an uncropped ATI AIW capture card preview.

I have photos and can explain more soon.

I thought I had already posted this info in the forum, but maybe not. I may have been sitting on it for a blog entry in the new blog.
Could the procedure for correcting the problematic "line" this unit generates please be disclosed here? The manufacturer was neither able to provide a solution nor to obtain one from the person who was building the BVP-4 Plus for them...
A collective 'thanks' from the DFAQ.com community!!
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01-21-2010, 05:02 PM
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I'll do this in Feb for you. Big project, proc amp in use right now.

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01-21-2010, 05:07 PM
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roh-kay, rorge!
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02-19-2010, 10:38 AM
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Here you go: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vcr-...-bvp-bvp4.html

--- that's the new repair guide for the Elite Video proc amps.

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