JVC S-VHS VCRs fix color bleeding?

rookie · #1 03-01-2011, 04:38 PM

I have about 15 of my Family SVHS tapes that I need to transfer to DVD. Some of these tapes are over 22 years old and they all were recorded in SP mode. I noticed some of them have color bleeding where there is blue color shadowing.
I played these tapes back through a Panasonic AG-1980 and although the picture quality is very good, occasionally I see this annoying bleeding. Would the older JVC S-VHS VCR's help with this color bleeding? I'm talking the models with the DigiPure technology such as the 9500, 9600, 9800, or 9900? I see these on ebay from $100 -$300 and want to know if it's worth a try. Thanks in advance.

rookie · #2 03-01-2011, 05:43 PM

I have about 15 of my Family SVHS tapes that I need to transfer to DVD. Some of these tapes are over 22 years old and they all were recorded in SP mode. I noticed some of them have color bleeding where there is blue color shadowing.
I played these tapes back through a Panasonic AG-1980 and although the picture quality is very good, occasionally I see this annoying bleeding. Would the older JVC S-VHS VCR's help with this color bleeding? I'm talking the models with the DigiPure technology such as the 9500, 9600, 9800, or 9900? I see these on ebay from $100 -$300 and want to know if it's worth a try. Thanks in advance.

admin · #3 03-04-2011, 04:09 PM

Only if the Panasonic VCR you have is faulty -- which may actually be the case. If you're not the original owner of that VCR, or you don't know its full history, the machine may have come out of a high-use environment. That's very typical for those 1980P units.

Video can get "bleedy" when the heads are damaged.

If the VCR is fine, and the JVC does not fix it, you'd have to rely on restoration techniques. One of them is to somewhat desaturate the video, in order to reduce the effects of bleeding.

I'd also want to know if these are original recordings, made on new tapes.
Or copies of copies.
Or recordings made on re-used tapes.

Copies of copies are generally done under poor conditions by consumers (no TBC in workflow).
Re-used tapes suffer bleed-through and other damage.

For only being 15 tapes, you may be wise to let The Digital FAQ handle those tapes. That could be within the same budget -- and best of all, you don't have to put forth any more effort. Just let somebody else handle it all for you. When somebody has 50 or less tapes, funds are generally better spent on letting a good service convert the videos, as opposed to doing it yourself. Long-term budget matches pretty closely, because buying all the right gear takes a pretty steep initial investment -- and then you have to learn how to use it.

jbd5010 · #4 03-04-2011, 05:11 PM

The AG-1980's can be prone to chroma noise if they are worn out or some capacitors in them have gone bad.

Hopefully Deter sees this post or you could PM him your question (username is Deter); he restores these like it's his job (maybe it IS his job and I just don't know it!) He may have some good advice for you.

As far as the 9000-series, they may help you; they're solid machines if you go with 9500 and up. As you may have seen on other threads, playback of individual tapes can vary greatly from machine to machine. Since you said these tapes are 22 years old, I doubt you have the original VCR they were played on; sometimes if the recording VCR is slightly out of alignment, it will create a non-standard recording and will end up being the only machine that can play back the tapes properly.

The next best thing you can try is getting another of the same model you used to have, or next best after that is same series or at least the same brand -- IF a high-end unit like JVC still doesn't help.

Good luck!

lordsmurf · #5 03-04-2011, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbd5010

if you go with 9500 and up.

I'd actually skip the 9500, and look at the 9600, 9800, 9900 or 9911, in the 9000 series.
There's also the 7600, 7800, 7900, SR-V10 and SR-V101 to consider.

Not too fond of the pre-1997 JVC models.

jbd5010 · #6 03-04-2011, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

There's also the 7600, 7800, 7900, SR-V10 and SR-V101 to consider.

Definitely. I meant to include that in my first post.

I love my SR-V10U. Right now on ebay you can get one for as low as $70 shipped on Buy It Now - http://cgi.ebay.com/JVC-SR-V10U-S-VH...item1c19ab58ab

Other listing for $83 shipped:
http://cgi.ebay.com/JVC-Pro-SVHS-Edi...item1c19a4049e

The 9000-series easily go for $180-$250. I think the SR-V10U and SR-V101US can complete no problem. They ALWAYS go for less money because they're not as hyped up. It's also likely that they're not used as hard since they're not as popular... who knows how many VHS-to-Digital projects most of the 9000's on ebay have been through...

NJRoadfan · #7 03-04-2011, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbd5010

The 9000-series easily go for $180-$250. I think the SR-V10U and SR-V101US can complete no problem. They ALWAYS go for less money because they're not as hyped up. It's also likely that they're not used as hard since they're not as popular... who knows how many VHS-to-Digital projects most of the 9000's on ebay have been through...

Don't forget the 7800 and 7900, they are older but the same unit. The best of the 7000 series is the 7600, its a 9600 with only 2MB Digipure. JVC cheaped out the 7800 and newer by using the lower end transport and casing from the 4800/5800 instead of the 9800, removing audio REC level/VU meters and Dynamic Drum in the process. Its a solid performer for SP camcorder tapes regardless, some say the Dynamic Drum makes for a slightly more unreliable machine. I have a Mitsubishi HS-HD2000U enroute as a backup, hopefully it performs better then the JVC with EP tapes.

rookie · #8 03-05-2011, 06:27 AM

These tapes were recorded by a Panasonic PVS350 camcorder which I still have and then I used this camcorder to play back the original tapes. When I played them back, I see the color bleeding and the picture is not as sharp like the AG 1980 delivers. So this color beeding was duplicated on several machines including one other Panasonic VCR. I just found a NEW JVC SR-V101 on ebay for $20, so I will see if there is an improvement in video when I get it. Thanks for the replies!!

admin · #9 03-05-2011, 07:14 AM

It sounds like this is an embedded video error, and will take processing with more than a VCR.

deter · #10 03-09-2011, 01:01 AM

SR-V10U will clean up the picture a tad with the NR filter.

Every time u use this VCR you will need to manually set the settings cause they auto default back to normal. aka Video Cal and a few others...

$20 is pretty cheap for a VCR, however if something is wrong inside the machine, you can wreck your tapes...It is best to test with cheap no good crap x-rental tape or whatever....

Betamax tapes didn't really ever bleed colour but NTSC VHS pretty much did....

Your AG unit could be bad also, I read that part, if you can't see the machine in action hard to tell...

The color bleeding on an AG1980 is not that bad, if the machine is working correct....

It could be grained in to the video....No idea....

Most home movies are going to be bad quality and most of the time a copy of a copy...The source tapes would be the best bet..

15 movies = a Lot of work if they have problems...I would send them to the admin of this site instead of trying to do it yourself...

More than likely you are also going to have like 10,000 normal VHS errors, like lines in the video, sound drop out, noise in the picture, streak lines in the video, bad color, messed up sound, the entire ball of wax..

rookie · #11 03-09-2011, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deter

SR-V10U will clean up the picture a tad with the NR filter.

Every time u use this VCR you will need to manually set the settings cause they auto default back to normal. aka Video Cal and a few others...

$20 is pretty cheap for a VCR, however if something is wrong inside the machine, you can wreck your tapes...It is best to test with cheap no good crap x-rental tape or whatever....

Betamax tapes didn't really ever bleed colour but NTSC VHS pretty much did....

Your AG unit could be bad also, I read that part, if you can't see the machine in action hard to tell...

The color bleeding on an AG1980 is not that bad, if the machine is working correct....

It could be grained in to the video....No idea....

Most home movies are going to be bad quality and most of the time a copy of a copy...The source tapes would be the best bet..

15 movies = a Lot of work if they have problems...I would send them to the admin of this site instead of trying to do it yourself...

More than likely you are also going to have like 10,000 normal VHS errors, like lines in the video, sound drop out, noise in the picture, streak lines in the video, bad color, messed up sound, the entire ball of wax..

Most of the tapes are actually really good - it seems the bleeding happens only with videos that were shot inside, dependent on lighting angle, and it's shadowing. I'll see what this JVC SR-V101 can do for me if anything. JVC company on ebay had 9 NEW units for buy it now, and I purchased one of them so it is new. Thanks for all the good info!

rookie · #12 03-09-2011, 07:16 AM

It is always blue shadowing when it happens.

deter · #13 03-09-2011, 09:13 AM

well I just checked ebay and couldn't find any brand new JVC SR-V101 units for $20.

Blue Noise in the picture running top to bottom on a darker picture? Wavy Lines?

If that is the case....You can try one of a few things...

Move the unit away from anything else around it...
Let it power up and sit for like 1 hour

More than likely it is bad caps inside the machine that is creating this. They would need to be replaced. The hard part is finding them.

With the JVC SR-V101, you will not get that type of noise, however you will also not get as sharp of a picture.

On an old school TV it would look fine.....

As far as errors in the picture, with out even seeing the tapes, I would be willing to bet, that I could find a ton of them in a 2 hour recording......