Serious Problems - VHS - Need Help

[Crotchy]

Yo guys..I have some serious problems..I have a bunch of 30-40 unsurfaced shows that I wanted to convert to dvd..I brought Hauupage PVR USB2 capture device but it had problems with VirtualDub so took it back and got a refund..then went and brought a VHS/DVD Recorder Combi for £150..problem is I am from Europe and all the tapes I was trying to convert with my new machine were ntsc..When I put my ntsc vhs into my newly brought PAL VHS/DVD Combi it actually runied the tape..the VHS tape no longer plays..I have lost around 5 or more unsurfaced shows I would say, which really really p****s me off as I also did not yet watch these shows so I doubt they will see the light of day and will never know what they were like..Angrily I next went and took this £150 combi back to buy a £60 standalone single dvd recorder..I hooked my newly brought single standalone DVD recorder to
both my 2 vhs players at home which are PAL and have NTSC playback and play my NTSC VHS tapes perfect in perfect resolution/colour etc but when they were plugged into standalone the recorded DVD was in black and white!

Im getting really stressed out about the whole situation can somebody please please help me out!

[KoolKat]

What's the make of the combi?Look in the settings to see if you have to change from PAL>NTSC.Some have an auto function but is default set at PAL.Others you have to change manually.Thats why its black & white on playback.
You may just be stuck with a PAL only combi..in which case take it back and just get a good DvD recorder...NOT a combi.
Then ,when you can,get a good 6 head VCR with S-VHS output.
Try JVC(the makers of VHS) as they have the best built in time base correctors imo.

K_K

[AAR.oner]

i'm guessing yer running into issues due to the fact that both decks are PAL and yer tryin to transfer NTSC...furthermore, i wouldn't use a SA DVD recorder, they have poor A/D conversion and don't usually give you much control over the amount of compression used...

if these are truly unsurfaced shows, and good quality low-gen tapes, they deserve a decent transfer/author...you need a good quality NTSC VHS deck...you'll then run that thru a A/D converter to yer comp for the capture...the cheapest A/D converter i'd recommend would be the Canopus ADVC-110, most everything else on the market for cheaper is cheaper for a reason...the 110 will give you good results...

in addition, i'm not sure Virtual Dub is the way to go for editing...again, ya get what ya pay for usually...about the cheapest windows-based editing prog i've heard thats any good at all is the TMPGEnc software, but i edit on Macs so i can't speak from experience

the other option would be to have someone do the transfers/authors for you...there are atleast a dozen folks that regularly visit TTD that have the capabilities for transferring and authoring...depending on what bands/shows these are, there's probly a few people who would be willing to put the time and effort in

[katnapz]

Originally Posted by AAR.oner

...you need a good quality NTSC VHS deck...

I'm thinking maybe you meant to put an "S" in there? (NTSC S-VHS)

[Crotchy]

The problem is getting hold of a NTSC deck with me living in UK..checked ebay but found nothing...Any suggestions?And also lemmie get this strait is it accetable to plug in a NTSC vhs deck into a PAL standalone DVD recorder?IM STILL WELL P****D THAT I LOST LOADS OF UNSURFACED SHOWS YOU WOULDNT THINK THAT YOU WOULD LOOSE IT ALL JUST BECAUSE THE MACHINE DID NOT SUPPORT NTSC PLAYBACK..Tapes just shows fuzzy screen..anyway of repairng this somehow or someway, I cant imagine that the data would be lost purely because the machine does not support playback

Thanks again guys!

I love TTD you guys are great for advice!Espicially for people who have'nt been in the game that long!

[KoolKat]

Most UK VCRs crotchy will play both chap ,as long as its not dinosaur old.
I use a JVC 6 head with S-VHS output which is why i gave it as an example.
That is plugged into a Pioneer 720-HS standalone DVR.
Pioneer SAs lets you adjust the compression for every 5 minutes whereas most SA's let you record SP/EP/LP etc.
You can also choose the format of the audio.Plus it has a few built in filters to fine tune your image before recording.& thats on top of the tbc built into the JVC(The makers and leaders to the death of VHS)
You can choose to record in PAL/NTSC or to playback in PAL/NTSC(you can't do one to the other..PAL>NTSC/NTSC>PAL)

PS:..look for a 15+ year old good condition VCR as well from a boot sale or something..........er.....shall we say that you'll have your very own "DvD Decrypter".

K_K

[SundayDriver]

It shouldn't "destroy" the tapes. Sticking a PAL VHS into a NTSC VCR didn't do that.

ADS Tech makes a good capture card.

[AAR.oner]

Originally Posted by katnapz

I'm thinking maybe you meant to put an "S" in there? (NTSC S-VHS)

[Crotchy]

"Most UK VCRs crotchy will play both chap ,as long as its not dinosaur old."

Both my VCR's support NTSC playback and play tapes fine but when plugged into both standalone's..image does not come through correctly..black and white/distorted..

"It shouldn't "destroy" the tapes. Sticking a PAL VHS into a NTSC VCR didn't do that."

NTSC tape into PAL machine..I dont know why but it did..tape played fine before but when put into combi I mentioned it wouldnt play was in the machine for around 10 secs then automatically ejected tape..now tape does not play!I felt like through this machine out window after what it did I was soo angry..Is there anyway of trying to restore the tape somehow??

Can anybody suggest where I can get an NTSC VCR or NTSC Standalone being a UK resident?Could really do with getting hold of one as soon as..

[AAR.oner]

any online us retailer can ship to the uk...but i'd recommend B&H Photo & Video, check their Used Equipment section...very reliable and quality gear

[Crotchy]

Originally Posted by AAR.oner

any online us retailer can ship to the uk...but i'd recommend B&H Photo & Video, check their Used Equipment section...very reliable and quality gear

Thanks AAR.oner I checked out site but shipping is $110! And used equipment is fairly expensive..there must be an easier way to convert these tapes or a cheaper way to get holdo f an NTSC VHS/DVD Recorder surely..

[AAR.oner]

yeah, that ain't bad really, considering its int'l shipping of a heavy object...also fwiw -- a decent S-VHS deck, even used, is gonna run you close to a thousand dollars [u.s.]...this hobby is by no means inexpensive...like i said before, the easiest way would probably be to post a thread in the taper's forum requesting help with the transfer/author...if these are rare uncirculated shows, someone will take ya up on the offer i'm sure

[KoolKat]

Hold on.something aint right 'ere.
Can you tell me the make & model number of your standalone recorders please.

K_K

[itsrare]

Originally Posted by AAR.oner

any online us retailer can ship to the uk...but i'd recommend B&H Photo & Video, check their Used Equipment section...very reliable and quality gear

Agreed, I bought my JVC NTSC SVHS recorder from B&H top class service, fast delivery and the guy I sopke to on the phone when I bought it was excellent.
Though to void all that get an older Sony VHS VCR some have a switch at the rear to output a true NTSC signal or NSTC playback on PAL TV.
all other UK VHS/SVHS VCRS just output a pretend PAL signal from an NTSC tape, no standalone recorder or PC can record this signal. But if you get an old Sony and it has the switch to set it to output a true NTSC signal, connect it to a Panasonic standalone DVD recorder as they can all record in PAL or NTSC, just go into its settings and change to NTSC, depending on your TV you will still see a B/w picture with lines through it or a perfect colour one, if you see colour then that means your TV is also PAL/NTSC compatable. And if all else fails pay someone who has the gear to transfer any system or format to DVD, such as me
Oh and as for Rare uncirculated shows, you better let us know what it is before you go to the time trouble and expense to transfer something that might not rare or uncirculated, if I have a pound for the amount of people who have told me they have something thats "So Rare" I'd have enough for a fortnight in Ibiza.

[Crotchy]

I have recently bidded on a US NTSC VCR..I have a question though if I buy a pal/uk dvd recorder that offer both PAL and NTSC recording will the signal from my recently aquired new NTSC VCR come through?So that my problems will be solved and that I have a working setup?

Jeez this stuff is stressfull