Canopus ADVC 100 causing lines and noise?

[Patrick]

I have just purchased a used Canopus ADVC 100 unit in very good condition with box and all documentation etc complete. Though I do have some concerns about a test I have just done with the ADVC 100.

To test the unit, I attached it to my vcr using rca composite. I wanted initially to use Svideo but neither my TV or vcr has svideo out. Although the Canopus unit was connected to my vcr, I wasnt converting a vhs tape; I was converting live television broadcasts through the vcr to see what the quality would be like. The other side of the Canopus unit was connected to a laptop computer via firewire using Microsoft Movie Maker software for the capturing. I was impressed with the quality of the captured footage on the laptop monitor. I then transferred the footage on to MiniDV tape via firewire using a brand new JVC camera I have just recently purchased. After transfer, I rewound the tape and connected the MiniDv camera to my TV via svideo and pressed 'Play' on the camera.

Overall, the colours, sharpness, tonal range and fine detail of the converted footage was quite good. It is hard to say whether the clarity of the images was as good as the original tv broadcasts but then again, I was using RCA composite so i guess I can't expect it be as good. What bothered me a little was that there was some slight 'picture noise' in the footage. Surely, this wasnt a result of using RCA composite? I play DVDs with my DVD player hooked up with RCA composite and I don't experience any such 'noise' with that set up. Additionally, the reception on the TV was perfectly fine when those broadcasts were aired. I converted segments of multiple tv shows, news and ads on different channels and the picture was always clear during conversion.

Something else occurred which I found disturbing. With one particular tv show, I got vertical lines running down the screen. I recorded this particular show in it's entirety and the prominence of these lines varied throughout the show. In some shots, the vertical lines were hardly visible at all and sometimes unseen. In other shots, they were clearly visible and very much a distraction. Unfortunately, there was also some slight 'picture noise' evident as well. Sometimes, it was almost like looking through a screen mesh. Apart from that, I was impressed at how the Canopus device handled the colours and sharpness of this particular show which was originally shot on 16mm film in the first place. Though it's a pity that at the same time, the images are spoilt by the 'noise' and the vertical lines. Does anyone have any theories as to what is causing these problems? With this particular tv show, I actually happened to be recording it on vhs tape at the same time that the Canopus device was connected to the vcr but i don't think that would have caused the vertical lines, at least i wouldnt think so. I wonder if the Canopus unit really is to blame or whether the laptop, the software or the minidv camera is causing these problems.

[MovieStuff]

I dunno. The Canopus ADVC 100 is a solid A/D converter. We use them all the time. There are some funky DIP switches on the bottom that you might want to look at. They switch from PAL to NTSC and also change things like the black level, etc.

Roger

[Patrick]

With regards to the DIP switches...
1 was set to ON on for the PAL setting
2 was set to OFF for 0 IRE NTSC as opposed to 7.5 IRE NTSC
3 was set to OFF for locked audio mode
4 was set to OFF for 48kHz/16-bit audio mode
5 was set to OFF for analogue input
6 was set to ON for Auto input select mode

I have contacted Canopus Australia and the only response I got was that using composite may cause 'cross-hatching' in the image. I assume by 'cross-hatching', this means the slight 'noise' and vertical lines I got in the converted footage. To summarise what I did, I transferred live tv broadcasts from the vcr to the laptop via the Canopus advc 100 using composite / firewire and then transferred from the laptop harddrive to minidv tape via firewire.

The representative from Canopus recommended using S-video - which I would normally do but my vcr does not have S-video Out. The only video playback machine I have which has S-video Out is a DVD player. So last night, I transferred segments from two DVDs to the laptop via the Canopus advc 100 using S-video / firewire and then transferred from the laptop harddrive to minidv tape via firewire. Playing back the footage initially on the laptop, I was impressed with the quality of the conversion from DVD.

However, after transferring that same footage to minidv and playing back the minidv tape, I saw a checkerboard pattern throughout the entire footage. This was evident on both the camcorder's lcd screen as well as the TV the camera was connected to. It basically looked like a chess board. All the even squares showed the footage that I had just converted, and all the odd squares showed a frozen frame from some other footage that I had previously recorded with the camera.

I was certainly puzzled by this. Though I did a test afterwards to see if there was something wrong with the laptop's exporting capabilities. I transferred a segment of a copy of the 'Pulse of Life' film I also had on the laptop harddrive - to minidv tape via firewire, onto the same tape containing the DVD originated footage. Playing back this most recent footage (Pulse of Life) from the tape turned out fine. So I guess that rules out the camera, the firewire cable and the laptop computer. And my previous test with the Canopus advc 100 using composite connection has proven that unit is working fine, apart from the slight 'noise' and occasional vertical lines. That leaves the S-video cord which I purchased several weeks ago. Though last week, I did another test - using that same S-video cord to transfer footage from the DVD player directly to the S-video In of my MiniDv camera. The transferred footage turned out perfectly fine.

So I am very confused and out of theories.

[mattias]

doesn't the vcr have scart out? there's y/c in there so all you need is an adapter.

/matt

[Patrick]

The only outputs my vcr has are AV, ariel and RF.

[Scotness]

Why don't you try an experiment - try capturing a tv show and then start recording it at the same time with your vcr and then stop, and then start again and see if the problem starts and stops with it. All the extra activity in the vcr might create electronic noise and the signal may be effected as it is fed out --- also dont' forget macrovision - could that be part of it?

[Patrick]

Good idea on the start and stop test with the vcr. That just may be the cause of those vertical lines which occured when I was taping at the same time. Though the reason why I taped at the same time was to create a back up, because Windows Movie Maker had frozen during capture in a previous test. With regards to Macrovision with dvds, there would usually be a message appearing on the lcd screen of the minidv camera that says 'copy protection' and no such message appeared.

I'm not sure whenabouts Macrovision was first introduced but I selected the very first DVDs that I bought - for the test, thinking that early ones may not have copy protection. I can't exactly recall when I bought them but it would have been at least three or four years ago, maybe five years ago. According to the manual of the Canopus ADVC 100, the blue light on the unit blinks when a Macrovision signal is detected. I watched for that but I didn't see it blinking.

[Rolle_B]

Scart have Y/C, but will not be able to bring back colors on all video models. Can't explain why, but it is sure worth a try. My JVC managed to do this, but it is a S-VHS player though.

All your problems will be solved if you use a TBC (Time Base Corrector). Look at DataVideo's homepage. They are horribly expensive, but worth every cent. First I wouldn't beleave this, but after some tests I ran to the nearest store and bought one. And I definitely don't regreat this. Differese is like getting out of a Ford Fiesta and in to a Ferrarri.

[Andreas Wideroe]

We use Hotronics TBCs. Not too expensive either.

I think they're at http://www.hotronics.com.

/Andreas

[Rolle_B]

It look like a really nice setup, but for a normal "home user" this is quite a lot of money anyway.

Is there any DIY TBC's or any kit's to buy? Anyone who know this?

[mr.skull]

When I first started to digitize my analog videos, I used the ADVC 100. I never got any lines in my images, but I did think it looked "noisier" than it should. Doing some tests, I found that my Sony miniDV camcorder actually did a better job of converting the analog source to digital. One thing that I do like about the ADVC 100 is that it has a "secret" macrovision killer. If you hold down the input button on the front of the unit for 20 seconds or so, it will go into anti-macrovision mode until you turn the unit off again. At least the early models did this anyway. If you do a web search on this subject you can find more information about it. Protected DVDs and tapes will copy beautifully, even though its analog to digital.
Cheers

[DriveIn]

Hello Patrick,

Have you tried a video signal from a video camera
like a security camera straight into your canopus?
That's if you have something like that around the house.

This is quoted from wikepedia on macrovision

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrovision

Technical problems
Macrovision is considered a nuisance to specialist users because it may interfere with other electronic equipment. If one were to run their video signal through a VCR before the television, some VCRs will output a ruined signal regardless of whether it is recording. This also occurs in some TV-VCR combo sets.

The signal has also been known to confuse home theater line doublers (devices for improving the quality of video for large projection TVs) and some high-end television comb filters.

[Patrick]

Good information about connected vcrs causing interference. However, Ive read many reviews by consumers saying that they have experienced no quality loss when converting vhs tapes using the Canopus advc 100.

With regards to analogue video cameras, Ive got a svhs-c camera and a 3ccd broadcast camera but i havent used them in combination with the Canopus unit as yet.

Mr.skull, that is interesting that your Sony minidv camera does better quality analogue to digital conversions than the Canopus. I read an online review where the Canopus did better analogue to digital conversions than a tested minidv camera (can't remember which brand.) Though I guess different cameras vary in performance.

I may be getting a SVHS vcr shortly so that will provide a good test for the Canopus for converting footage.

[Rolle_B]

Some DV-cam's have a TBC unit built in, thats why it's better.