Which PAL S-VHS players to pick?
 

Hey friends,

So a vendor has confirmed the availability of the following models:

Panasonic – HS 860B – 950B – 960B and SV121EB

JVC - HR S7600ek – S7700ek – S7955

I'll be buying one of each brand. Assuming they're all in the same condition (which they're probably not) which one should I go for?

Thanks

7955 is one of my top suggestions.
7700 should be next.

Get a JVC 1st, a good Panasonic 2nd, and a different good JVC 3rd.

And about the Panas? Which one of HS 860B – 950B – 960B and SV121EB ...

Do you know anything about the condition of the machines? The 950 is the oldest, shares a bit of the video processing chips with the american AG1980P, though I have no idea if it's comparable in quality. Also, like the 1980P it has a bunch of surface-mount capacitors that can go bad, so I would maybe avoid it unless you know it has been serviced or is prepared to tinker with it yourself.

The 860 has been praised by some users here and on videohelp, so it may be a nice choice. The 960 is from the same lineup (they share the same service manual), not sure what extra features it has compared to the 860.

The NV-SV121 is the newest and I think a bit more cost-reduced, very little info about this one around.

Panasonics:
1. 960B
2. 950B
3. 860B
4. SV121EB

JVC:
1. HR-S7700
2. HR-S7600
3. HR-S7955

What does the "EK" stand for that's in the end of some JVC model designations.

E = Europe
K = I don't remember, but it's been discussed on the site before, maybe a color code?

"EK" suffix are PAL, where "EK" denotes the "English Kingdom" (UK), made in Germany, and mostly sold in the UK
"MS" suffix are "MESECAM"machines
"U" suffix are NTSC, made for the USA (North American) market.

I have tested about 5 or 6 players from JVC over the years, all of them were 7xxx series and EK suffixm none of them had Dynamic Drum ( so no issues with gears etc on that front )

The best one for me was the HR-S7955 ( manufacture date July 2002 )

1. HR-S7955 ( released 2002 )
2. HR-S7700 (same as the HR-S7722 introduced in year 2000 )
3. HR-S7600 ( released very late 1999 - but PAL / EK version does not have Dynamic Drum)

maybe it was just that the 7955 was the newest machine, but the transfers I did with the 7955 are better than anything else I used back in the day :-)

that said, all three of those JVC players are pretty decent, and I still have the 7955, and a 7500, and a Sharp VC-S2000 (which was allowed to make machines under licence with JVC's Digipure and TBC ), the Sharp is very good, and well worth hunting down

what did you get in the end ??

Thanks for checking! I got one HR-S7700 and one NV-HS960. Haven't had the time to test run them yet though.

both solid choices, good luck with the testing !

I made them based on your advice :wink2: Thanks a lot.

I like those 77xx models. I think you made wise choices.

I just hope condition is good on both.
Remember, condition matters more than model, when looking at a menu of good models. Too many people run towards "best" models that are rough, overlook "not best" (but still excellent) models in great condition.