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- From: regie@nelligan.ireq-robot (Regis Houde)
- Subject: Using Targa board with VCR
- Message-ID: <C1Itpn.3uL@ireq.hydro.qc.ca>
- Sender: news@ireq.hydro.qc.ca (Netnews Admin)
- Reply-To: regie@nelligan.ireq-robot
- Organization: IREQ - Hydro-Quebec
- Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 16:27:23 GMT
- Lines: 60
-
- Few weeks ago I asked how can I get my Targa board to synchronize
- properly with my VCR when it's in modes other than ordinary 'play'. I
- received some suggestions and made some tests. I'll share my experience
- with you.
-
- It seems that most VCR do not output standard 525 NTSC signals while
- in pause, fasft, rewind or stop mode. The number of lines is not garanteed
- to be 525. Though ordinary TV and some graphic cards can synchronize on
- such a signal, the technical support at Truevision told me that their Targa
- board can not.
-
-
- Indeed, there is 4 possible solutions to this problem.
-
- 1. Use a better VCR
-
- Some "hi-tech" VCRs will always output a 525 NTSC video signal no
- matter if it's in play mode or not. Look for VCR with TBC (Time Base
- Corrector). John Haggas (haggas@kean.ucs.mun.ca) also told me that his SONY
- SLV-555UC did work fine (he used the monitor output). I dont think that
- this VCR has a TBC.
-
- This solution could be quite expensive since VCR with TBC are usually
- not the cheapest. Another tip : don't believe the seller, try it by yourself.
-
- 2. Use a "stand alone" TBC
-
- Don Lewis (djlewis@ualr.edu) suggested to put a "stand alone" TBC between
- the VCR and the TARGA board. This solution worked out fine. Some TBC can be plugged
- on ordinary VCR. TBC are between 1500-3000 $. Image quality can vary...
-
- 3. Change the number of horizontal lines
-
- Matthew Phillips (mathew@apg.philips.co.uk) give me an interesting tip
- than even the Targa people did not think of. You can tell the Targa board to expect
- a number of lines different from 525. This solution is very limited because
- there's no way to detect it automatically. However, in my project, my VCR is
- controlled by software via an RS-232 serial link, and so, I always know the mode
- of my VCR. Here is the number of line for the NEC PC-VCR (ajust with vTotal):
-
- Play : 525
- Pause : 528
- Stop : 526
- Rewind : 543
- Fastf : 512
-
- Though the image stabilize, the overlaid graphic is not always perfectly neat!!
-
-
- 4. Use another graphic card!
-
- Hope this can help...
-
- --------------------------------------------------------------------
- Regis Houde regie@ireq-robot.hydro.qc.ca
- Institut de recherche d'Hydro-Quebec regie@ireq-robot.uucp
- 1800, montee Sainte-Julie (514) 652-8107
- Varennes, Que., Canada J3X 1S1 FAX : (514) 652-8435
- --------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-