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  #1  
06-25-2010, 10:27 PM
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Need a few items to fix the video.

1) dropout compensator
2) Noise Reduction
3) External TBC

Are u selling any of these products? Or do u know which ones to purchase...


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  #2  
06-27-2010, 04:33 AM
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1)

The severity of dropouts largely determines how much a compensator can work. In the VERY near future, I'll be writing up a post on this very topic. And in the next couple of months, writing some guides on the best way to attack these errors.

Having seen this tape, I found that it had a VERY narrow tracking range. The original machine that recorded it would probably be the only machine that could play it. It failed to be stable in more than 10 VCRs, from cheap 2-head consumer gear all the way into broadcast-grade decks, and from decks made in 1980 to decks made in the early 2000s. So I wonder if you're really seeing dropouts, or if it's tracking errors bleeding through on screen. Some people can mistake tracking issues with magnetic dropouts.

Hardware really can't fix the tracking noise.
Software methods can fix both issues, although it will require deinterlacing to achieve. Depending on the content of the footage (number of thin straight lines visible on screen), that may be so damaging as to be annoying -- even when using the best software methods available (Yadif, NNEDI, combo methods, etc). I've not yet found a method that works in all (or even most) situations. It's case by case.

2)

What sort of noise are we talking about here?
3)

The best external TBC is going to be the AVT-8710 from B&H for about $215 plus shipping.

And then be sure you understand what a TBC does, and what it will not do for you.
More on that at http://www.digitalFAQ.com/forum/show...base-2251.html

Right now, the only things we have available are some VCRs and a few capture cards. All other TBCs, extra software licenses, cameras, camera lenses, slide/negative scanners, etc -- all have been sold in the past 7 months.

Thanks.

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06-29-2010, 07:02 AM
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Most old VHS videos have some kind of drop outs in the picture. It is a pain..

Right now, have to find the bad frames in the video, than have to re-paint the drops outs in the video.

Looking for a product that will read these white or black specs in the video and pull them out....

On the NR, found with the JVC SVHS player that the NR in that VCR does a great job of cleaning up the video, so wanted something similiar to use on tapes that can't be played on that VCR.

Will take a look in to that TBC, can get those on EBAY for less than that price. That is the best one for these VHS and Beta tapes?
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06-29-2010, 09:45 PM
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I'm not aware of anything that can yet effectively remove dropouts/sparkles without also messing up the video along the way.

Loose particles can cause dropouts, too. TapeChek decks will clean tapes of loose particles, but you're looking at $10,000 or more for one of those. And even then, there's no guarantee the cleaned tapes will be any better, if the dropout is not caused by dirt/particles loose or semi-loose on the tape.

There were those few TBCs that could overcome dropout noise, but the results there would also vary. I had a TBC with this dropout compensation feature, but it easily got bogged down and let dropouts slip through if the tape damage was even moderate. It only worked well on tapes with few dropouts.

Software painting frames manually is really the only solution left. But manual painting is going to need to work around the interlacing, and that can't be an easy task. I don't know of anything automated -- at least not for interlaced videos. I think NeatVideo would get closest, but I don't believe this feature is part of it.

There are some "sparkle removal" type filters out there, such as Skating Rink for VirtualDub, but it doesn't help much. VirtualDub's Median filter works well, but the footage must first be deinterlaced. Avisynth experts pretty much agree that acceptable results from similar cleaning operations, using Avisynth filter methods, require progressive/deinterlaced video frames. Same for VirtualDub experts.

VirtualDub does have the ability to separate fields, but it fails to work properly after a median filter is applied. The output is all butchered up.

Studios generally deal with film or progressive sources only, so there's not been a heavy professional need for cleaning up interlaced video. Even when you do see "restored" videos, you'll notice dropouts tend to be left as-is on interlaced footage. In some cases, it's been deinterlaced, and you can see the tell-tale artifacts. The degree of artifacts will vary from content to content, of course.

Look at getting a Panasonic AG-1980P as a backup to a JVC S-VHS series machine. Anything the JVC cannot handle (maybe 10% of all tapes?) is usually handled well by the Panasonic. If neither deck can play the tape, you have to rely on various consumer models (old 1980s decks, 2-head cheap decks, Sharp 4-head decks, Toshiba 6-head VCRs), or you'll need a VCR that you can "play with" and alter the tracking zone and alignment. And if none of that works... well... you're screwed. The only VCR (or camera) that is likely to play such a tape is the one that made it, as it's clearly far out of spec.

Be careful buying TBCs from eBay. I'm a big fan of used gear, but the AVT-8710 can overheat if used wrong and that causes major damage. Make sure it's tested, and is known to output a good signal. This model often goes for $150-190 when it's actually in good condition.

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