CompuServe Messages

Jim: Last year I asked the same question, i.e., my images look great on RGB, VERY good on my TV or composite monitor, and absolutely AWFUL on VHS/ S-VHS tape. That same tape records great images from camcorder or cable TV. The answer given was that 1/2" tape (VHS/S-VHS/Hi-8) is not all that great and it requires substantial care to get good results. I won't begin to tell you that I understood the technical explanation; frankly, it still seems illogical to me. However….. I started a trial and error process of defining the color combinations and computer resolutions which produced the best image on my equipment. It was a long process, but I have been able to significantly improve the quality of the images I transfer to videotape. It does have quirks (I still get better images with non-interlace). It is very time consuming (let's see, 4 resolutions times 4096 colors = lots of trials). It is not much fun. Why not try to transfer the DCTV frog image to tape. Does the color seem good, is it stable? That image looked great on my system. What about the chess set ? If those two images look good on both TV and videotape then your system would seem to be working just fine. If those two images look fine, what happens when you create an animation using the exact same palette. Do reds look better next to dark colors or light colors, what about weak pastels? I found a program like PIXMATE to be a great help because it allows tremendous global color changes to be made easily, thus easing the experimentation process. Lastly, don't set your expectations too high. My experience (admittedly limited) has been that great images require a lot of care and effort to produce on 1/2 inch videotape. – via Whap!…….from Chicago