Recommend a good frame sync device, beside DMR-ES10?

[SpotAnime]

Hi All:

Long time lurker, thanks to the community for all your contributions in helping folks like me preserve our VHS content.

My workflow consists of a JVC HR-S7800U/7900 to a Panasonic DMR-ES10 and/or Video Filter TBC, depending on the tape. I've found in this workflow, the DMR-ES10 doesn't do much for me for a TBC solution, but it does help tremendously with frame sync. Without it, a particular problematic tape may give me several frames of dropped frames during capture, sometimes resulting in a half second to a full second off sync by the end.

But the DMR-ES10 really blows out the whites I've found, so that even when dialing down contrast and brightness I still lose a lot of detail; and bright scenes are either still way too bright, or dark scenes suffer by correcting for it.

I'd like to replace the DMR-ES10 in my workflow with another device which would help with frame sync. Is there anything else affordable (sub $100) which I can use instead?

Thanks again!

[lordsmurf]

Yes, ES10/15 has downsides:
- aggressive NR even when "off" (more like high/low, not on/off)
- posterization
- luma issues, as you're seeing

Better than no TBC at all, but worse than actual TBCs.

You need an external frame sync TBC, a Cypress or DataVideo, or comparable/"clones", like green AVT-8710 or TBC-1000.

The ES10/15 are not TBCs, but crippled+strong line TBC with non-TBC frame sync. It has a fail rate, tapes can still choke it and cause dropped frames. Actual TBCs are far more resilient to this.

But not even the ES10/15 is under $100 these days, with most (good) TBCs easily in the $1k range. Damaged, not-good models, much cheaper, and yet still not under $100. You have to understand that TBCs couldn't even be manufactured for under $100, much less sold for it. And many of those have held value used.