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  #1  
11-22-2011, 09:30 AM
volksjager volksjager is offline
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hello all im new to this and found this forum to be a wealth of info

i recently found 80 VHS tapes of Greyhound races and am converting them to modern medium
i have a huge list of people anxious to see their now adopted (and a few passed on)hounds race

i was clueless about this and just got on ebay and bought a ION Video2PC and and EasyCAP
after reading this site i believe the easycap to be the fake one (i have not even tried it yet)
i hooked the video2pc to a Hitachi VCR and capture some tapes, but was unimpressed by the quality

after reading the vcr buying guide i started hunting for a good VCR
the JVCs with TBC all went out of my price range but i was able to find a Panasonic AG-1980 on the cheap

i have a quad-core PC running Windows 7 64 bit

is it possible to get decent results with the Panny and a inexpensive capture device? or am i chasing rainbows?

i have Powerdirector 9 on my PC - is that decent edit software?

these tapes are most RCA standard grade with a few other brands mixed in
2 tapes are Maxell SuperVHS "black magnetite" and wont play in a cheap VCR
they where not made with great equipment and not stored properly either

so im not expecting miracles, just want to keep as much quality as is feasible

thank you for any help

Last edited by volksjager; 11-22-2011 at 10:02 AM.
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  #2  
11-22-2011, 10:47 AM
jmac698 jmac698 is offline
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As far as the Ion part, I have the Ion2PC, and the USB mpeg2 capture device is probably the same hardware. Because it compresses, some quality is lost, especially noticeable as blocky video. Also by default, it's fairly blurry (probably in an attempt to reduce noise which reduces blockiness). However there's a way to get better quality from this device, but there's a bit of procedure to it (not just a program or clicking a button). If you want to follow this procedure, you can get noticeably better quality.
Or else just buy another capture card that someone might suggest here.

For a quick answer, once you have uncompressed video from a good VCR, there is some processing you can do to make a significant difference (and most of it with free software, too). I think they recommend that Panny around here.

That's just a quick answer, I'll let the other experts take over (just to mention my trick with the capture device).
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  #3  
11-22-2011, 11:01 AM
volksjager volksjager is offline
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thank for the info

i was just looking at the ati 600 and im a little confused

the usb ones are cheap and look kind like the easycap
but then i get on Newegg and i i see a 600 USB for $200 and it is a much larger device

which is better PCI or USB
i also see some that use the little PCI express slot
the PCI ones appear to use a phono jack for the audio input - is that correct
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11-22-2011, 11:22 AM
jmac698 jmac698 is offline
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You will find out more here http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...ti-wonder.html
It didn't say if pci or usb was best, I can see one argument for usb is not just convenience, but it's far from the noisy interference of the computer.
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  #5  
12-01-2011, 12:16 PM
volksjager volksjager is offline
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OK - i went with the ATI 600 USB
the AG-1980 & ATI combo is 100 times better than the Hitachi/ION
only thing is the CMC seems to be limiting the file size to 4gb
can this be increased so i don't have 2 files for each tape?
i have it set on "Best" quality which is like 8200kbps video with 384kbps audio
is this a waste? should i lower the settings to fit a 2hour tape within 4gb?
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  #6  
12-01-2011, 01:04 PM
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If you're able to wait a few days, an ATI 600 guide is being created to cover both ATI CMC and VirtualDub, and we'll be providing some downloads in addition to the guide. You don't want to use any of the presets -- they're all awful -- and the best quality will come from custom settings and tweaks.

This guide has long been promised (many months now), but it's going to be used on a project on a new system this weekend, and the setup and implementation will be chronicled.

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  #7  
12-01-2011, 01:28 PM
volksjager volksjager is offline
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awesome - thanks. i will wait before doing anymore. i only did 1 tape with the "best" preset. i had a feeling the presets where not going to be optimal. i will redo it anyway when i have it set up better

incidentally i had a hell of time putting CMC on my PC. only after reading LordSmurfs post and removing all ATI software that was already on my PC did it install. i had CCC for my HD4860 video card and had to get rid of it, but the card seems to work perfect without it anyway

will it be possible to increase the file size limit past 4gb in CMC?

i started converting my tapes using the CMC "best" preset using an ATI600USB and a Panny AG-1980 with a Monster cable S-video cable. i seem to have a weird issue with the cheap RCA standard grade tapes with the TBC on text gets really blurry and the is a 1 inch wide waviness on the left side on picture they look alot better with the TBC off all other brands of tapes look better with the TBC on a few of those tapes had to have it on or they had major errors at the top
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  #8  
02-01-2012, 04:16 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by volksjager View Post
i started converting my tapes using the CMC "best" preset using an ATI600USB and a Panny AG-1980 with a Monster cable S-video cable
None of the presets are any good. I was in the middle of making a guide when the 'net went away earlier. So that didn't work out as planned. Must try again tomorrow night.

Quote:
i seem to have a weird issue with the cheap RCA standard grade tapes with the TBC on text gets really blurry and the is a 1 inch wide waviness on the left side on picture they look alot better with the TBC off all other brands of tapes look better with the TBC on a few of those tapes had to have it on or they had major errors at the top
Hmmm..... do you only have the JVC S-VHS VCRs?
Generally speaking, in scenarios like this, you'll want to go "VCR fishing" until one "bites" (good signal plays).
I often have to try tapes in a mix of Panasonic and JVC gear, before deciding which one works best.

Quote:
Originally Posted by volksjager View Post
will it be possible to increase the file size limit past 4gb in CMC?
Yes it is.

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  #9  
02-01-2012, 06:08 AM
volksjager volksjager is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lordsmurf View Post
None of the presets are any good. I was in the middle of making a guide when the 'net went away earlier. So that didn't work out as planned. Must try again tomorrow night.


Hmmm..... do you only have the JVC S-VHS VCRs?
Generally speaking, in scenarios like this, you'll want to go "VCR fishing" until one "bites" (good signal plays).
I often have to try tapes in a mix of Panasonic and JVC gear, before deciding which one works best.

im using an AG-1980
the only other VCR i currently have is a Goldstar GVR-DD1 8mm/VHS combo - but i doubt that is any good for capturing - i'll have to troll ebay for a JVC
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  #10  
02-01-2012, 06:11 AM
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It probably isn't good for capturing, but it's still worth testing.

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  #11  
02-07-2012, 12:36 PM
volksjager volksjager is offline
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would i be better off getting one of the higher-end JVCs with TBC or using a lesser JVC S-vhs (like a SR-S365U) with an external TBC box?

getting both an external TBC and one of the top JVC's will be out of the budget
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  #12  
02-11-2012, 09:41 AM
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Without the external TBC, you probably cannot capture video.
Without the internal TBC, you won't really be able to clean up any of the video quality.

You may get lucky with a low-priced VCR.
You could also gamble on one of the older uncommon models of TBC (DPS-220, for example).

Not really sure what else to suggest here.

If you don't have the right gear, it just does not work out very well.

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  #13  
02-11-2012, 01:05 PM
volksjager volksjager is offline
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i guess i just did - i popped on ebay and there was a JVC SR-V101US with a buy-it-now of $49
ad says it works - hopefully it does
this unit isn't one of the bold VCR's on the list - but hopefully it will do better on those crappy RCA tapes

not having to pay $200+ for a decent VCR would help fund a TBC

i just did some captures with my Hi-8 Handycam without an external TBC and they look good,
but im sure an good external box will make them even better.

i could get one of the AVTs but im concerned about the ones that are bad
i will try finding a used TBC-1000 or the DPS-220 you suggested
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  #14  
02-13-2012, 02:52 PM
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is a DPS-235 any good?

how about a TV One 1T-TBC-GL

a For.A FA-125 just sold on ebay - i was one of the underbidders.

Last edited by volksjager; 02-13-2012 at 03:11 PM.
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  #15  
02-20-2012, 09:28 PM
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The 1T-TBC is mentioned here: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...time-base.html

The DPS-235 is not one I've used, but is likely similar to the DPS-220.
Those work well enough, but are absolutely gigantic devices -- half the height or a VCR, and twice as deep. It's made for a broadcast rack.
I don't like them due to size. (And the fact that most of them are beat to hell.)

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