TERAPIN TEST BAY

     Purchased the VCD Terapin Unit. Packaging was done with quality in mind. The unit was packaged with:
Terapin Unit
Remote w/batteries
Two sets of RCA Jack Cables
Power Supply
1 CDR-W disc
10 pack of CDR discs.
1 Manual and 1 quick set-up sheet.

   Terapin has SVideo, digital, and RCA jack connections in the back, but there are no Coax connections. It does have RCA jacks in the front of the unit for hooking up a video camera or another piece of equipment.

    USE: Whew, the remote is sharp in appearance but as hard to use as the unit itself. Make sure you look at the manual before attempting to operate it. With record audio and video button to confirm and finalize you have to be careful or you'll waste a burn. I am recording tonight but I still don't know all the programming stuff or even how to set up tracks and stuff. 

NOTE: I have mentioned before when talking about this unit that it has heating problems. The manual states that after four (4) hours of use it is recommended that the unit be turned off and allowed to cool down. If the unit does overheat you will get pixelation problems as well as the voice over being just off from the video. There are modifications that people have made to the units to alleviate this problem. Some have added a second fan inside the unit. Some have simply removed the screws and cracked open the back to let the heat out. While others have removed the cover and drilled about fifty holes into the lid and replaced it.

    The look and Feel of the unit was good. Even with the odd shaped VFD display, which works well, the unit looks sharp and has some weight to it. It seems extremely well made. 

Hook-up: Connecting the unit to the VCR and the Television was no more than using the two RCA cables that came with the unit. Working it into the set-up in the bedroom with DVD player, Digital cable box, and VCR was a pain but done in about one hour making sure the cables were laid out nice in the back of the entertainment unit.

Video Quality: Something isn't working right with the digital cable coming into the VCR using coax cables, then up to the Terapin with RCA jacks, and to the TV using RCA jacks in the video 1 jacks of the TV. (Terapin does not have coax connections in the back) Picture was very pixelated and the sound was nearly gone. BUT, when a VHS recorded tape is placed into the VCR and played the quality is very nice on the coming out to the TV. 

     I recorded a few minutes of the most recent Pretender Movie, which I have a master tape of. The recording to the VCD on playback was outstanding. No, it was DVD quality, but it was VHS quality nearly equal to the master tape. Better storage than the VHS for sure.

     Right now I am attempting to burn my first official VCD in 'Robinson Crusoe on Mars' from a laserdisc master I made about 3.5 years ago.  I am watching it now as it burns (you get to see what the disc looks like while it burns. You know what your getting firsthand) On some dark scenes you can see some pixelation going on like you get with too much adjustment doing a picture on the computer. Not enough to complain about when using for television recording. Just saw a close-up of MONA in the film (a monkey), and it was outstanding. So far, on the use of tape size I am happy with the unit through the first day.

Heat Problem: The Terapin definitely gets hot. After about thirty minutes of playing around and another 74 minute recording and 5 minutes to finalize the disc, the unit was HOT. I am surprised that Terapin never addressed the heating problem with the unit. A quick mod would have helped. I'll leave the unit stock for while, and then attempt to lift the back of the unit first, and then try drilling the holes in the units top. 
     One dirty reason they might not fix the problem is to make users void their warranty. There is a sticker in the back of the unit stating that removing it or cutting it voids the warranty. May not, but its as good a reason as any for not fixing an obvious problem.

FEB 26: Second Test Trial:

     Just performed a quick test today. Decided to test the VideoCD recorder burning  up a test disc from an SLP and LP VHS recorded tape.

SLP: Buck Rogers in the 25th Century recorded in SLP six years ago from an old beat-up satellite dish since my cable company wasn't picking up the channel when it premiered. There was tiny pixelation type pops all over the recordings.

LP: Invisible Man recorded in LP off poor cable signal. About one year old recording. 

Testing: 
     Ran the Buck Rogers SLP from VHS to the Terapin unit. Playback showed that the flashing pixelation was almost gone in the burn. The image was a bit softer, and at times on distance shots you could see some blurring type pixel problems but the image was more than acceptable. The VideoCD was passable for an SLP burn. 
     At the end of the SLP record I added a the burn of Invisible Man. The VCD recording was as good as the VHS but in different ways. There was some various pixel problems at some area in the recording but nothing terrible and the changes in the recording were as good as the VHS making it a great medium for burning those LP tapes to VCD. 

Good Note: For those who want to capture images from their material, will love the VideoCD over VHS because a pause on the VCD iworks like a DVD on pause.  When pause is used on the VHS it blurs and even the image is blurred capturing on moving video. This is awesome for the videophile, so far.

     Other than the difficulty learning the unit from the manual and remote I am enjoying the Terapin. More will come as Testing continues.

Mar 2: Another User Updates: Got a great email from another Terapin owner named Larry that is really putting his unit through the paces. Here is the email.

   Hi there, I bought a Terapin unit on Christmas Eve 2001. To date, I've burned nearly 1000 hours of TV shows. I too had the problem with overheating. I went out and bought a little 4" fan and placed it behind the unit. Ever since then I've had no problem. Also on CDRs, I suggest no slower than 24X speed. I've had off and on again problems with the 16X speed CDRs but very few with the 24X and 32X. All in all, I'm very pleased with my unit. I've got about another 200 hours of tv shows left before I start getting movies off vhs tapes, LP's & 45's and cassettes. So believe me, I'll be putting this unit through some long usage. I usually burn 8 hrs a day M-F and close to 14 hours a day on the weekend. Good Luck with your unit, I hope it works as well for you as mine is for me. (thanks Larry)

Tim