As part of my series about ideal digitization of classic U-Matic recordings, this is a first look at the Dub Optimiser converter to extract Y/C (S-Video) from the most popular U-Matic decks with dub output, be they NTSC or PAL. The name is intentionally written with the British spelling since it is indeed a made-in-UK product. The US spelling would be «optimizer».) If you have access to access to a (non-BVU) U-Matic deck with dub output (one that was not modified previously to output Y/C ~3.58 NTSC or or Y/C ~4.43 PAL), the Dub Optimiser converter will likely be a way to get the best results when capturing U-Matic tape, since the Y (luminance) and C (chroma) signal are indeed recorded separately on this and other color-under formats. In fact, the Y/C (S-video) output of the Dub Optimiser would ideally feed the input of a Canonpus/Grass Valley ADVC110.

Ahead, I’ll cover the details of the device and quote what the creator said after he read my recent Review: Canopus/Grass Valley ADVC110 analog to digital converter with micro-TBC to capture VHS and other analog videotapes (illustrated above).

Hi Allan,

Thank you for encouraging the use of component (Y/C, S-Video) over composite. Rare and old material deserves the best treatment; it might be the last glance we’ll get of it because of the demagnetisation issue that plagues many U-Matic tapes…

John

I sent five questions:

1. Is the Dub Optimiser still available for sale at the published price on your website?

2. Why do you not recommend it for BVU decks?

3. I imagine that the Dub Optimiser works best with VO-5800, VO-5850, VO-9800 and VO-9850. I remember (after experience with TBCs with DUB input like the JVC KY-M250U and JVC KY-M250E) that the NTSC SP U-Matic tapes had boosted high-frequency information compared with the DUB from the non-SP NTSC decks. Does the Dub Optimiser have specific adjustments to get the best results with SP or non-SP NTSC decks/tapes?

4. Would you expect the quality of the Dub Optimiser to be similar to that of the modified decks with Y/C ~3.58 or Y/C ~4.43 output?

5. Does your company also sell modification kits to modify existing U-Matic decks or do you only offer the Dub Optimiser box?

Here are the responses, which continue after his comment quoted above.

I’ve been selling the Dub-Optimiser for nearly 10 years now. Even at that time there were few solutions on the market. It came about when I was working for a large archive organisation. On Christmas Eve, my boss said to me ‘How are we going to deal with this large batch of U-Matic tapes? Composite is just not good enough.’ He knew my mentality. I chewed away with the problem (in my head) for a couple of days, and realised I had a practical solution. Back for the Christmas break, I carried a prototype to test at work. It met all our expectations, and we deployed 8. Since then I sold many to other archives, universities and broadcasters around the world. Sales did flag last year, and none this year, so far…

In answer to your questions:

1. Yes, it is available at the shown price and will continue to be available in the foreseeable future.

2. BVU decks present a couple of challenges. Many later ones have a built-in TBC, this makes the dub and composite output non-coherent. I should explain that the Dub-Optimiser on sale uses the composite output to extract chroma information via a precision active filter.  This gives results indistinguishable from tapping off the chroma within the machine. It makes the device ‘plug and play’ as no machine modifications are necessary. Another reason not to promote BVUs is that the playback and noise reduction circuitry is so much better than other decks, that the resultant improvement is not as great. Some users are using it with BVUs, who want to get the last millimetre of improvement. This is not my day job. I have little time to debate that last mm.

3. You are correct that the Sony decks stated seem to be the best work-horses. I am not aware of anyone having tried using a non-Sony deck. Regarding TV standards, it is switchable between 3.58MHz and 4.43MHz. The 4.43MHz setting can also be used for NTSC 4.43. This is a signal that some Sony PAL decks output if a user plays an NTSC tape. Some decks also present a variation of Y output level to the Dub connector. Low band tapes signal is 1V p-p; Hi band output is 0.5V p-p. This is inconsistently applied, so the Dub-Optimiser has a wide range of Y level adjustment to cater for this.

4. I don’t know for sure.

5. The Dub-Optimise is the only product of this type. As mentioned earlier, it was considered best to make a plug and play product.

Tentative conclusions

For nearly anyone who has access to a U-Matic or U-Matic SP deck with a dub output (one that was not modified previously to output Y/C ~3.58 NTSC or or Y/C ~4.43 PAL) via Y/C (S-video), the Dub Optimiser seems to be the best intermediary device available. The best candidate models seem to be a VO-5800, VO-5850, VO-9800 and VO-9850. In fact, the Y/C (S-video) output of the Dub Optimiser would ideally feed the input of a Canonpus/Grass Valley ADVC110, covered in my recent Review: Canopus/Grass Valley ADVC110 analog to digital converter with micro-TBC to capture VHS and other analog videotapes. When I regain access to such a deck, I’ll be able to do a proper review. The VO-9850 lent to me is currently giving an ERROR-02, which is why I am publishing this «first look» for now. If anyone reading knows how to solve the ERROR-2, please write below in the comments. For more information about the Dub Optimiser, click here for the manufacturer’s website.

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FTC disclosure

Keystrobe is not paying for this review. Kestrobe sent the Dub Optimiser to Allan Tépper for review. Some of the manufacturers listed above have contracted Tépper and/or TecnoTur LLC to carry out consulting and/or translations/localizations/transcreations. So far, none of the manufacturers listed above is/are sponsors of the TecnoTur, BeyondPodcasting, CapicúaFM or TuSaludSecreta programs, although they are welcome to do so, and some are, may be (or may have been) sponsors of ProVideo Coalition magazine. Some links to third parties listed in this article and/or on this web page may indirectly benefit TecnoTur LLC via affiliate programs. Allan Tépper’s opinions are his own. Allan Tépper is not liable for misuse or misunderstanding of information he shares.