Re-thinking my current capture cables and power set-up!
(1)Still learning...After all this time of battling possible RFI interference, I finally ordered 2 Monster S-video cables from amazon to try out....http://www.amazon.com/Monster-MVSV2-...cable+mvsv2-1m...For VHS-AVTool-ATI S-video connections just to try out and see what happens. For years I have always purchased my audio/video cables at my local Electronics Warehouse store, Knowing what a rip-off they are at major retailers....(Especially Monster Brand!)...But the beefy looking "Philmore/LKG brand S-Vid cables I have been using, always had a "loose" fit, especially with the AVToolbox sockets...so in this case I think the Monster is a good choice..(BTW it's getting hard to find 3 foot S-Video Monster!).........(2)And as far as Power, I did have the Power cords for VHS Deck,Capture PC,AVToolbox and 2 monitors all plugged into a non-surge power-strip,which in turn was plugged into 1 outlet on my APC Back Ups XS1000 (600watt) UPS....Now I will have (through 8 foot ext. cords) the VCR,Cap PC and AVToolbox all running to thier own individual (Battery) outlets on the UPS, the rest (non-capture) Monitors,TV,Win 7 PC,and Ext hard drives will share the same outlet on UPS,(with use of 3 way power splitter and a power strip) (Only 4 total available on battery side)...The thinking here is to try to separate/purify all the Capture equipment power, And I was afraid if I connected the VCR to the non-battery side, an important tape might get jammed/damaged w/o having a chance to stop playback in case of power outage.
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Monster's products are terrifically over priced. Many don't even have the proper 75ohm impedance characteristics. I started with Monster myself, but that was 20 years ago. Their product line has changed a lot since then, and not for the better. I was especially disappointed with the transmission noise and poor color rendition of their s-video cables, which I last auditioned about 10 or 12 years ago and discarded.
I've been using BJC's cable line for several years and and have yet to be disappointed: http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/svideo/index.htm. It's been my experience that solid-core analog cables look cleaner and sharper than the (cheaper) multi-core stuff used in most electronic store product lines. Many noise problems are due to the connectors and the insulation materials used. There are some very high priced high-end cables from outfits like WireWorld and Cardas (would you believe $1200 per meter ? ? ? ) use solid-core designs, but I've never seen a performance gain by following that road. BlueJeansCable has been the primary source of Belden pro line cables for many years. The only product line I don't like are their HDMI cables. Not bad, but HDMI from the UK and Audioquest are cleaner and sharper. |
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Just wondering:
Would running cables through copper pipe (for RF shielding), or thin-watt conduit (for magnetic shielding) help? Cut to length to leave minimal cable exposed and be sure to ground one end of the pipe. And use the shortest practicable cable runs. |
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Good interconnects don't enhance or muddy up anything, they just transmit a clean signal with as little modification as possible. But there is a difference. I've tried more than 2 dozen s-videos from every source I could find for several years and settled on BJC. Tell you what, though: if there's anything you don't like about BJC, send it back. They don't ask a lot of questions. I ordered the wrong cable from them one time a few years back. Didn't say I screwed up, I just said I didn't want the product and they took it back.
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Wow, just a handful a year? I'd better get my hands on a couple of spares before they decide they might not carry them. Many pro restoration shops use them, though. I still have about 150 hours of tapes to go. But just in case.....
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Cable noise becomes an issue if you live/work in an environment full of RF and strong electromagnetic fields and/or long cable runs. In electrically quiet environments and with short cable runs cable quality is less of an issue. I don't envy anyone who lives near a TV or radio transmitter or a radar site. |
cable noise and poor performance become an "issue" with generic svideo and typical big store crap including every form of wired interconnect from 1/8" plugs to typical HDMI garbage, including a lot of well known names. Noise and glitches aren't limited to RF interference. Many people just think cheap and generic. Price is not an absolute guide, but good construction and competent engineering will beat monoprice 24/7/365. Of course, many people claim they see no difference. I am in total agreement that they speak the truth from their point of view. I don't interfere with that. By the same token, I don't let their lower standards serve as guide to making my life smaller.
I realize that most people don't use s-video any more. But most people never did anyway. They never knew what s-video was, never used it, never knew how to program a VHS tape or load a DVD blank disc, never knew the difference between s-video and SVHS, never understood that the yellow wire connects to the yellow hole, don't know component cable from macaroni, always have their equipment hooked up by their sales tech or cable guy because they still haven't figured out how to plug that dumbed-down HDMI one-piece/one-wire connector into a rectangular slot that's labeled "HDMI" in white on a black background. Anyway, I ordered a spare 4.5-foot today from BJC. Great scott. this is what happens when I stay up too late reading forums. |
I agree that the Dollar Store 99 cent cables (and their ilk) will likely not serve well, and cables boxed with gear are generally only a bit better. Analog signals are more sensitive to variations in cable quality and stray environmental signals and noise than digital (up to a point). Analog degrades while digital tends to work or not work. Ultimately each user needs to decide what works for them in their environment - how good is good enough - especially if they are on a tight budget.
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No argument there. And often it's a personal thing, and sometimes it's what's called the "placebo effect", where changing to a different cable creates the impression that the results have changed when in fact measurement and auditions from others show that everything's the same. Analog is definitely a problem, and VHS tape has such godawful variations.
Outfits like BJC use more expensive materials. Even the copper-titanium alloy RCA plugs on their analog cables are superior to the tin "claws" once touted by Monster Cable that in fact created ground loops and held onto input jacks with what became known as the "grip of death" that broke a connection plug once when I tried to remove the cable. Some of the high end outfits had all kinds of gimmicks for their analog interconnects, like overheating pairs of core wires until they softened and then freezing them together -- at $150 a foot for the result, which acted just like any other cheaper dual-core cable. Another brand sold 12 gauge speaker wire as superior, but tests showed the wire had such high inductance that high frequencies were cut -- the wire worked well only with subwoofers, and bass was modified to the point that it gave a hard "thump" at 150hz instead of a smooth response. You have so called golden-eared audiophiles who claim no connection plug is worth a dam and end up hard soldering their audio wires directly to output jacks to avoid "problems". Amazing how haywire and just plain bad some of those gimmicks are. Well, as the main point here is price: there used to be a slew of garage-based wire outfits that hand made analog cables. Obviously that's more expensive. You still have silver-plated wire out there, an expense that has no redeeming value whatever. My earlier auditions with those gimmicks produced some real oddities. Point is, some outfits do a nice job of hand assembly and achieve consistent results and durability that you don't find in most mass produced gear. In my case I've seen cheaper and seen absurdly expensive. I settled on something reasonable that offered reliability and held up to engineering spec so I guess one has to pay for that, within sane limits. As far as BJC goes, I've never been disappointed with their products or service. So for that reason I'd recommend them for those who want to pay a bit more for good stuff without breaking the bank. They use the same materials that pros and cable outfits use, and those guys make their own connects. |
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