Copying an NTSC tape .. to DVD or DV file

[Rick Hughes]

I have a Panasonic NV-HS800B SVHS vcr

I have in the past played NTSC videos & converted via 2nd VCR to PAL.
Now when I try I can't get any NTSC videos to play ........
I'm in the UK so hence PAL is the system of choice.

About 15 yrs ago (when I bought the tape) I made a Video tape to Video tape copy I borrowed by Fathers VCR ... that would not have been S-VHS. In which case I would have almost certainly used SCART leads for that VCR to TV, and S-Video from TV to my VCR

Maybe that is how it sorted out sync and allowed the copy.

My current tap to PC setup is ...
NV-HS800 output on S-Video plus L&R audio leads
Into a Canopus ADVC300
Firewire into PC
Using WINDV for capture.

Put a PAL cassette into VCR and capture is fine, put in the NTSC cassette and no frames are received ..... yet VCR display shows it's playing fine.
Maybe nothing is coming out over S-Video.
No option to put SCART into Canopus box.

There is a composite video input ... but quality would presumably be dire if it worked

Only have this solitary NTSC tape I need to copy.

Any suggestions.

[David W. Jones]

Why not purchase a low cost NTSC VHS deck off ebay, make the transfer, then resell the deck and recoup your money?

[Rick Hughes]

just not worth it for one tape

[Bill Davis]

Rick,

The only thing that makes real sense is to send the tape to someone with a working VHS deck and have them do a digital capture into a file. Then they can send you the file. Once it's digital, most computers will happily read it and transcode it to whatever other formats or standards (PAL/NTSC/SECAM) you want.

But you've got to get it off the VHS tape, and that means there MUST be a compatible VHS machine to read the original somewhere in the loop. Hopefully, one attached to something with a time base corrector and basic tracking and color controls so that you can deal with any tape age-related tape problems to the extent possible.

If you want to go that route, I'd be glad to do it. Just email me off list and package it up and send it to me.

I still have 2 VHS decks gathering dust in my dub rack and would be happy to wake them up for a final project before I someday retire them for good. ; )

[Rick Hughes]

I'm in UK ...and assume you are in US ?

some more information ...

Slight improvement (and additional info)
I connected VCR to Canopus ADVC300 using S-Video and LR audio
Set the ADVC300 to NTSC
Firewire from ADVC300 to PC

WinDV now captures a video stream, but it is black & white

This at least proves something is coming out of VCR.

Any suggestions of any settings I need to change on VCR/Canopus/PC or am I still screwed without some external help.

File info as follows:
General
Complete name : E:\Users\Rick\Desktop\.13-09-03_11-41.00.avi
Format : AVI
Format/Info : Audio Video Interleave
Commercial name : DV
File size : 107 MiB
Duration : 29s 329ms
Overall bit rate mode : Constant
Overall bit rate : 30.5 Mbps

Video
ID : 0
Format : DV
Codec ID : dvsd
Codec ID/Hint : Sony
Duration : 29s 329ms
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 24.4 Mbps
Encoded bit rate : 28.8 Mbps
Width : 720 pixels
Height : 480 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 4:3
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 29.970 fps
Standard : NTSC
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:1:1
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Interlaced
Scan order : Bottom Field First
Compression mode : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 2.357
Time code of first frame : 00:12:36;01
Time code source : Subcode time code
Stream size : 101 MiB (94%)

Audio
ID : 1
Format : PCM
Format settings, Endianness : Little
Format settings, Sign : Signed
Codec ID : 1
Duration : 29s 329ms
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 536 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Stream size : 5.37 MiB (5%)
Alignment : Aligned on interleaves
Interleave, duration : 33 ms (1.00 video frame)
Interleave, preload duration : 33 ms

[Jerry Dycus]

You might check the 4 tiny pins at both ends of your svhs cable- easily bent.

[Roger Gunkel]

If you are now able to get B&W, I would agree with Jerry, a bad connection or bent pin in the S-VHS connection. I used to find it all the time when working in S-VHS with the mini din leads.

Roger

[Rick Hughes]

Checked with another lead ... same

[Guy Caplin]

The problem that I suspect that you have, is that an NTSC tape when played back on a PAL machine, does not convert the tape into true PAL. It produces a 525/30 image with a PAL type colour carrier. Most PAL analogue televisions will happily lock up using this non-standard signal.

How you managed to convert/copy this type of signal in the past, I am at a loss to explain.

The solution is to get a machine which will provide a true NTSC output, set your Canopus A to D device to an NTSC analogue input and create a file from the DV output. Although this is an NTSC type file, you can convert this to PAL using professional editing software. Note that you will get motion artifacts using this type of conversion software.

[Rick Hughes]

I'm guessing that it was a function of TV (somehow)
I was plying tape from my VCR into TV using S-Video and taking signal out via SCART to 2nd VCR.

output from TV must have corrected to PAL.

No longer have that TV or 2nd VCR