Which JVC VCR to pair with Panasonic ES10/ES15?
 

I have spent countless hours looking for a "unicorn" TBC VCR for a low price to no avail. I am ready to just buy something reasonable and pair it with Panasonic ES10-ES15 pass through for psuedo TBC. The last step will be building my ATI all in Wonder AGP/Windows XP machine.

I don't know anything about the existing quality of the family videos I will be capturing. They are all on VHS, and some of the original may be available on Hi8 Cassete. (The camcorder still works and I am assuming I could always pass that through the ES10/15 as well).

Here are my options:

JVC HR-J693U @ $65 CAD shipped (no remote). This unit is described as a "Quasi SVHS VCR". I believe it upscales VHS tapes to 400i.

JVC HR-S2915U @ $100 CAD "local" pickup (hour drive each way)

JVC HR-D130U @ $190 CAD local pickup with remote.This unit seems to have a good reputation online but is from the 80s.

JVC HR-S3902U @ $235 CAD shipped

JVC HR-S6700U @ $250 CAD shipped. (Does this have TBC?)

JVC HR-S7300U @ $320 CAD local pickup (may be able to negotiate lower)

*also curious about*

JVC HR-SC1000U for $50 CAD.(Owner states "Video stopped working one day..may need new video head). Would this unit be worth gambling on a potential repair?

SQPB/Quasi SVHS VCR means it can play super-vhs tapes in vhs-quality
JVC HR-S2915U and JVC HR-S3902U are all pretty similar afaik, JVC HR-J693U is from the same generation but lacks s-video and digital processing of the SVHS ones.

JVC HR-S7300U - a bit older, not sure how it compares in practice.

6700 is an early SVHS model would probably need service, SC1000U older again and very complicated, D130U even older and not even hi-fi,

If you have the original on hi8, that will give much better quality than a vhs dub.

Thank You!
it seems like the HR-S2915U @ $100 is the best budget option then? I am picking up my ES10/15 in the next week or so so I will take a look at what I can find on Hi8. Thanks!

The days of cheap+best are long gone -- not that those really existed to begin with. Yes, in the early 2010s, there was a glut of this "old VHS tech" (not!) being tossed out by organizations. Supply and demand drove down pricing artificially post-recession, but fizzled out by 2015/6.

So it's either
(a) pay for quality,
(b) try to assemble budget options, but understanding there are quality hits, caveats, quirks, nuisances

Depending on sources, sometimes you can skate by with acceptable results. At least better than plain VHS VCR, no TBC of any kind. So it's is an upgrade, just not ideal.

I don't know anything about the existing quality of the family videos I will be capturing. They are all on VHS,

That would be ideal. Hi8 copied to VHS never looks great. Yes, ES10/15 should pair. Depends on camera. If the camera has line TBC, it will be better for those tapes. Then the ES10/15 only acts as non-TBC frame sync, and can be extremely hit-or-miss, especially since Hi8/Video8 tend to drop excessive frames.

That's realy the only option here, everything else is ancient, or crap, or both. The only issue is now whether it works properly. At very least, you need to take a portable TV, and a retail fodder tape that doesn't matter if eaten. Does it play, does it not? At least you can see if it plays SP flawlessly. Note that it may play LP or EP/SLP horribly, so that's the risk of "local pickup" options. You're essentially risking $100 CAD. Understand you're gambling here, not buying. eBay is actually safer than local pickups (almost no exceptions), and eBay is also gambling.

Correct. The 29xx is essentially identical to 39xx and 59xx JVC decks. It looks the same as SR-V101, but actually isn't. There's also a Panasonic rebadge of the 59xx. These are all very plastic decks, and tend to work perfectly, or not at all. There's rarely any middle ground. Sadly, due to plastic nature, and low prosumer pricing, these decks are bad condition more than not. So proceed carefully.

Worth repeating. :congrats:

ES10/15 (which exact are you getting, 10 or 15) tend to also work perfectly, or not at all (LCD error messages, DVD drive noises). So these can be easier to test. You must get the remote for it, otherwise you'll have problem. You cannot use a generic/universal, and replacements are harder to come by (with many fake auctions on eBay, Chinese sellers that send out random generic remotes).

With gas being the price it is, I have to wonder if you're really saving money. Also time = money, or at least it has non-monetary value.

@ lordsmurf. Thank you so much for the time you took to reply.

I have an E15 on the way that I got for $40 CAD on ebay. It is missing the remote. I do have an old panasonic DVD-RV 31 with a remote that I am going to test on it (not hopeful). I also have a Logitech Harmony 520 I was going to try out. The ES15 is listed as compatable. Failing that I saw a long list of remotes on ebay available. I was unaware that there were fakes out there so this $40 investment might be up in smoke.

I will definately test out the VCR I pick up.

If I can get the original Hi8 tapes I am going to invest in one of the Hi8 cameras with TBC listed here. I have already found a few options locally on kijiji. Would there be any point of running these into the ES15 passthrough?

The camera is at my parents place so I can't verify the model number right now but it is definately mono, and one of the older all black models. I have some ambitions of scaling up, and capturing footage for extended family. They may have footage on Digital8 so I am open to getting another device. It looks like there is no single device that does Digital8+Hi8+TBC.

If you can't find an original remote, I know one of these work. I have one and they seem to have codes for nearly every vcr and dvd player/recorder I've needed. Codes are set over usb and downloaded so it's a bit like the harmony rather than the ones you program by punching in a number code. Suspect the harmony will work fine too though if codes for any panasonic dvd-recorders exist on it.

We have a stack of these for when we need remotes, our versions are white but they're from the same family.

They even work with some prehistoric equipment including Betamax (SL-HF950s) and V2000 units as well as some of the desk-broadcast stuff with IR receivers which can be easier to work with than digging in menus.

Highly recommended.

I got this remote from Amazon Canada for my DMR-ES25. Works great. Cheap construction but it works.

We must live in the same area because I've seen that same JVC HR-S7300 listed online for a while. I considered it as a backup for my S7800U however if I recall correctly it turned out to be an older model without the built in TBC that my S7800 has so I passed on it.

If your building a XP machine and looking for a capture card I have a few ATI AIW 9600 AGP cards (Theater 200 chip, complete with their cables and software) that I might putting up for sale in the near future.