Tue Feb 06, 2018 8:32 am
I've been using a Blackmagic Design Intensity Pro 1080p Capture Card for a few weeks to capture VHS tapes. I'm specifically using this product, as it allows me to capture both PAL PAL-60 & NTSC signals via a variety of inputs, all in one card. I've noticed one little issue and I'm hoping there might be a setting to change this.
When using it to capture a decent quality tape, it does the job perfectly. No problem. I have noticed the card does not display everything put into it. By that I mean it displays a signal when I have a VHS tape playing, but it does not display the blue VCR 'holding' screen when the VHS is stopped, and if a VHS tape is a little degraded, it will black out any frames of jumps or noise. I'm sure the card is doing exactly what it's meant to, but not being able to see the VCR blue screen means I have to plug it into another source in order to change any VCR settings via the on-screen menu, and if I want to capture a less-than-brilliant VHS source, I'm left with bursts & odd black frames throughout?
I'm using the card in a Windows XP PC, with a JVC HR-S7600 S-VHS VCR with TBC, and this issue is the same either via composite or s-video connections. I have also seen this same issue before on a friend's Mac capture rig with a different VCR.