SVideo with VCR?

Question

Hello Everyone. I bought a DVD recorder today, hoping to put some home videos onto DVD. Anyways, I read S-Video will carry a better video quality. I have a DVD/VCR combo that has a S-VIDEO output, but when I plug it in it only broadcasts the DVD. Yet the yellow and white cords show the video playing... Can S-Video work with VHS?

Another issue, its black and white. I read somewhere:

"The mini-DIN pins, being weak, sometimes bend. This can result in the loss of color, or other corruption (or loss) in the signal. A bent pin can be forced back into shape, but this carries the risk of further damage, or even the pin breaking off."

Is that true? Please help me with both questions

Answer 1

No. The VCR must be S-VHS (S-video). These machines are very expensive, JVC sells a model for $229.00 MSRP. Your DVD/VCR combo unit will not output the VCR via S-video, since the VCR is not S-VHS capable.

Yes, if the S-video plug (inside the cable) is bent, or damaged internally, the best thing is to replace it. You don't want the pin to get stuck inside the jack. This can result in either no color/with B+W video, or no video/with color (will look like colored shadows in the picture).

Answer 2

I also read that about the mini-din pins etc. But I think you have more going on than a bent pin. Probably not a pin problem at all... just a technological compatibility problem.

I had a DVD player that played in B/W using the Svideo cable, but worked fine with the RCA plugs. Some DVD players just aren't coded for great use with SVideo, even though they advertise that they do.

You may also find, that trying to copy from VHS to DVD through RCA, your picture will go bright to dark repeatedly and continuously. That is macro-encoding. It may also do it when watching a movie through the VCR with a DVD burner connected, even though you aren't burning. It is part of the reading of the signals between the units and the macro-encoding.

The best thing I have, is a VCR/DVD Burner combo. It works great, easy to use, and my home movies are transfered to DVD effortlessly. I can also hook up my video camera to it, and burn directly to DVD w/o using the tapes at all. Fantastic!

Hope I helped a little.

Answer 3

VHS is recorded as composite video onto the tape. The S-video output for this unit is for only the DVD signal. The s-video outputs would only make sense if you had an SVHS VCR and the tape was recorded in SVHS. (The same goes for Hi-8.) What kind of input does the device you are recoding to have? Just use the composite video inputs. If the DVD recorder does not have composite video inputs, then you will need a converter.

The S-video cable carries two signals. A B/W signal and a color signal. If there is something wrong with the cable or the connector, you may only get the B/W video signal. You might replace the cable.

Answer 4

If your player has S-Video output, it should output video from that port in both DVD and VCR modes. Make sure though that you don't connect BOTH the yellow cable and the S-video cable. Most devices share the port, so you can have only one at a time. (This applies to both the Player AND the recorder). If you have BOTH, then composite (yellow) takes over.

It is very easy to check for bend pins and they are easy to fix with a pair of pliers. Since you can see video from the player in DVD mode, the cable should be OK.