Quote:
Originally Posted by stevevid
I tested everything with and without the switch to make sure the switch did not introduce noise.
|
That was going to be my first comment, but you zapped it.
Quote:
I didn't see any change with the filter
|
Those filters are heavily affected by the tape and the VCR head/internals conditions. If you see no change, it could be either very good or very bad. But based on the TBC comments, probably very good.
Quote:
However, I couldn't see any difference in the noise level when previewing it in VirtuaDub.
|
To clarify: the clean after-TBC image still appeared clean through the capture card, viewed in
VirtualDub?
Quote:
The ES15 has user settable input and output black level controls. I found it curious that the ES15 only allows lighter or darker settings for the input and s-video output. The component output allows lighter, normal, and darker. Any thoughts on why? Should I set the input or output to lighter and the other control to darker to get the rough equivalent of a normal-level pass through?
|
I hate these setting names.
It's IRE 0 (Japan NTSC, PAL) and IRE 7.5 (North America NTSC).
"Lighter" assumes 0, and "darker" corrects 7.5 to 0 for DVD (and players then lift 0 back to 7.5).
Some moron at Panasonic thought IRE would be too complicated a term -- so it was replaced by a stupid term that confuses everybody, even those that know about IRE. It should have been "Japan" and "North America", problem solved.
The input setting seemingly does nothing. The output does what you need.
The bigger problem is that Panasonic IRE and luma values were never correct anyway, not true 0 or 7.5, and often with various hue/gamma shifts. The ES10/15 wasn't as bad, but some Panasonic models were awful.
Some recorders kept the IRE 7.5 for recording (records 7.5 as 0), so DVD were too light on playback, values wrong (equivalent of about 15). Many were guilty of this, but some models (like JVC LSI) also had flaws with the levels like Panasonic. So the 7.5 wasn't that high, often about a 5, and within normal tolerances of analog broadcasting.
Quote:
So far, I haven't seen any effect of the TBCish part of the ES15. I guess I just haven't tried enough tapes yet.
|
The internal JVC TBC has to be off for the ES10/15 TBC(ish) to function. You cannot have competing line correction. But sometimes JVC better than Panasonic, so try both ways.
Quote:
Question: I have set the ES15's TV Screen setup for 4:3 (480i) format, but there are additional options for setting letterbox or pan & scan. I assume these don't affect the pass through mode--true? I didn't see any change.
|
I think it only affects DVD playback.
Quote:
should I remove the ES15 from the workflow until I run into something that the vcr can't handle?
|
It depends. Any external TBCs in the workflow?
- If so, yes.
- If not, no. It's your only line of defense for capture.
Quote:
Will the introduction of additional electronics just raise the risk of video degradation when not needed?
|
Always.
Quote:
(Ok, I guess that's two questions, but whose counting. )
|
I always count. You've been assessed one penalty.