[JonVic]

Hey guys,

I am on the verge of buying a time base corrector but to make it worthwhile i really need to know the answer to one question:

Basically i am capturing a lot of VHS tapes. Currently my setup is a Sony DVD recorder that has a Panasonic VCR plugged into it via an oxgen free scart lead and i have another oxygen free scart cable outputting the image to my TV. The VHS tapes record okay but on the ones where there are home videos (they are about 20 or so years old) there are obviously flickers and small lines that flick horizontally across the screen at times in true VHS style! Overall though they are in good condition for their age.

However often (not always) when there is a small line that flashes on the screen (i believe old tapes do this because a small bit of the tape information has been damaged on the tape surface) or when the camera was switched off and then record was pressed again later in the day when this happens the DVD recorder will often 'jump' a little bit its hard to describe but the whole image sort of jumps upwards on the screen for a fration of a second much like a VHS tape that is not tracked properly. However it happens much quicker, this is not on the tapes if they are played without them being routed through the DVD recorder and the jump is clearly a digital thing not analogue.

I have a feeling that unless the signal going into the DVD recorder is pure this will happen (occasionally i will get the jump when the image is totally clean as well). My question is will a time base corrector stop this happening, i know i will see any lines etc. that are on the tape as that information is basically not on the tape however will it stop the jumping that is a little distracting.

The frustrating thing is i was trying to get a pure copy without the jumps so played the videos a few times and as a result they now have a few more lines and a few more jumps on them - VHS really is a rubbish format every time you play the damn things they seem to wear out a little bit more!

Any opinions on this and if a timebase corrector could solve the problem i have described above would be greatly received, cheers