heliotis@rochester.UUCP (06/23/83)
This group has been dead for a while, so I will request that you POST
your answers to the net to liven things up.
Does anyone out there have experience with tape-to-tape editing/copying?
I have some "priceless" home videos that I want to back up. Here are
my questions:
[1] Although I see little difference in recording the original tape
at medium vs. slow speed (beta, in my case), might it make more
difference at what speed the original was recorded when I copy it?
[2] If I bring my VCR to a friend's house to do this, I could just
bring over the (portable) recorder part, but that forces me to
use the modulated signal into my friend's unit, unless I spend
money and time trying to make my own special purpose connector.
Does the signal lose significant quality going through the modulate/
demodulate cycle?
Thanks.starner@psuvax.UUCP (06/25/83)
In response to your questions:
[1] Any dubbing of a tape is going to reduce the quality
of the destination copy. Based on the fact that the
home recorders do not generate a Broadcast quality
control pulse (sync) you tend to lose picture stability
when you copy. (unless you process the signal through
a Time Base Corrector which cleans up the control
signals and costs much $$). Yes, the speed at which you
recorded the original will effect the quality of the copy.
Copies made from the highest speed will be acceptable,
while copies made from a slow speed will be very unstable.
[2] Making a copy by modulating and remodulating your signal
will seriously degrade your picture quality. If you want
a best possible (given the quality of your equipment) copy
spend the money on video patch cords, it will be well
worth the money. They are not excessively expensive.
(If you have BETA you need a BNC->BNC connector for video
and an audio cable that will vary from machine to machine,
usually a 1/8" phone plug to 1/8" phone plug) (if you
have VHS you need an RCA phono -> RCA phono for both
video and audio -- this is a standard plug such as that
which is used for connection between stereo components --
It has been my experience that the VHS machine RCA jacks
are somewhat picky. If you cannot get a good connection
at the plug keep plugging it in and you will eventually
get a clean signal)
Sorry this has been a little long, but I wanted to get the
straight facts clear. If anyone has any other specific questions
concerning eqiupment that they do not want to post to the net
I would be happy to correspond via mail.
Mark L. Starner
Penn State University
{allegra,burdvax}!psuvax!starner