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Alternatives to the JVC 9900U deck?

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I am looking for a deck with TBC capabilities from which to make captures via S-Video to a PDI Deluxe capture card. I've seen this particular model recommended quite a few times, but it seems hard to find. Do you know of suitable alternatives to it that can be found in good condition?
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Not sure exactly what models are available in your part of the world (the "U" at the end of the model number stands for "USA"), but any top-end JVC or Panasonic deck should give good results.

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Hi Byakko

I'm doing what you're aiming for apparently, except perhaps my tapes are in better shape than yours if you feel you need a (built-in) TBC. I'll say that, with tapes in good condition, my tests on the JVC 9911U reveal that having the TBC on lowers the image quality. This is partly because, on the 9911U anyway, the TBC switch is combined with NR (noise reduction) switch. They are the same button; I can't have one on without the other. While the NR isn't bad, the captures still look better/more detailed without it, and I'd of course rather capture more detail and do controlled NR later with (avisynth) filters. So I have it ("TBC/NR") turned off for all my captures except where the TBC has to come to the rescue.

The one feature that I do like on this VCR and use almost all the time is the "Video Stablization." You need to do a little testing to figure out the best settings combo, but once you do it gives a nice, crisp, full frame capture, no video head noise at the bottom. So I say, if you can find a JVC that doesn't have TBC/NR but does have Video Stablization you'd be in decent shape to do capturing if your tapes are in good shape. You surely know about the DataVideo TBC-1000, right?

That's my two cents anyway, for whatever it's worth. Note that I'm not a pro or anything.

LightWave = fun times with gfx for me 😃

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Moth3r: I won't be buying anything here in Uruguay because VHS apparently aren't sold anymore. Even if they were, the selection is dysmal and the prices outrageous. Therefore, eBay and online stores are my best bet. Do you know of any reliable/respectable online store that sells new or refurb decks?

WXM: TBC and NR being tied together? That can't be right, especially since you mention afterwards that you like stabilization which is what TBC basically is (Time-Based Correction). I did hear about the Datavideo 1000 (or was it 100? Can't recall), but for some reason that escapes me now I decided to go for a SVHS deck with TBC instead.


Anyway, if you guys can recommend me some SVHS decks with TBC and SVideo out and places to buy them from I'd be very grateful .
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Hi again

It's weirdly set up. There is a button on the front that says, "DIGITAL TBC/NR". This is a single button with an LED beside it, it's an on-off button. That's the only specific "TBC" control on the whole machine, taking menus into account and all. Like I said, I always turn that off.

Now, within the menu area of the VCR there are several options for picture, none of which say anything about "TCB" or "Time base correction" or anything specific like that. There is "Picture control," "Digital R3," "Video Stablization". I know for a fact that some JVC's that don't have TBC do have "Picture Control" and "Digital R3" as features. So I'm just thinking that maybe there are also some JVC models out there that have in their menus "Video Stabilization" while not having TBC (as with D3 and PC). Maybe TBC and VS are so intertwined in the hardware somehow that you'll never find one without the other, but at least from the controls and labels given to me as a user of the machine, they are not offered to me as the same thing, and you requested something alternatively featurewise to look for so there it was.

Regarding where to get one, I got mine off eBay a couple of years back. I didn't want to get one off eBay, but that was me giving-in to the fact that I couldn't find one anywhere else after weeks of looking around the net. Sorry I don't have anything more specific of help in that area. Hope something turns up. People really are moving away from anything having to do with tape so I'd think something would come your way.

LightWave = fun times with gfx for me 😃

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It's true that there are no quality VHS decks available new these days. The few decks that are still available are either DVD combo units or cheaper brands.

Looks like eBay is the place to go. Ideally a pro-type deck (Panasonic AG series) with a separate external TBC like the Datavideo TBC-1000 would give the best possible results, but at a high cost. I did however find this deck which might be worth a look:
http://tapeworkstexas.com/jvc_srv101us.html

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Beside my 9911 I have a JVC HR-S3902U -- a so-called "cheapo" JVC S-VHS -- and it actually gives pretty good picture quality for captures (the biggest problem with these apparently is that you can expect them to wear out quckly). Both my machines are actually pretty similar in a lot of ways despite (supposedly) being at opposite ends of the quality spectrum. Even if this SRV101 is more like just a better-built, TBC'd-out 3902U than a 9911U I would guess pretty confidently that it would be a great VCR for low-ish cost capturing if you can't afford the more pro route Moth3r suggested.

Note that apparently the TBC built into these VCR's and external TBC's (like the Datavideo) do different things. Here is a link that I've gone back to time and time again that goes over a lot of this stuff in a brief enough manner. (Look at the example pics at the bottom...)
http://www.digitalfaq.com/dvdguides/capture/playback.htm

LightWave = fun times with gfx for me 😃