Moving objects are a bit fuzzy & not clear

[ron_kelly]

Hi All,

I have recently purchased the ADVC-300 unit. I am converting from VHS to digital, and sending the info from the advc to my pc via firewire. I am using Edius Pro 4 to capture the video. The picture quality is great, however there seems to be a problem with moving objects, for example, a person walking along. They appear to be a little bit 'fuzzy' and have a kind of 'liney' appearance. I'm not sure if this is a problem with the settings on the unit or a problem with the unit itself. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers

[7hbg]

There maybe a number of things, but I suspect that what you are describing is an interlaced video playing on a progressive computer display, a bit of ‘fuzz’ is ok, the two display the same image differently. To test the quality of your video, just play your timeline back to the ADVC300 and watch it on a (interlaced) video monitor or TV, it should not have any ‘fuzz’ in it.

[ron_kelly]

Thanks Rob, i'm quite new to all of this. I also burnt the captured video to DVD and the output is exactly the same on my tv. Moving objects still appear 'liney'. Not sure how else to describe it, but maybe 'fuzzy' isn't the best word. Thanks.

[7hbg]

Ok then, just wait few minutes and someone else will offer you a different explanation.
BTW, is your TV a tube type (interlaced) or flat (progressive)?

[ron_kelly]

Sorry Rob. Yes, i have a flat tv. So how do i get top quality on a progressive display? When i create a project in Edius 4 i have tried setting the input to both progressive (720p) and interlaced (1080i) but still get the same effect.

[pjsssss]

It sound like you are using HD settins for SD video (coming from a VHS). Try an SD setting in Edius and see what you get.

[ron_kelly]

Thanks for the advice guys. It seems that the problem is actually with the tape itself. I have noticed that commercial tapes give perfect quality, while vhs tapes created by amateurs give the "comb" effect on moving objects. Is there anything i can do to make these kind of tapes work with 100% quality?

[antonsvideo]

the comb effect is caused by an unstable timebase

a time base corrector can fix this

the best VHS TBC and Noise Reduction is built inside the Sony SVO 5600 and 5800 series of player/recorders

[ron_kelly]

Thanks Anton. I believe the ADVC-300 has a built in tbc! Is there any reason why it wouldn't be doing the job properly? I actually got the advc from the USA, and have set one of the DIP switches from NTSC to PAL. Anything else i am missing here? Cheers