VCR Buying Guide (S-VHS, D-VHS, Professional) for restoring video

[djslava]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

The very reason this list exists is because those VCRs do what you're seeking: image clarity, accuracy.

Screenshots can never exist, because unit condition is what matters now. In the 90s-00s, when all were sold new, sure, maybe, screen shots of all could have exists. Still, lots of variables.

Most of these decks are closely related, with two generations of JVC, a few Panasonics, some clones/rebadges, and some one-offs like Mitsubishi or rare Japanese Victor/JVCs.

People are usually very astonished by how good VHS actually looks, in a high end quality player, rather than what they remember VHS to be, or see from thrift store VHS VCR finds.

The most important questions are actually about your tapes:
- How many tapes?
- What recording mode are your VHS tapes? SP, LP, EP/SLP, or a mix? If mix, % of each? If not known, guestimate. (What you don't want to do is put these tapes in a ratty old VCR, and have the tapes get damaged.)
- What % of your VHS collection is from a camcorder, a VCR, and retail?
- What era are your tapes from, % of each? 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s?
- Are you aware of any problems with the tapes? Either with the signal, or physical? (mold, etc)

These are primarily early copies of VHS-C, VHS, and S-VHS from 1990-2005 recorded in SP directly on a large or small camcorder. There's no mold, and the tapes are in almost mint condition. Some of them have linear mono audio, which requires a better signal-to-noise ratio and the absence of any interference (sometimes you can hear a buzzing sound in the background, which varies from one device to another, as well as high frequencies). Obviously, finding a device that's not worn out is time-consuming and expensive, but I'm in no rush. My primary goal is to assemble a high-quality system so that neither the TBC, nor the capture card, nor the tape recorder itself degrades the signal by introducing their own imperfections.

After reviewing the list, I noticed, for example, that there are models without S-Video. As far as I know (including my own experience), composite audio produces more blurry images and slightly distorts colors. A VCR without S-VIDEO (SQPB) also produces a visually less sharp image, as if a slight Gaussian blur has been applied (specifically to the luminance signal).

I understand the idea of ​​buying a VCR in good condition. But which one would be superior in quality if it were in mint condition?

And regarding capture cards: digitization studios use BlackMagic products, but those who have used them say they haven't had the best experience (particularly for digitizing VHS). I wonder what the ideal digitization setup would be if the budget was unlimited? After all, we're preserving history.
In short, I want the best of the best devices (or even the best three).

[Aya_Rei]

You mean composite video, though different VCRs produce different audio quality. From what I've seen an example being the Panasonic AG-1980. Usually it produces much higher quality audio when it comes to linear audio only tapes. For Hi-Fi audio the differences are small enough to where I could probably recreate it in post.

I feel like something to keep it mind about BlackMagic products is that from what I've heard, these devices are more suited for digitally created signals (IE Video game consoles) and the more stable broadcast formats (Betacam, etc) not the unstable consumer formats.

Like I know of a local professional who has been doing this for 40 years and he uses BlackMagic devices, same with a local transfer service who has also been in the scene for 30+ years. But they deal with broadcast formats (My local professional especially, he hasn't dealt with VHS in years now)

Also many people, including BM themselves (I swear I saw this in one of their manuals) state that a TBC is required to be used otherwise the BlackMagic device would keep cutting out since it needs a stable signal. If the signal is cutting out because of the VCR and/or tape, than an external TBC should just help with keeping the capture card from throwing a fit.

[Disharmony]

Where does the JVC HR-X7 fall under? On Reddit they describe it as the greatest yet it's not on any of the recommended VCRs.

[lordsmurf]

Hello again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Disharmony

Where does the JVC HR-X7 fall under? On Reddit they describe it as the greatest yet it's not on any of the recommended VCRs.

We've discussed Japanese decks in other threads before: Late Japanase Victors (JVC) VCRs with TBCs?
^ Note that ge0dude never including X7 on his list. Does it really have line TBC at all?

To use a medical term, that JVC VCR is "unremarkable", as compared to other with-TBC JVC decks. There's nothing special about it. It's merely a Japanese version of the dynamic drum (DD) decks, comparable to the HR-S9500 (NTSC), 8600 (PAL), or 9600 (NTSC).

With all respect to the Reddit member "jsurico656" (who I've probably never met?), he did start his post with the "escape hatch" text of "I believe I possess", meaning he likely had no real basis for comparison. He hides his Reddit posting history, so it's hard to judge his expertise here. A Google search shows that he's mostly a retro gamer, no experience or expertise in this arena. ---- For example, I really do believe my car is "one of the best made in the 2010s", but of course many will disagree, and I'm not a mechanic either. It's not really a defensible statement, therefore I never make it.

This X7 VCR looks "fancy" because it's all in Japanese, and has knobs/sliders/dials (most of which are for linear editing controls). People are too easily impressed by such things. But none of that matters anymore.

These days, you look for
- lack of DD on JVC decks, or DD emulation/bypass mods -- with exception of NTSC 9500, NTSC 7600
- condition of heads, transport, motors
- condition of power board, caps
- availability of parts, 99%+ through availability of "donor decks"
- community of ownership, so you can get help when things go wrong -- something even I need, with my literal 3 decades of experience with S-VHS VCRs

With Japanese decks, you also have to watch for IRE. And then translating the text is not always straight-forward, as a lot of the terminology does not translate easily (not even with AI apps).

Even owners of this very decks appear to have no clue how these operate. For example, in this Youtube video by TRAN BAO NGOC, a user asks if the deck can play PAL. See attached image. The Youtuber wrongly claimed it played both PAL and NTSC, and fellow digitalFAQ member mbassiouny had to correct him. Comments on the Youtube video by MISU are mostly about how the deck is not working for them, or dumb questions about how much it costs; it's used, so whatever the owner wants for it, duh!

I'll end this post with a quote by radiokom in that above linked thread:

Quote:

Originally Posted by radiokom

My opinion - mission impossible. If you need good VCR with TBC, find a good VCR with TBC, they are all listed in this forum. {sic} These are Japanese analogs for Japanese market only, but they cost about the same.

There's no reason to import a Japanese Victor S-VHS VCR, because almost 1:1 performing decks were released in the USA/Canada NTSC IRE7.5 markets and UK/Europe/Australia PAL markets. The is no reason to chase these impossible-to-fix JVC decks in the 2020s, unless you're in Japan with Japanese tapes, or unless you have some sort of weird nostalgia/fetish for obscure VCRs.

[Haunted_TBC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

It's merely a Japanese version of the dynamic drum (DD) decks, comparable to the HR-S9500 (NTSC), 8600 (PAL), or 9600 (NTSC).

Actually, after researching internal VCR photos and chassis comparisons, I can say that the HR-X7 (and I assume its counterparts the X1, X3, and X5) are actually much more closely related to the WVHS decks from JVC/Victor than any of the SR9XXX series VCRs, not only in terms of internal layout, chips, boards, and circuitry, but also in the high-end fold-down front chassis design. The SR-W7U in particular is nearly identical to the HR-X7 internally.

[Disharmony]

Thanks, and now that you guys mentioned it... I also noticed that it doesn't have TBC unlike those WVHS models or upper-tier JVC decks, contrary to what the redditor claimed. So other than 3D NR and DD (which most people disable anyway), it doesn't have much going for it.

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haunted_TBC

are actually much more closely related to the WVHS decks
The SR-W7U in particular is nearly identical to the HR-X7 internally.

To me, that's a huge red flag, because those decks are essentially irreparable now. Even the "working" units now all seem to have quirks.

Most owners of W-VHS decks find themselves underwhelmed at the results, given all the (undeserved) flowery comments over the years. Again, people were too easily impressed by "it's Japanese!", and not the actual construction and output of the decks. AG-1980P would have been a far better investment for the same money, as most W-VHS owners were not acquiring their first high-end JVC. (My rule is "JVC first, Panasonic second or third". The JVC S-VHS gives best overall performance, AG-1980P addresses more specific situations.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Disharmony

I also noticed that it doesn't have TBC

Yeah, to me, this deck is a problem. There is a lot of conflicting info online, between users (most of which are seemingly not that smart about VCRs) and sparse documentation. ge0dude ran into similar problems where he was researching these decks, as (I think) he mentioned in his Japanese VCR thread, but also in our private conversations.

Again, Japanese is not easily translated to English. So, for example, I could see a rough translation of JVC menu entry "Calibration" being translated to "Correction", and somebody then badly assumes the menu entry was for the TBC. But it was just that worth "Calibration" setting, and no TBC existed.

From my quick research on this model, I wasn't able to ascertain if the X7 had TBC or not. You'll have to dig deeper. However, ge0dude tried to be thorough with his Japanese S-VHS VCR (with line TBC) list, so I doubt this was an oversight, but rather intentional exclusion.

[Haunted_TBC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

To me, that's a huge red flag, because those decks are essentially irreparable now. Even the "working" units now all seem to have quirks.

Attached are a couple of images of both if you’d like to see how closely related they are.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

From my quick research on this model, I wasn't able to ascertain if the X7 had TBC or not. You'll have to dig deeper. However, ge0dude tried to be thorough with his Japanese S-VHS VCR (with line TBC) list, so I doubt this was an oversight, but rather intentional exclusion.

I have attached the exact page from the owner’s manual confirming the presence of the Time Base Corrector.

“Correct screen distortion and distortion to play on a stable screen. 629 Digital TBC”

[Disharmony]

That's an interesting looking TBC switch. First time I've seen that its two buttons like +/- functionality. Usually it's either a toggle switch with the Panny or just a simple button (for the JVC) that turns it on and off.