Capture Dark/Bright Flickering
 

I'm trying to backup some old VHS home videos that are ~20 yrs old. I have an ATI 650 PCI card. The problem is a dark flickering that shows up out of no where. When I watch the VHS on TV it is not present. It will be normal color, then for anywhere from the next 2 frames up to several minutes it will be very dark - example below. I have tried using the MC software that came with the ATI card and I've also tried vdub but these are still present in both. What setting should I be adjusting? I've tried default vdub settings and it still shows up.

Attachment 544

One second later (and stays this darkness for several minutes):

Attachment 545

I am using COAX cable as input right now as the Svideo input dongle will not arrive for a week or two. Is this what is probably causing the issues?

I've moved your images to the forum, I can't stand imageshack -- all those pop-ups, they delete images after a while, etc ... yuck. Refer to this if you ever need help attaching images: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/show...ages-1529.html

Anyway...

The problem you're having is related to anti-copy (Macrovision is the most common one discussed online) ..... or rather the FALSE DETECTION thereof. Anti-copy is an artificial error that corrupts the signal. In your case, this is do to manipulation of the signal where it trips up the AGC (automatic gain control). Changing wires won't help.

You'll need one of several options to defeat this problem:

1. A timebase corrector (TBC), such as the AVT-8710, which runs about $220 shipped from B&H (best price). Get that at http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...3167/KBID/4166
2. A "copy protection remove" -- which may or MAY NOT reliably work all the time. The Grex is a popular model. However, it failed some of my recent tests, as it concerned AGC errors, between a DVD recorder and a pro JVC SR-V10U deck. Buyer beware. Half the price ($90 and shipping), but it's a gamble how often it will work for you. Get those at http://www.xdimax.com/grex/grex.html
3. A recorder device that can "ignore" or better corrects for incoming signals with this specific problem. I can't really think of any off the top of my head. Most of the ones that can be "hacked" to ignore/"remove" protection will still seize up on this specific error.
4. Pay a service to transfer this one problem tape for you. We deal with a LOT of tapes like this. Tapes with actual errors that prevent transfers are something we deal with a lot, and it's often a sign of other errors on the tape.

You can blame the over-zealous "copy protection mob" of Hollywood and corporate America (corporate worldwide?) for this BS. They're so afraid that we'll steal all their awful crap movies that they've caused problems when we try to transfer our FAR MORE VALUABLE family home movies to DVD or other formats. The devices that capture/convert have all kinds of added electronics anti-copy crap inside them that I'm often surprised they can record anything at all.

It's ridiculous that you have to buy expensive devices to simply convert tapes in good quality, but that's the situation we're in.

I can't imagine that error being anything else.

Really? Wow. Protection coming up even on home videos? The tapes are the typical blank tapes from Walmart probably. That really sucks! Would a different VCR yield better results maybe? I'm not familiar with VHS copy protection (didn't know it was possible!). The one I am using is ancient. Maybe a better player would require less gain on the signal?

Well that's just it -- it's not actually copy protection, but a false indication. There's no protection on the tape, but the recording device just thinks there is. A real "protection" is nothing more than an artificial error. When your tape has an actual error on it, the recording device gets confused, mistaking the real error for one of the fake anti-copy ones.

And therein lies the issue, with few ways to get around it.

A different VCR will probably not help, no. The issue happens after the VCR. Because most all devices have detection of anti-copy, most anything you'll buy will react the same.

You can always try another VCR -- borrow one from a friend or family member, I would not buy one -- just in case the VCR is sending out a bad signal. It's not likely, but it's worth trying, sure!

Thanks for the help! I will give it a shot this weekend.