I have some Japaneses tapes I need to copy to my computer. I hook my VCR directly up to the computer (through a capture card of course), and when I ask what type of tape I am converting I select NTSC-J (I'm using a regular USA NTSC deck). When I do this though the empty black screen that is there before I start to copy looks brighter. I know J tapes have a higher black level, so wouldn't doing this make them even brighter? Is there a chance that my VCR already converts the colors? I'm using an DMP-DB70V. Also, when I look at my recording, the beginning which is meant to be black again looks slightly brighter, although it might be slightly from compression as the final recording looks a little different from the preview. Although, when I select M, the screen looks black, but I can't see any of the "static" you would normally in a VHS tape. What should I pick? Also, when I play it in VLC media player there are two small bars on the top and bottom. Will those be there when I burn it to DVD? It's in 640X480. Thanks!
the only difference with ntsc-j IS the actual black level.. everything else is identical.. what it actually means is.. no difference, just the level at which black is displayed and no further signal content exists is higher.. slightly more compressed between black and peak white.. peak white is the same. use whichever looks the best after capture.. same as anything.. there is no "right" setting with video capture from vhs.. just whatever works. can't comment on the output from vlc.. because aspect ratio and window size all come into play with that.. you will have to burn it and see what you get, then adjust for best afterwards. 640x480 is 4:3 .. is the tape 4:3 also?
