For sale: JVC HR-DVS3-U
 

Background of player
I purchased the JVC HR-DVS3-U from Quebec City in March 2022. (I also purchased its sister, the JVC SR-VS30). The sellers said he bought them from a school. Not sure if this was a college or high school. The units were very clean inside when I opened them up. I carefully followed the cleaning procedure with 100% rubbing alcohol and special swabs for electronics. No dirt came off. So, the unit was very clean.

Features
It has a line-TBC, stabilization, etc. It also has a place for MiniDV tapes, but the consensus is that it is inferior to MiniDV recorders. So, I’ve never tested it and don’t recommend using it.

Functioning
I was using it as my main SVHS until it “ate” a tape. By that, I mean that the tape bunched up inside the player and when the tape ejected, some of the tape was still inside. I have tested it since, with the lid off, and I haven’t reproduced the problem. I’m not sure if it was due to playing a tape circa 1986 and maybe there was something wrong or weak about the tape. I’m not sure if it needs servicing or not. I recorded a video showing the inside of the player as it plays tapes. It's too large to attach here so I can send it to you privately.

Parts
See the photos and video for what the inside of the unit looks like. If you need even more closeups I can send you the video privately.

Video transfer
The unit does the job. See the video file for a comparison of a transfer from a non-TBC JVC player with the DVS3-U. Note that in the non-TBC footage, I processed it and deinterlaced it. In the second footage, I did not process it, apart from putting it in Premiere and exporting as mp4. The point of the sample is to show that the TBC in the DVS3-U does a good job of fixing the problems with a nearly 30-year old VHS tape.

Sale
The cost of the DVS3-U is $500 USD (or $650 CAD) plus $50 USD shipping to Canada or United States. The reason the price is lower than the same model on ebay is because of the issue with eating tapes. I can’t find any VCR repair shops near me to advise, so if there is one near you, perhaps they can make the necessary adjustments.

Payment in Canada by Interac e-transfer is preferred. Payment from US by Paypal, Wise or similar to be discussed.

Conclusion
If you have more questions I am happy to answer below, or at my username at Gmail.