When capturing home movies to hard-drive, I've heard using a Super-VHS as the source makes a huge difference (in final quality of VCD). Can anybody out there comment on this ? Is the improvement marginal or substancial in your mind? Thanks for any feedback.

-- derek sider (dereksider@home.com), January 04, 2001

Answers

Derek, I hope my interpretion of what your asking is correct:

There is VHS, there is SVHS and Hi8, there is DV and DVD sources and there is a giant leap between each when processing, not so great with DV and DVD if at all. VHS in simple language, was designed for the lounge room TV (Video Home System) with a middle TV screen capability of 240 lines. The high band SVCD and Hi8 are based on a 400 line capability and DV and DVD on somthing approaching 500 or there abouts. So DV at 500 compared to DVD at 525 aint going to be seen as easily as 240 to 400 is.

You do not get to see the jumps in quality in proportion to the ratios of line capability but when looking at these on the normal lounge TV there are noticable differences in quality.

In authoring to a VCD (generic) or DVD the source is paramount and how it is connected to the capture card is also. When capturing then even VHS feed to the capture card via a Svideo connection (comes with SVHS vcr's) will give a product of much better visual quality.

I have never used anything other than svideo connectors in the processing chain since I started in 1994. You will downgrade the quality by using "composite" from those RCA audio type connectors.

-- Ross McL (rmclennan@esc.net.au), January 04, 2001.

Hi, Ross is absolutely "dead on" in his reply. The only thing I would add is that we are assuming you are using an SVHS source that was originally recorded in the SVHS environment. Not a regular VHS tape played back by an SVHS recorder. While SVHS recorders are generally better quality over-all (if you by good stuff) a much noticable difference would be had if your original taped material was done to a SVHS tape as an SVHS.

-- Rich (rich@pcphotovideo.com), January 05, 2001.

do you guys know where i can get a svideo adapter, from a 4 pin to a 6 pin ? i can't find em anywhere

thanks

-- ted k (throneofgod@usa.net), April 10, 2001.