my american videos are black and white?

cb · Post by cb » Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:59 am

hello,

hope someone here can help me,
im currantly in australia, using a samsung model no: sv-435b VCR to play my videos while converting, ive tried other vcrs aswell, but all of my american videos are coming thru as black and white.
australian videos come thru as color fine fine. but i just cant figure out what im doing wrong with the americans?

any advice?
thanks
cb

heinz-oz · Post by **heinz-oz** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:32 pm

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Your american videos are a different TV standard to what we use here in OZ. America uses NTSC, Australia PAL.

Most newer VCR's are capable of playing NTSC tapes but, if I remember correctly, your TV must also be capable of displaying NTSC signals.

Your problem lies in the hardware you use.

cb · Post by cb » Tue Jun 27, 2006 12:59 am

thank you very much for your reply, and cheers for the welcome.

im not too sure what you mean by my tv,
im working straight from the vcr to the capture card.

and, by hardware, are you refering to the vcr?
because all of our houses vcrs are compatable with NTSC and PAL.

sorry to bother again.

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 1:10 am

There are several different TV formats. The 2 in most use are
PAL Short for Phase Alternating Line, the dominant television standard in Europe
The other is NTSC Short for National Television System Committee. The NTSC is responsible for setting television and video standards in the United States

The reason for different TV systems is due to the Mains Electricity supply.
In Europe 50 cycles per second but in the U.S.A. 60 cycles per second.

They have to match the number of video frames per second to those cycles otherwise we would end up with the sort of flickering you get when watching an old super 8 film on a cine projector!

Now the problem you have watching "The other format" in black and white is because the hardware you have is specific to the one format.
If you have PAL hardware you get colour with PAL.
If you have NTSC hardware you get colour with NTSC.

Computer TV cards often include built in software to enable you to watch the other format, but it can only show the video in monochrome.

The only options you have are:
1. Get the hardware for the other Region.
2. Purchase the VHS Tape in the format for your region.

This is not a problem with DVD players, they normally have built in software that enables you to watch a DVD for other regions in full colour.

cb · Post by cb » Tue Jun 27, 2006 1:27 am

thank you very much,

so do you think i have a chance if i use an american vcr with an outlet adapter?

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 5:04 am

heinz-oz · Post by **heinz-oz** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 6:31 am

I doubt that you are correct there, MD. SVHS doesn't transmit the audio, neither does the yellow RCA. The video signal is the same on both (higher quality on SVHS though). The major difference between NTSC and PAL/SECAM is in the frame size, frame rate and how the chroma/luminance data is transmitted.

I think what's needed is a capture device for NTSC, not PAL.

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 8:57 am

cb wrote:thank you very much,

so do you think i have a chance if i use an american vcr with an outlet adapter?

Its not your VCR it's your TV card. Most VCR's will play to a television set in colour. It's the TV card that doesn't understand the incorrect format and so only produces a monochrome picture.

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 11:25 am

snoops · Post by **snoops** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 9:38 pm

cb,
I didn't check the specs of your VCR, but your VCR is probably a normal PAL unit for Australian use. If it is not a (more expensive) multi-standard VCR, then forget all the previous posts about switching your capture card to NTSC or getting a different capture card for NTSC!
Because even if your capture hardware can be set to NTSC (for American tapes), you need a VCR that will play the NTSC tape properly before you can capture it.

If you connect the VCR to your TV, can you watch the NTSC tape with color??

Many PAL VCRs (especially in Europe) are able to play NTSC tapes for PAL TV display. This feature costs a little more and is probably clearly marked on the box. They do this by converting the color signal but keeping the 60 fields per second (this is called PAL60 AFAIK). And most TVs in Europe can show PAL60. But I don't know if your capture hardware/software can handle PAL60 anyway.

A true multi-standard VCR not only plays NTSC tapes but also can pass through the NTSC signal without conversion to PAL60 (when chosen to do so). Expensive units may even do real-time signal conversion.

cb · Post by cb » Wed Jun 28, 2006 12:31 am

sorry all for the delayed response.

yes, snoops, my vcr plays american videos fine and in color on my tv, thats why i thought something was up.

im at a complete loss.
oz videos work fine, only american comes out black and white. and weve tried 3 vcrs, all compatable to play both regions on tv.

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 12:46 am

cb
As I have mentioned before IT IS NOT YOUR VCR.
The problem is the TV Capture card in your computer.

Without going into extensive further detail a couple of years back I converted all of my VHS tape collection to DVD. When I came across this issue I spent several weeks researching the problem on the internet.

The problem you have is the circuitry of the TV CARD is native to either PAL or NTSC. The TV card will play the other format but only in monochrome.
Don't flog a dead horse - move on.