Audio preview using firewire for transferring VHS?

[latreche34]

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Originally Posted by MarioGuy789

Anyway, the attached video is of me flipping through just about every menu I could find, some of which are relevant to Japan only, and presumably I can skip those, but in case I can't, I'll leave that up for discussion.

You will need a smart phone in translation mode from the camera and just translate straight from the TV screen unless you know someone who speaks Japanese.

[lordsmurf]

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Originally Posted by MarioGuy789

So standard copy paper,

Yes.

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not cloths, swabs, tissue paper, or anything else, correct? Are glasses/screen cleaning cloths also not good?

No, never.

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I'll have to open up my machine carefully because sometimes during play there's a bit of a squeaking sound and I'm not sure what that's about.

BTW, never clean while machine is plugged in. After cleaning, don't touch for at least 10 minutes so dries fully. (I know, alcohol dries quickly, but not fully 100%.)

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I guess the loading mechanism is slow for some reason

Motor is aging, common issue in some JVCs. Spare parts not available, so the "fix" is a donor deck for parts. Sometimes people gut bad decks, put those parts on eBay, but not often.

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Originally Posted by MarioGuy789

1. I've seen a couple of users state that capturing analog signals for digital transfer is ultimately inferior than just using digital, such as FireWire in my case, because all imperfections are preserved in analog.

Some users are also idiots. It is true that any problems (major or minor) are "baked in" once captured. Hence the reason to use good VCRs with line TBCs, external frame TBCs, sometimes even proc amps and detailers. Then you capture it.

"Firewire" refers to DV transfer, and is an inferior 1990s capture method using DV in a way that was never intended. It's a hack, and a not-good one at that. This was mostly done by Canopus, and they often sold those devices with fearmongers and BS.

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I want to know, for the sake of saving me money at this point, if VCRs with HDMI out

No, not HDMI.

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as I can't get any more quality out of an image than was already there.

Max quality will come from a JVC S-VHS (with line TBC), a frame TBC is then almost always required (line in not frame), to a good s-video capture card using lossless codecs. (Next best is high end MPEG capturing, which some DVHS decks may be able to do. That depends on factors.)

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2. My new VCR has digital audio out, however, I have no way of actually capturing that, as most capture cards don't support optical cables or coaxial digital,

Worthless feature, ignore.

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If I were capturing, say, my LaserDisc collection, should I get a player that has optical/digital out over the one I have currently which doesn't?

No. LD capture is art of its own, different from VHS capture. For it, composite can be more ideal, but it really depends on the players.

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3. On the subject of LaserDiscs, the way I capture them is by running the S-Video and composite audio out into an upscaler, and then across HDMI into my PC's capture card

That won't look good at all. Wrong capture method for LD.

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The upscaler is more meant for game consoles than recorded media, it's a Retrotink 2x Pro, though I'm not sure if this is beyond the scope of this forum.

Video games are not LD and VHS. The processing of "gamer" products is wrong, often harmful.

[MarioGuy789]

Alright, after taking several days off from this thread, I have come back with some great new developments. I figured out that, in the event that my D-VCR ever goes on the fritz due to its existing issues, my university still has at least 3 professional Panasonic S-VHS decks that they are offering to lend to me, and thus, as soon as I am able to lock down a proper capture device, I’d like to know, primarily from @lordsmurf, which deck is the most preferable for my needs.

Of the three available, we have one AG-DS840, one AG-DS850 and one AG-1970. I have not been able to confirm the operation of any of these decks, and my Professor is unsure whether or not the remote for the 1970 is even still with him, but if they are in working condition, and if I were to find one of these in the wild that also worked, which one should be used, and then which one should I get for myself, if I am given the option? What is a fair price for each of these devices so I know I’m not overpaying? (Also, no, I am currently not able to purchase these VCRs direct from my university, there’s a very complicated reason for it, but nonetheless, that option is not on the table, I’m lucky they’re willing to lend them to me in the first place).

I saw something about the 840 only being able to play SP tapes, which I am unsure will cause any complications with the regular retail tapes I have, as those are pretty much my only concern.

[MarioGuy789]

Also, I’ve seen a couple mentions around this forum about reliable VCR repair specialists. I don’t know if when my D-VCR eventually goes down there will be anyone who can repair it. Currently, the VCR has the issues listed, the squeal noise and a slow cassette loader mechanism, and I don’t know if there’s anyone who can fix these problems, or if parts even still exist. I have, of course, seen the posts about completely stupid repair people, so I’m more inclined to trust members on this forum. Aside from these issues, the unit functions just fine, and I’ll relay more details when the time comes.

[bookemdano]

Depends on if your tapes are all SP mode. If so, then you may get good results from the DS840/850. They are known to suffer from bad caps, so you'll need to demo them and see what you get.

If you have LP or EP/SLP tapes then you would need to use the AG-1970 (the Pro decks cannot properly play slower-speed tapes). The 1970 is known as a pretty reliable deck, and it does have a TBC but everything I have read is that the TBC is pretty weak.