On Mon, 24 Jan 2000 21:52:44 +0800, "David Winter" wrote:

[rest deleted, which was very well covered by Malcolm
Knight, below...]

>* what is it that gives broadcast off-air stuff a better picture on VHS than
>material shot on D8, edited on Raptor, and written straight to D8. Should I
>get a *good* TBC or something to stick in between? Any suggestions.

There has been a lot of "back-and-fourth" about image
quality in the NG's, but one thing that is obvious
comparing mini-DV and good analogue formats (or DV
with minimal compression) is the relative freedom
of these from artifacts like "stair-stepping" and
"oversharpening-outlines". Though these media may
sometimes not be sharper than mini-DV (and there
can be other relative shortcomings, like dropouts,
"highlight-burn", etc.), they can have a nicer,
smoother "look". Add to this the somewhat better
lenses and capability of "pro" gear (plus the good
lighting often provided) and the "pro" video can
look better than even the best mini-DV - which
generally looks better than D8 (since that is
basically limited at the head end to Hi-8 quality
level). Your observations are not surprising...
If you want better (still affordable...) results,
I would suggest a move to a good 3-chip mini-DV
camcorder (several are reviewed on my web page,
under "I babble"...;-). The 3-chip mini-DV camcorders
generally produce a "quieter", smoother-looking
image than the one-chippers, and you can see
broadcast on TV quite a bit now shot with them
(at least on US TV...;-).