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04-20-2020, 01:29 AM
PanFry PanFry is offline
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Hi everyone... I feel like this question has had to have been asked but, I read through about 20 pages of search results and didn't see anything....

I'm looking for a unit with excellent playback – not necessarily with all of the bells and whistles of some of the "legendary" machines (JVC HR-S9900U, JVC HM-DH40000U, Panasonic AG-1980P…).

I've had 2 pretty average players for years that finally gave up the ghost... within 6 months of each other. I thought I would be able to upgrade to a great used machine but, lordy, I see we are in an era of desired rarity.

I don't have home movies or any such that I need to transfer to a digital format. Nor will I ever have a need to record anything to VHS. What I do I have is a large amount of "studio" VHS tapes that get watched. I was a film major in the early 90's and dated a film critic for 7 years after college. I amassed a large amount of tapes back in the day. I know, material degrades but, I don't plan on living forever and other than a collection of signed John Waters tapes.... there is not a lot there that the world will miss.

I'd like to watch my vhs tapes knowing they aren't being eaten alive and the quality is all that it can be... so says the man who lived with 2 VCRs he knew kinda sucked.

My budget is around $400. If I have to buy one of the iconic machines, so be it. They just seemed to be more than I need. Oh yeah... I'm in Chicago, IL.... so NTSC.

Any advice is beyond appreciated. Thanks

Last edited by PanFry; 04-20-2020 at 01:45 AM. Reason: left something out....
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  #2  
04-20-2020, 02:37 AM
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lordsmurf lordsmurf is online now
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There is no such thing as "bells and whistles" when it comes to the best recommended VCRs. Frily features were all ignored. Some JVCs, for example, have "cable eye readers". That's just immaterial/nonsense, especially since that 1990s feature is worthless in the 2010s/2020s.

The "legendary" VCRs -- the recommended S-VHS VCRs -- are recommended solely for these reasons:
  • line TBC
  • build quality: transports, heads, chassis
That's it.

The JVCs do get recommendation bumps for the presence of the selectable NR "Picture Modes", however noting that AUTO/NORM is the general suggestion, and EDIT/OFF only in certain situations.

This statement "I'd like to watch my vhs tapes knowing they aren't being eaten alive and the quality is all that it can be." means you want a recommended VCR. And honestly, anybody transferring tapes should want and need that.

Given the age of VCRs, and maintenance required for upkeep to coax them along to last even more years/decades, using VCRs just to watch tapes is generally not the best idea. The idea of to digitize everything, and then watch those digitized versions.

$400 is a "gambling budget", ie for that price your only venue may be to roll the dice on the eBay recyclers, selling unknown "tested" (never is) and "working" (50/50 at best if true) units. To get a deck that was truly refurb'd and vetted from somebody like myself, expect to pay more along the lines of $595+, depending on model. Realigning heads, re-greasing transports, tweaking other tolerances, etc, all takes time to do properly -- not to mention knowledge -- and that's not something you'll get from "bubbas-ecycle-shop" selling storage unit, offline auction, and estate sale finds.

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  #3  
04-20-2020, 03:05 AM
PanFry PanFry is offline
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Thanks for that.

"Given the age of VCRs, and maintenance required for upkeep to coax them along to last even more years/decades, using VCRs just to watch tapes is generally not the best idea." I am sadly aware of that. There are just too many of them to wrap my head around transferring and honestly, they aren't seeing a lot of play.

I suspect I will end up paying more than that and transferring what seems like it will never be again, e.g., THX1138 before the painful "directors cut"... movies that were banned (e.g.,Todd Haynes, Superstar)... bizarre russian stuff that never saw a release... sorry, thinking out loud.

Anyway. I may fly a new budget up the flagpole to see what I can do before I'm served divorce papers.

If you have something you're refurbishing you'd recommend... let me know.

Tanx again....
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  #4  
04-20-2020, 04:49 AM
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For the purpose of previewing tapes (though sometimes I do "preview" a bit longer, lingering into "watching" instead), I generally use a 2nd deck. That's because I don't want to ruin my best conversion decks with extra wear from PLAY/REW/FF. I have a lot of recommended decks, but others on a budget can get a lower-end sans-TBC JVC model for preview, and save the best unit for transfer (or the times where you just simply must watch something in best quality).

But beware. Sometimes tapes are "one-shot". After a single play, the tape incurs damage, and becomes uncaptureable thereafter. This is generally a problem with certain brands of older tapes, stored in not-ideal circumstances or climates. For example, BASF from the early 80s balks at even slightly humid climates, and begins to shed oxide against too-cold or too-hot VCR heads. To transfer those, I have to "warm up" a deck, and then only transfer 2-3 hours before quitting (or rotating out deck, repeat).

So don't be too eager to play tapes needlessly.

I'm always tinkering and refurb'ing something. Feel free to PM me, see what I have on the workbench.

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  #5  
04-20-2020, 07:52 PM
dpalomaki dpalomaki is offline
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Another factor to consider is "how many and how long"?

A point to consider is new VCR heads are rated for 2000 hours before mfgr's recommend replacement -that is starting with NEW HEADS.

How many tapes do you have? How many hours a day will you be using it; both now while COVID-19 hunkered down, and in a hopeful future when things reopen? Are there tapes you plan to watch more than once? Do any of the tapes need some form of restoration/cleanup/editing beyond what you already see playing in good VCR?

I second lordsmurf's recommendation that you convert the tapes to a digital form (one that meets your needs for quality and convenience) for easy and safe future viewing, and keep the original tapes in safe storage. (VHS tapes really are not a convenient format for viewing, and have essentially no portability because few people or places can play tapes these days. I often hear people who say they tried to play an old tape of their childhood only to find their old machine ate the tape.)

If these are commercial (studio) tapes they may have copy protection so your digitizing setup will require the good S-VHS VCR, TBC, and decent capture device as a minimum, plus necessary software to author to your selected media/format. A quick and easy (if dirty) approach is to dump to a DVD recorder although that does not allow for restoration and cleanup work; however, that may be sufficient for material that is in good shape depending on your intent. And you can do it on the fly when you elect to view the tape!
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  #6  
04-20-2020, 11:40 PM
PanFry PanFry is offline
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AHHHHHH! So much information! Thank you guys.....

I see a transfer project coming on.

How many tapes do you have?
i dunno 2-300-ish?... I culled the heard a long while back. It's not a Smithsonian collection or anything... just a lot of tapes.

How many hours a day will you be using it;
better measured by how many times a month or year... really the most action the VHS tapes get is when we have friends staying for the weekend or some such and want to watch something old / "offbeat" that we watched when we were of a more tender age.

Are there tapes you plan to watch more than once?
There are tapes that see more action than others. Things like "Fantastic Planet," & "Faster Pussycat Kill Kill..." get played... other things have not seen the light of day in a while. Having said that... Maybe it's time for another cull.... I just hate letting things go.

Do any of the tapes need some form of restoration/cleanup/editing beyond what you already see playing in good VCR?
None of that. Nothing's ever been eaten or a had a hard life. Never stored in a garage /attic /basement... i've lived in a humidity control house for the past 20 years and so have they... I know, doesn't mean they haven't degraded... just, best case scenario.

That's my VHS situation in a nutshell. I suspect I will probably bite the bullet and wait for a refurb to open up here. I don't think I can trust the used decks on the ebay.

Anyway... thanks again for the replies and great information....
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