Sony DCR-TRV720, Diamond VC500, JVC HR3910U combo?
 

I recently invested in this Sony DCR-TRV720 for a better camcorder for capturing. After a few gimmicks and jank (even considered getting an old XP desktop just to put in an ATI All in Wonder) I found that the Diamond VC500 is a pretty good option for those with a meager budget wanting to use S-Video.

Anyways, I found this JVC Super VHS player on the Facebook Marketplace for $10. It seems that I finally got it to run after replacing a couple capacitors and the tape belt.

Now I've tested both of these options, one with direct camcorder to the DiamondVC500 and also inputting it through the JVC and this outputting to the Diamond VC500. I have been using both 8mm and Hi-8 tapes. I genuinely cannot tell much of a difference, other than some artificial noise reduction in some spots from the JVC.

Another question I'll add is if there is any benefit to recording to an external HD in the Diamond VC500 port for USB or should I stick with my SD card?

So, is there any real reason to add this JVC player in, or am I just making it too complicated? I've been working on this project for a months now and finally am starting to get somewhat comfortable with actually getting these conversions done. This forum has been great help, thanks for help with this as well :salute:

You lack any TBCs in those setups, and it will not work with nothing in the workflow.

Wrong and didn't answer the question
 

The DCR-720 has TBC yes it's weaker it's still TBC. Also you didn't answer the question.

There isn't any point of sending the video via the JVC if that's what you mean, it won't do anything.

This is what you have:

- Sony DCR-TRV720 = Hi8/Video8 camera with line TBC
- no frame TBC, so frames can still drop (audio can still lose sync, and many more problems)
- JVC HR3910U = non-TBC S-VHS
- Diamond VC500 = known problem card with AGC issues (too bright, too dark, randomly)

This is a (somewhat crappy) workflow:
Sony DCR-TRV720 > Diamond VC500

This is NOT a workflow
Sony DCR-TRV720 > JVC HR3910U > Diamond VC500
A VCR serves no purpose here, with that camera. (In some workflows, involving composite sources, where no 3D Y/C filtering is present, the VCR acts as that good Y/C filter.)

If it was a with-TBC JVC, note that the line TBC does not work on passthrough.

You need a better card, or you'll have problems.
You need some sort of frame correction. The least-worst option is the ES10/15 for the non-TBC frame sync (the line TBC will be non-functional if camera line TBC engaged, and it should be here). Better would be something like the DVK, a weaker frame TBC. Or an actual frame TBC, such as certain DataVideo/Cypress (or comparable) units.

That's where you are now.

Replying to your setup advice/About Me/Follow Up
 

Ironically I chose VC500 after not reading anything "too terrible" and "not unusable" about it. I'm sure the ES10/15 would help. I had been trying Elgato, and the Diamond USB stick version. Those two gave me issues with the gimmick software. Elgato would playback looking great and come out shite. But I did notice a significant improvement with the VC500 and taking software out of the equation. For some reason, there are in fact dropped frames but only in the actual unit recording preview and not the .mp4 itself. The mp4 output could be better but it could also be significantly worse. I know you can find the literal exact same unit with a different manufacturer, but it's working pretty well for me for what it's worth.

Thanks for weeding out my obsession with the S-VHS and the information about line in TBC. I appreciate the info on your items for sale, but this isn't something I have the money for at the moment. Enjoying it for the hell of it (currently), but I love learning about it for what I can at the moment. I know there are some great TBCs out there that would help, especially with my VHS cassettes. Granted I just turned 27, so the pricier items eventually I will invest in.

Having said that, the ES10/15 is something I can look into. If the line-in TBC from the camera is disabled when using the ES10/15's FrameSync, would that give me a image improvement from the line-in TBC+not unusable frame sync as a 2nd-string frame TBC? Cheers