[AAR.oner]

i'm going to respond to you here and not in PM sabkisscrue...

reason being -- this is a discussion that needs to occur publicly so that others can chime in, and most importantly, those doing transfers in the future will know the various methods, pros and cons of each, and make decisions based on THE BEST POSSIBLE OUTPUT QUALITY

i think we all agree that best quality is the goal

Originally Posted by sabkisscrue

"Uncirculated"? As in these were filmed and never was circulated by the filmer? Thats very interesting.
I do use a "quality SVHS". The JVC HR-S9800U is considered one of the best consumer decks ever made, because it has the TBC/DNR circuitry. Does a fantastic job of transferring those uncirculated live shows.

yes "uncirculated" meaning never been circulated...not any bands that yer probly interested in tho, so don't get too excited

and i've never said the 9800 wasn't a good SVHS deck...never used one personally, but from what i've heard from associates and reviews i've read, its a great deck for the money...so no arguments there

Originally Posted by sabkisscrue

Now I know what A/D means.
I disagree based on the experience ive had and the results ive gotten. Incorporating it into my setup, I did get a cleaner looking picture from vhs tapes in pass through and playing back 8mm/hi8 tapes.
Ive transferred many 8mm/hi8 tapes for old school filmers, so if those guys are happy with the results I know what im doing is right.

1. no where on Sony's site does it say that this camera employs a TBC or any sort of DNR filters...not saying 100% it doesn't -- but don't you think they'd mention those features in the specs or overview re: its A>D pass through capabilities? its something every manufacturer clearly touts *if* a piece of gear utilizes such features:
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...uctId=11034705

also no mention of it on camcorderinfo.com -- by far one of the best online resources for in depth info and testing on cameras...they make no mention of these features either, something they wouldn't omit if it indeed had TBC or DNR:
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content...der_review.htm


2. all that aside, lets just assume the camera does employ both TBC and DNR...

would using it as a pass through give you better results than not using any TBC/DNR in the chain? most of the time, sure

are there better resources out there [for not a lot of money] that'll give you far superior results than the cam? DEFINITELY [see next answer]

Originally Posted by sabkisscrue

Will get back to you on this.

whether the Digi8 cam or a standalone -- a filter such as DNR [digitial noise reduction] is a great asset and necessary for improving many/most VHS transfers...that we can agree on

but one that "is what it is" and applies the filters automatically is not nearly as desirable as one that allows you to control the various parameters individually, based on what that particular tape is needing

its like those audio "re-masterers" -- they get a copy of Audition or SoundForge, take an old cassette recording, see the "Noise Reduction" filter and think "that'll make it better"...to their untrained ear it *appears* to sound better cuz the hiss & noise floor have been lessened, however they've destroyed the frequency spectrum and overall sound...are there ways to apply "noise reduction" that doesn't destroy it all together? yes...does that occur with a one-stop-filter? NO! it takes multiple filters & countless hours by a trained engineer to do "nosie reduction" on an audio source

LESSON -- "automatic" is never as good as "manual"...and when dealing with multi-gen VHS sources, well worn tapes, etc -- manual control of each parameter is a NECESSITY for producing the BEST POSSIBLE OUTPUT QUALITY

Originally Posted by sabkisscrue

Lordsmurf is a big fan of that unit, as well.

[He] makes his living as a pro DVD transfer technician

i'm glad that Lordsmurf is a fan of that standalone DVD recorder and makes a living as a "DVD transfer technician"...good for him!

[despite the fact that pretty much anyone in the video field would laugh at quoting a site like videohelp.com for tech info, i linked to those Lordsmurf posts anyway cuz i know how you revere that site and its "pros" like senor smurf]

you have said repeatedly [including your description of yer set up a few posts above ^^] that you use the Sony DCR-TRV740 Digi8 camcorder, the JVC DRM100 standalone DVD recorder, & the Panasonic DMR-ES10 standalone DVD recorder all for their DNR & TBC functions, correct?


but according to Lordsmurf himself in this videohelp.com thread:

Originally Posted by Lordsmurf re: the JVC DRM100 standalone DVD recorder

I still remember how certain pamphlets said the JVC had a TBC, which it does not. None of these machines has a TBC. In fact, most machines that say they have a TBC have a "TBC-like circuit" at best. Only the pro-line JVC has a TBC, that I'm aware of to date, as part of the SR-series VCR inside.

Just a screw-up in documentation. Not unheard of.

"Super MPEG Post-Processor: Block Noise Reduction Circuit, Color DigiPure and Hadamard Noise Reduction System" is all just a bunch of crap fancy names anyway. All this really means is the unit has an advanced DNR system. Last time they marketed it, this time they're not.

so it seems there's no TBC used in the JVC DRM100 SA recorder, but it does use some sort of DNR

Originally Posted by Lordsmurf re: the Panasonic DMR-ES10

DMR-ES10 does not have a TBC. The filters are for especial use only. General VHS improvements (grain reduction, chroma noise removal) are basically non-existant. Pass on this model for VHS work. The only valuable filter it has is for tearing, which many people never experience anyway.

no TBC or DNR in this model either

and we've already established that Sony DCR-TRV740 camcorder's TBC/DNR functions are seemingly non-existant as well...so we're left with absolutely no TBC in your transferring chain, and one stage of DNR being done at the end in the JVC standalone DVD recorder, with no control over "what" and "how much" is being processed/filtered



meanwhile, you could've bought a *brand new* entry-level A>D converter, such as the ADVC300, for less $ than two used pieces of equipment you've listed above [according to the average used prices you've quoted]...the ADVC300 definitively utilizes both TBC and DNR, will generate SMPTE color bars [necessary for color correction], and most importantly all parameters are manually adjustable by the user = a better quality capture