Do any VCRs have SPD or optical output?

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

<poison_1024@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1117262499.995000.201340@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Sorry for this newbie type question:
>
> I would like to take audio on VHS tape and record it to my computer (no
> video) I want to use one of the digital or optical inputs on my sound
> card.

You have VHS tape player with digital audio outputs?

> >From what I understand the audio is in a digital format if your VCR is
> stereo/hi-fi? If this is true, is the former possible?

Definitely neither for PAL. I can't remember what they did for NTSC.

> If not, the analog output from a VCR ranks where in the spectrum of
> quality? Better than a Cassette but less than a CD player?

That's about it for HiFi VHS. For normal VHS it's a bit lower than a cheap
cassette, and often mono.
PAL VHS HiFi has a pretty flat response and reasonable S/N ratio achieved by
wide band companding, but subject to "head switching" noise.

MrT.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

poison_1024@yahoo.com wrote:
> That's the question that I was originally asking - Does a VHS tape
> player with digital audio outputs exist? Does any company make one?

Never seen any such - and I've seen just about every consumer model sold in
the U.S.
Not that it couldn't be done - there just never was a market for it. The are
external A/D boxes, and you could do the conversion in a computer.

Mark Z.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

Tim Martin wrote:
> <poison_1024@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1117262499.995000.201340@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>>I would like to take audio on VHS tape and record it to my computer (no
>>video) I want to use one of the digital or optical inputs on my sound
>>card.
>>
>>>From what I understand the audio is in a digital format if your VCR is
>>stereo/hi-fi? If this is true, is the former possible?
>>
>>If not, the analog output from a VCR ranks where in the spectrum of
>>quality? Better than a Cassette but less than a CD player?
>
>
> Yes, if the VCR tapes were recorded on Nicam equipment in hi-fi mode, the
> audio will be in digital format.

The Nicam audio is digital but it is recorded onto the tape as analogue.
An analogue to S/P-DIF converter is not expensive but is unnecessary if
the sound card has a line-level stereo input.

--
Eiron.