Choice between LG RCT699H and Panasonic DMR EX99V combos?
 

Hello,

I have just bought an LG RCT699H for converting VHS to DVD's. I chose LG for the reasonable price, but I'm not totally happy with it. I have converted some 20 VHS so far; the LG combo works alright, but I hoped to get a better quality recording (I recorded in XP mode).

I know that old VHS don't have a perfect quality from start (they were made 10/15 years ago with a JVC camera), so I was thinking of upgrading to Panasonic DMR EX99V.

I was also wondering whether to choose a Panasonic combo with or without internal memory. The Panasonic model with 250 Giga of memory costs 600,00 Euros here in Italy: do you think it's worth the expense? The one without internal memory costs 360,00 Euros. My big concern is: if I invest in a Panasonic combo, will I have a better final quality on DVD?

Thanks a lot in advance for your help.

you are NEVER going to get good transfers with ANY combo deck.

as a minimum you must use a good Super-VHS VCR with TBC connected via S-video to a good external TBC and then to an LSI chipset DVD recorder (preferably the JVC DR-M100) and record in either XP or FR155 modes

@Volksjager: thanks a lot for your reply. What brand would you suggest for a "super VHS VCR"? Can you explain what TBC and S-Video mean? Are they easily found here in Europe? As you can see, I am a total tabula rasa as far as technical abilities and knowledge. :screwy:

s-video = connection (like coax, SCART, composite/"RCA", etc)
s-video = separated video = it transmits luma and chroma on separate wires, and gives superior analog transfer

TBC = timebase corrector

Yes, JVC and Panasonic S-VHS VCRs are easily found in Europe and North America both. :congrats:

Thanks a lot!!

eBay.de and eBay.co.uk are good places to check. Depending on where you are in Europe, I may have some more suggestions on where to buy.

It also depends on if you want a JVC or Panasonic VCR, which depends on SP vs. LP recordings. (It's not such a big deal with PAL, as it is with NTSC. PAL doesn't have 6-hour SLP/EP like we do.)

Good luck, and happy hunting/shopping! :drunk:

Thanks to you all for your kind replies. I have one more question: if I find a good VHS player, can I use it as external source to record with my combo? Thanks.

In most cases, yes. As long as the recorder half accepts external input, it should be okay.

Thanks for your reply. I live in Milan, Italy. Do you know of any places where I can buy, preferably not online? The mail service in Italy is not very reliable :mad:, so I'd rather buy directly.

As far as SP vs. LP recording, I intend to transfer my VHS to DVD in XP mode.

Quality VCRs are not easy to find in offline shops.

eBay.it and Amazon.it are Italian options to find things online. I see nothing at Amazon, aside from the not-great unit you have now.

Is Italy really *that* bad to ship to? Most EU locations should be fine. (I have friends and associates all over the world. And we mail stuff all over, all the time. Never had issues, aside from occasional slowness.)

Hello Lordsmurf, thanks for your reply. I have read of people buying electronic appliances on Amazon.it and they literally got lost. I only buy books/DVDs on Amazon.com, so in case they go lost, the loss will not be too high. Plus I'm afraid they might be damaged during the trip.

Regarding e-bay, I guess they sell only second-hand goods, so I don't want to risk buying something that is not in mint condition (and works probably worse than the one I have). Ciao!

The best VCRs are no longer manufactured, thus not sold new. It's analog equipment in the digital era. Second-hard is the ONLY way to get quality capture equipment -- all VCRs, most capture cards, most TBCs. It's simply not made anymore.

They are no longer manufactured, not even for professionals? I wonder, in television companies, all the programmes - up to a certain date - must be all on tape. So how do they play them? :hmm:

no TV broadcaster is still using any kind of VHS tape
maybe Betacam SP or Digital-9, but no way VHS
the best stuff was made in the late 90's and early 2000's
brand new in box old stock still shows up on ebay from time to time