Advice Needed: Capturing Footage of a PAL Atari VCS System

[artcloud]

Hey all,

This is my first post here on the forums, so hi everybody!

I adore classic gaming and I absolutely love my woodgrained six-switcher Atari VCS / 2600 System I bought a while ago.
I love it so much in fact that I want to record the game footage off of the console.

So I've searched the net and in many video's and topics I came across the word 'VCR' and 'DVD Recorder' so I went watching for one of those things.
The thing is though that most of the topics are from overseas (I live in Europe myself, The Netherlands) so some inputs on the backs of the recorders are different. For instance, I don't have to connect a 'F-connector' to connect the output plug of the Atari into the VCR or DVD Recorder.

So, in short; I did not find that much info about it in my own region.

This is the method I think will work (I'm not into video electronics or anything, so please correct me if I'm wrong - just my intuition speaking here.)

DVD/VCR Combo Player (HR-XV28S, Pictures & English Manual attached below).

1. My Atari VCS output plug will be connected to the AERIAL on the DVD/VCR Combo Player.
2. I will then use the RF.OUT to connect it to my ANTENNA IN on my television to see and hear what I'm actually playing.
3. I will then use the DVD/VCR OUT composite signal to connect it to my capture device and hit record on that.

So, here are my questions:

-Does a VCR/DVD player duplicate the antenna signal to a composite signal? (So that it comes out of RF.OUT and DVD/VCR OUT like I described above, I'm not certain about this.)
-if it does, can I use it as a passtrough device (meaning, without recording anything on VHS or DVD-R) and send it directly into my capture device? Or does it need to record on physical media?
-If not; does the signal only come out of one of the two outputs? (composite for example; I'm able to split this signal with some cheap AV 1-to-2 Splitters)

Is this the correct setup (and way of thinking) for recording an Atari or any other coaxial retro gaming device? I really want to know! I hope you guys can help me with this, I've been struggeling with it for a while now.

Thanks!

HR-XV28S Manual.pdf

[alex_79]

So I've searched the net and in many video's and topics I came across the word 'VCR' and 'DVD Recorder' so I went watching for one of those things.

The thing is though that most of the topics are from overseas (I live in Europe myself, The Netherlands) so some inputs on the backs of the recorders are different. For instance, I don't have to connect a 'F-connector' to connect the output plug of the Atari into the VCR or DVD Recorder.

You can ignore all the F-connector, switchbox and rca-to-F adapter talkings: in Europe the IEC connector is the standard for aerial input and it was already largely used in the '70s, so the consoles already came with that plug and they didn't require switchboxes.

 

2. I will then use the RF.OUT to connect it to my ANTENNA IN on my television to see and hear what I'm actually playing.

The composite signal is also present on the SCART connector, so you can use that to connect to the TV. No need to also connect to the Antenna IN.

 

-Does a VCR/DVD player duplicate the antenna signal to a composite signal? (So that it comes out of RF.OUT and DVD/VCR OUT like I described above, I'm not certain about this.)

Yes.

 

-if it does, can I use it as a passtrough device (meaning, without recording anything on VHS or DVD-R) and send it directly into my capture device?

Yes, and it might sometimes do a better job in demodulating the Atari video signal than the TV itself (especially digital TVs). In that case you can plug the atari to the Antenna IN of the VCR and then connect the composite outputs from VCR to the TV or a capture card through SCART or rca. If a VCR only has SCART and you need rca connectors, use an adapter like this one.

 

Note that if the TV displays the signal correctly, you don't need to pass through a VCR to obtain composite output. The SCART on the back of the TV is bidirectional, so you can pick the signal from there. Use the adapter mentioned above if you need rca.

Edited September 1, 2014 by alex_79

[artcloud]

Thanks for the reply mate! I'm currently waiting for my VRC/DVD Combo to arrive!
Nice to see that at least some of my intuition was right... lol

When I get it I'll report any updates of it here.

Also a thanks to Ottathemadandevil for approaching me on this issue!