Instead of the old 2i2 template I would recommend http://doom10.org/index.php?topic=2178.0

Also it's better to avoid YV12->RGB->YV12 conversions.

If you had a choice between getting a JVC 9600 or 9911u, which would you get? I would lean toward the 9600, but it doesn't seem like the 9600 has a TBC like the other high end JVC units.

:rolleyes:

http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...ing-guide.html

Yes, thank you for the typical answer. I've read that many times already, and it did not answer my question. I've also read the product page on JVC and the manuals for it. That's not what I'm interested in. What I am interested in, is in people's experience with BOTH machines.

I can see the 9600 is in Bold while the 9911u is not, but as stated, that does not necessarily mean the 9911u is far inferior to the 9600.

The 9600 and 9911 perform about the same, but the 9600 has the dynamic drum.
Given the choice between two available units, I'd pick one the 9600 -- this is why some units are bolded. They're the most preferred.

The 9600 and 9911 both have a TBC. That's covered in the guide. :)

Just bought a 9800u, should be here on the 9th. Hopefully this should provide a better picture/transport system than my current JVC BR-s800u.

Probably. :thumb:

The 9800 and 9600 are almost identical. Same for the 9900.
The only way it would look worse is if it were broken or malfunctioning in some way.

Thankfully, these JVC models are also pretty resilient, so the worst that tends to happen is
(A) misalignment over time -- you can thank the laws of gravity for that one), and
(B) loose s-video connectors over time

It also uses the JVC universal S-VHS VCR remotes, so any modern remote works fine. The 9800, however, has all controls available on the deck itself unlike many earlier and later models. But I'd still suggest using the remote, to extend the life of the buttons on the unit.

And if it ever has the 3-second shutdown issue, that is now documented on this site. It's a little black gear that can get stuck due to power outages, or other yet-unknown reasons. The only tool needed to fix it is your finger.

Other general usage tips are in site guides, and in posts in the forum. :2cents:

Well, got it today and I have to say, I'm not impressed :(. Immediately, when I put in my test video, the tracking was horrible, like it couldn't lock onto the video very well. Even with the TBC/NR feature on it didn't improve much. I find this very odd, because on my big bulky BR-S800u, I can manually adjust the tracking knob on it and it tracks the video just fine, whereas the "automatic Dynamic Drum" can't seem to get it right.

List of features turned on/settings:

Video Calibration >> On
Picture Control >> Auto
Auto Timer >> Off
Auto SP>EP Timer >> Off
Digital R3 >> On
Video Stabilizer >> Off (Also tried this On)
S-VHS Mode >> On
Timescan Audio >> On

I really hope this can be fixed, otherwise I just bought a nice big paperweight. Man, and I was so excited to get this too :(
Here's some video:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ul4iqfgcqpx6xmm/part1test.avi

You should be able to adjust the tracking manually. "Dynamic drum" or any other feature does not replace manual tracking for very f'ed up tapes. Do you have commercial tapes to test if the VCR itself works ok with known good tapes?

Yes, I have one. But have you seen the video? Even if manual tracking should fix it, the tracking on this VCR shouldn't be THAT bad as seen in the video. I even took the cover off and looked inside. The drum itself appears clean and in great condition.

EDIT: Just tried the commercial tape. It sucks too.

I do not have LAGS codec and ffmpegsource doesn't open the video (and I don't want to install Lagarith for this).

I'm considering sending the VCR to JOTS, but am a little intimidated by how much they might charge.

For a JVC unit, the inspection price is about $65 paid up front, plus whatever it costs to ship it. And that amount is later applied to any repair work, as needed. Although it's been a while since I've needed professional alignment help, I believe an alignment is covered in the base price. From what I can tell, the machine may simply be misaligned. You can attempt to tweak the tape guides, but for best possible EP/SLP mode playback, I'd just get a professional alignment run on it. The worst expense I've ever seen on a JVC S-VHS unit was about $125, mostly for re-soldering some loose components, and replacing some bad buttons.

Do you know how fast the turnaround might be?
Well, at least if I do get it serviced at JOTS and sell it here, people will know it's not crap, unlike how I got mine :)

-- merged --

Well, just sent it out to JOTS for some quality repairs. Should get there on Tuesday.

Few weeks. Not bad at all. :thumb:

Oh, come on. Join the party. Install Lagarith. You know your want to. Peer pressure, peer pressure!
It's actually not a bad codec. It's just not as good as Huffyuv. Lagarith has more CPU overhead that makes it less appealing as a capture format.

No, thats actually the UT-Video crowd. :p Lagarith just got a big boost in support as it has been added to FFMpeg, now you can at least use stuff like VLC to play the files.

... but is it on a Mac yet? No Mac, no love for Lag! :p

Huffyuv also has the cross-platform compatibility between Windows, MacOS and Linux that sometimes matters.
Locking yourself into an OS can sometimes be trouble on certain projects.

Check VLC 2.0's feature list, it should be there. I do know the FFMpeg support is decode only. If you have to re-compress on the Mac, you have to resort to another codec (like HuffYUV). That being said, Perian might not support it... ever since the project is coming to a close. Hopefully the last update merges in the latest build of FFMpeg.

VCR made it there last Wednesday morning. They should be calling on Monday with an estimate of what's wrong/how much it'll cost to repair.

Good news. Repairs are all complete and it arrived just fine. Now the unit works just like new, excellent picture and tracking.