Panasonic S7670 as backup VCR?

[BarryTheCrab]

I am poking about Amazon looking for a decent bargain (under $150.00) backup Panny for my JVC S7800U. My searches involve trying to get S-video and Dynamorphous heads and the Panny S7670 seems to fit the bill. It would be used if needed with my ES10 and a Datavideo1000 from LS, via VC-500.
So, what are thoughts on this budget-minded choice? Should I go with another Panny model or find a Sharp with HQ playback?

[lordsmurf]

I had good VHS VCRs (Sharp) and low-end S-VHS VCRs (JVC) as backups, but that was almost 20 years ago. The main reason was costs. Not due to hardware costs, but my own budget constraints at the time.

However, the backup didn't really look good enough to me either, on probably 50% of the tapes that had failed in the primary. I had to set aside a lot of tapes for years, until I acquired a better stash of gear. In a few cases, what I needed didn't yet exist, namely that ES10 that fixed tearing. I really depends on what is needed. It's hard to say until used an tested with said tapes it's intended for.

I see a PV-S7670 on eBay for $103 shipped.

I've always disliked the non-pro Panasonic decks because they have a love affair with blue screens, and cannot be turned off. I don't know about this exact model, but I'd not be shocked if the same issues persisted, since it's one of those Omnivision series. A quick Google look-see shows that it probably does have the dreaded BS error.

And BS = blue screen or bull$hit, take your pick.

[sanlyn]

You can turn the feature off on most models.

The 7670 has Dynamorphous metal heads. Beats anything JVC ever made for playing slow speed tapes. Absence of noise reduction means you might have some cleanup to do post-capture, but you'll see details that will never appear on a JVC. And you have to cleanup post-capture anyway with VHS, regardless. The biggest problem you'll have is tracking and dropouts if the 7670 isn't perfectly aligned. The problem you'll have with a poorly aligned JVC is that the tape will be permanently damaged where it mistracks.

[BarryTheCrab]

OK then...that is why I ask the experts. Is the AG-1960 a worthy mention and does it have the cap issues?
I still have a clean PV-9451 though it lacks S-video.
Saw your post late, Sanlyn, thank you

[BarryTheCrab]

Are there tutorials on alignment, or if I should need that I think there is still 1 shop in Providence, RI that works on VCRs. I might risk the 7670.
Note: I don't actually do THAT many tapes, maybe 15-20 a year, but there is something magic about capturing tape. DV, HDV, Hi8, and VHS, those I have owned and of course had to capture, but it's just so cool to see that video show up in the box. I know, it's like modern man being fascinated by seeing a simple fire (I still am, especially with beer).

[sanlyn]

Any VCR that's 10 or 15 years old will have issues, although the 1960 didn't have the nightmare maintenance and anti-aging schedule of the AG-1980. They seem to have more robust metal heads and tape tracking than the JVC's. The 1960 is more like the prized 1995-96 PV-S4xxx non-tbc SVHS series, which are more or less the ancestors of the AG series and which don't seem to want to die, given decent care. None of these can out-perform an AG-1980 or JVC 9800 in top condition, but go try and find one. The 1960 does have a tbc, after a fashion, but it's weak enough to look as if it's turned off when it encounters a bad tape and needs help with a pass-thru unit. Still, it doesn't have the dnr side effects, doesn't do anything to muddy up or oversharpen the tape's content, and gives you more of an unmitigated warts-and-all look at what's really on the tape. I've seen pros say that they prefer the 1960 over the 1980 in that respect.

The later PV=9xxx series from the late 1990's and early 2000's won't play as cleanly as the 1995-96 or AG series. The PV=9700 series was Panasonic on its way downhill. By the early 2000's when Panny unashamedly started re-using its '4000" model numbers as the PV-V4xxx series (with the extra "V" in the number) they gave a competent series number system to a slew of tin and plastic junk machines that marked the end of the VCR era from Panny and all the other big VCR brand names.

[BarryTheCrab]

So as I look to a PV-S76xx, browsing the internet and manuals I did not see the difference twixt the S7670 or S7680. Does anyone have knowledge of that potential difference? For the record I will probably buy off Amazon, (a few credit card points, a $25 gift certificate, cash), in an effort to avoid Ebay.