[Matthew Slaughter]

Yes, sorry, my bad – I understand that part!

[Matthew Slaughter]

Thanks Mark. That’s helpful, I will keep the proc amp idea in mind as some of my video to convert is a little dark and dull.

A few experts at videohelp have recommended an ES10 or ES15 as an affordable and effective unit for pass-through timecode correction. Everything else looks too expensive – so that’s where I’m presently headed…

[Matthew Slaughter]

Thanks Mark and Bill.

My research into standalone AND VCR/TBC combos / is that they are hard to find, expensive and very unreliable (that’s at videohelp forums where I also started a thread)…

However, a user at videohelp has suggested:

“I also would not go hunting for any Line TBC equipped VCRs. They’re too much of a gamble, too prone to failure that too few techs know how to fix. Especially when you consider that coveted line correction can be done by other devices with either the same results or better. The consensus here is that special DVD recorders (in passthrough), particularly the Panasonic models ES10 / ES15 etc. are the best option for that. I can personally back it up.”

Would you recommend the same? These ES10/15’s are reasonably affordable.

I have no idea what a TVB or proc-amp is. I can find various Proc-amps on ebay, the prices vary wildly, and none indicate if they have TBC capability or not…. this is all new to me. I foolishly presumed that my canopus would just do its job and not censor my footage.

I’m prepared to buy a new converter box but are there any withinh the $400 range that will do what they are told and not censor “errors” for me?

[Matthew Slaughter]

Ok, hooking up directly to TV, i see that the VCR happily plays through everything, no problem. Where the black spots would be are momentary tape issues, a few frames worth of lines across the screen, typical old VHS tape stuff. However, the sound continues, so the overall effect is much more pleasing than a bloody cut.

It appears the canopus is dictating what gets converted, and is extremely sensitive to these tape abberations. The problem is not the VCR as I have tried 3 different ones, two different models, and the canopus does the same thing in the same spots every time.

Is there any way to get around this, or do I need a new converter?

I found this, re: macrovision detection disabling:

“From another forum I obtained the following tip on how
to disable Macrovision using the Canopus ADVC-100
hardware video converter device that works for me.
Press and HOLD the Input Select switch. When
colour-bars appear at analogue output, KEEP THE BUTTON
PRESSED. Wait until the colour-bars DISAPPEAR before
releasing the button. Macrovision is now disabled
until the unit is switched off. You do not have to be
playing a Macrovision-protected signal into the box
while doing this.”

However, absolutely nothing happens when I follow these instructions. No colour bars, nothing.

[Matthew Slaughter]

Yep, so what I’ve established from some other forums is that it appears the Canopus “macrovision” detection is being activated somehow by the glitches in the tape, so there are a couple of techniques I have read about to disable this and hopefully the canopus will let everything convert including the bad tape sections.

I have tried three different VCR’s as I explained and all have the same issue, so the problem is not the VCR.

Having someone externally do the conversion for me defeats the entire purpose of my query. *I* want to do these conversions and that’s why I bought all of this equipment.