Panasonic AG-TB700 TBC quality?

[Medusaman]

Hi,

Anyone know anything about the Panasonic AG-TB700 TBC? Is it any good?

I was just able to grab one at a cheap enough price to give it a go and am assuming I can connect it between my VCR and Canopus ADVC-55. It does have a S-Video in and out connector so I presume this is all I need?

Sorry if these are dumb questions. I'm new to this and learnign quickly.

Regards

[volksjager]

the big old broadcast TBC's are generally not recommend.

[Medusaman]

OH Great! Any reason why?

[volksjager]

Quote from LordSmurfs TBC thread:

Quote:

You would do best to avoid old user TBCs found on eBay and other places -- many ancient 80s/90s TBCs work different than the ones specifically suggested here. Most ancient "big Bertha" rack-mounted units existed before the age of tape-to-digital conversion (example: VHS to DVD), and were created for entirely different workflows. Generally speaking, these older TBCs don't work as well the modern non-rack boxes, when the workflow is converting consumer tapes to digital formats. Those are geared more towards U-matic, Betacam SP, and other broadcast/professional formats of that era.

[Medusaman]

Thanks - I guess I need to dig that thread out and read a bit more. To be honest the opportunity to get this old TBC came upon me very quickly. That said it was only £16 vs hundreds so I thought it was worth a shot. Any improvement I can get (whether its better than modern equivalents or not) will be a plus.

[volksjager]

right now on ebay there are 2 Keywest BVTBC10 for $100 each or best offer.

i own one of these and it is a good unit - it does NTSC and PAL

[Medusaman]

Trouble is I am in UK and availability is very limited here and shipping (if available) is usually prohibitive.

[volksjager]

the digitalfaq site staff has offered to proxy ship in the past.
if you really want something it might be the way to go.

another option for you is the AVT-8710 - that should be available worldwide

[Medusaman]

Thanks for the help and advice. Still a few hundred dollars though

Frankly I've already pretty much blown my small budget on a decent player (Panasonic NV-HS1000 and an ADVC-55). The ADVC is causing me some concerns which a TBC will hopefully help with.

I'm pretty much committed to getting the old hulk of a TBC (AG-TB700) now so might as well give it a shot before looking at alternatives and saving up again.

[volksjager]

also that Canopus device isnt ideal for VHS capture either.
it is just a DV converter
the ATI capture cards are better

[kpmedia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by volksjager

also that Canopus device isnt ideal for VHS capture either.
it is just a DV converter
the ATI capture cards are better

And cheaper, in most cases! I forget if this is our Mac user, however -- not much use to one of them.
The TBC is really all that's missing for an essential setup. The better card for an ideal setup.

@Medusaman
You can try the old TBC, but I'd not get my hopes up. The Voodoo units mentioned by Volksjager are your best bet.

[Medusaman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpmedia

You can try the old TBC, but I'd not get my hopes up. The Voodoo units mentioned by Volksjager are your best bet.

I will certainly be giving it a try. If that's no good I will need to do more research on best units. Do these Voodoo units support PAL?

[volksjager]

yes the voodoo is both NTSC and PAL