I picked up a capture device to digitize some VHS tapes. It has both S-video & composite inputs. I’d like to use the S-video port for better quality, but my VCR only has composite outputs, so I’d like to get one that has S-video out. All that’s available now are DVD/VCR combos, and apparently their S-video out is connected only to the DVD side.

I heard recently that the only VCRs with true S-video out are S-VHS decks. Can anyone confirm? If that’s the case, it looks like I’m gonna have to go with composite. (Or maybe pick up a combo that records DVDs direct from the VCR.)

I'm interested in finding out the answer to this question as well. I'm trying to find a vcr with s-video out so I can archive some old vhs tapes.
Thanks
Mike

"the only VCRs with true S-video out are S-VHS decks"
Well ... it depends. :confused:

When tapes are recorded in the S-format S-VHS decks do record the luminance ("Y") and chrominance ("C") signals separately. A signal recorded in such a manner means that the signal OFF OF THAT TAPE is "true S-Video" (the separate Y & C components remain separate) to the extent that the original signal was S-Video (either the tape itself or the signal at the S-Video input jack).

BUT ...

That does NOT necessarily mean that the original signal (prior to its being recorded) is being passed through a S-VHS deck and then out to the S-Video output as a fully Y/C separated and superior ("true S-Video") signal. If the incoming signal was composite the signal will have been separated into the Y & C components prior to its being recorded on the S-VHS tape. The signal then output through the deck's S-Video jack and into the DVD recorder's S-Video jack may or may NOT be better than the original composite signal being recorded as composite and output through the deck's composite jack into the composite input of the DVD recorder/archiver.

Any tape already prerecorded in the VHS format will be composite, as the standard VHS format records the Y and C components together as a composite signal. Simply playing it back on a S-VHS deck and out through the S-Video jack into the DVD recorder's S-Video jack is not necessarily better than simply running the original composite signal on the tape into the composite input of the DVD recorder.

The real determinant in such a situation with standard VHS tapes is which unit has the better Y/C separation filter/circuitry - the one in the S-VHS deck or the one in the DVD recorder deck.

At this point virtually all Y/C filters involve digital processing. Such processing - whether on VHS, laserdisc, or DVD recorders - will almost always result in artifacts (very brief checkboard or dot patterns) after deinterlacing and scaling is used.

Thus, the ONLY way to know for sure what the best results will be in your system is trial and error. For example - I have an older JVC standard VHS deck that provides a FAR superior signal from VHS tapes than through any S-VHS deck. More detail, better color rendition.

(There are other lesser advantages of the S-VHS format over standard VHS, mainly the use of higher bandwidth circuitry. This is another variable that may or may not result in it being better to record and/or play back composite signals through S-VHS. Again - you would have to sample the different possibilities.)

I vote for you finding and buying the best ol VHS deck you can find cause it will have better heads and tape transport components and image processor and cleaner output and etc.

When I converted my ton of old Betamax home movie tapes I went to EBay and bought a professional grade beta player/editor and I'm confident I had a higher over all quality signal/quality feed for PC capture - bigger and wider gaped heads to the BNC connectors - I can tell you for fact this unit caused me to capture a better image than any of the consumer Beta decks available.

Same is true for VHS playback. Professional equipment will have better components than consumer - back when we were all using VHS there was a very good reason why pro VHS decks cost so much more than the bargain 4-head at Walmart.

Said all that to say home movies are precious things and if you can spend one or two hundred bucks and do the very best possible job of capture then go for it.

Final thought is to go to a local video repair shop and talk to one of the smart people there. Owner of a shop near us has the training and brains to really know the bottom line re this stuff and has helped us a lot and most small shop owners don't mind helping someone. He bought the pro Beta unit from me for same application for his customers after I was finished with it.

Is the other end of your capture device usb2 or firewire? usb is okay for analog quality capture to mpeg2 but for anything of higher quality like miniDV to avi you need firewire PC connection.
GoodLuck