U-matic tape tearing in part of screen?
 

Hi,

I had several U-Matic tapes digitalized and am reviewing one of them that may or may not have been baked (I was told some were but I do not have a record of which). Some parts of this tape have a tearing issue, but it's not like the one seen on some VHS tapes that only affects the top scanlines.

Is this just the tape disintegrating? I am sure the technician was not paying attention to the whole tape, so is it worth asking them to reconvert this tape again or it would not make a difference? If it would, what should I tell them to try differently (besides baking)?

Thanks.

Attachment 17068

In uMatic they use the term skew adjustment, But the issue shown is combined with tape dropouts so it's hard to tell if the skew is caused by the dropout or the other way around, Also it is important to note that uMatic machines don't have DOC (drop out compensation) built in, it is is usually added by an add-on card or an external TBC/DOC box, It is worth asking what hardware the transfer facility used to transfer the tape.

Thanks. I believe they were using a TBC already. But if you think tape tension could have been adjusted better I will ask them to convert the tape again while adjusting that. Drop outs I can deal with in post but not multi-line tearing.

The problems seem confined to the top half of the picture and appear intermittent. Possibly some of the artefacts are the dropout compensator working overtime. The very top of the picture is noisier than the rest, suggesting possibly an entry guide misalignment, but if the tape is a copy that may be "baked in" to the copy. There may also be some intermittent tape damage. The tape may also benefit from a professional cleaning. Specs Bros recommends tape cleaning as a matter of course.

Thanks. I went with the current company because they said they use a y/c connection for video, but if Specs Bros does that I will try them. Most likely this tape is a dub, but since the dub was done soon after the original approximately 40 years ago I doubt all of these tape problems were present then.

Yes unfortunately there can be so much more to good transfer of old video formats than just using a y/c connection. Your tape transferred without those obvious picture disturbances in the upper picture half but via composite would be much more watchable.

Thanks, I take that to mean if Spec Bros doesn't offer y/c connection I should still choose them...

I might as well state that I was using LA Video Transfer. I went with them because they use this connection and they also offered a discounted rate of for 6 videos and even more for 20 or more.

I've also used video99.co.uk before--he's a great guy, very knowledgeable (he's on YT) but he doesn't use the y/c connection either on account that most of his equipment is for the PAL world.

I guess I should have said judge a provider's work solely by their result, balancing that against their charges of course.