The first two are SVHS decks. Decent quality I think but no TBC, and they're quite old so how well they would work would depend a lot on the condition. The 630 is a standard hi-fi deck, but a bit newer.

Has anyone had any experience with a Mitsu HS-HD2000U? I'm asking since I'm seriously considering getting one because I can't find any good JVC or Panasonic for under $400 on eBay (maybe a S9500U for $450 or an AG-1970 for $250 + $46 shipping or a S7500U for $999 + 30 shipping as of writing this :eek:, marketplace availability is all over the place too) + I can turn off the TBC (unlike my main HM-DH30000U/basically any other D-VHS deck), which can really help me on tapes with tearing when paired with my ES15. It's driving me crazy and it sucks that there's nothing I can do about it other than just buy a new VCR :weird:

Hello all,

I've been researching the Philips VR1100. I found some information online that says this is an NTSC model, but I see here that it is listed as a PAL. Did it come in both varieties, or is the other information I found simply wrong?

Cheers,
WJR

It's certainly a PAL model, got one here. Never found anything about a NTSC version. There is a VR1010 that is multi-system though (no TBC).

How advisable is it (in the UK) to buy a JVC player off the list in post 21 that's not on the list in post 3 (HR-S7860EK for example)?

Thanks for the thread and advice.

That one should be fine I think, it features TBC/DNR and all that jazz. (Though oddly enough that model has the TBC/DNR feature in the menu instead of a button on the front.) I think it's a bit newer than the HR-S7800EK. The list in post 3 doesn't cover every model variation like different tuners and such, but all hr-S78xx models should have the desired features.

Damn, sold for 140 quid, thanks for the advice though, useful for the next one:

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53...K/143696237136

-- merged --

I dug out my old Panasonic catalogue from when I bought my recently died NV-HD660; it's dated 1996 and the two S-VHS recorders in it are the NV-HS1000, advertised as having TBC, and the NV-HS900.

Edit: in the UK.

-- merged --

Just lost out on this Philips VR1000, went for 114.44 GBP:

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53...m/303662115460

The DVS2/SRV20 is a somewhat fragile model. The deck is heavy, and front-heavy. Yet the front panel is easily destroyed, even in the factory box (not enough foam cushioning). The resin-like plastic chips and cracks, and shatters with only moderate droppage or force (ie, normal shipping). The panel itself is poorly constructed, with lots of pressure switches using plastic pieces, constructed from the same brittle plastics. The screws are too small, the plastic posts are using soft plastics, and vibration loosens everything. The deck can literally fall apart in shipping, and arrive DOA.

The DV deck is worthless, and usually just eat tapes, an infamous design flaw of JVC DV decks.

But we buy it for the S-VHS deck these days. This model was mostly sold B2B, and tends to be abused. I see more decks with bad heads than not, including so-called "working/tested" decks from eBay. I don't believe I've ever come across as DVS2/SRV20 deck that ranked above B+ on my VCR grading scale. The B+ grade is based on tracking performance, which is itself also a statement on head wear and overall deck condition.

I refuse to work on this model of JVC anymore. That should tell you something.

That model should be fine.

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.)

Good info, good tips. :congrats:

As mentioned, neither of those decks is recommended. Hence why not listed (and is wasn't an oversight). I may need to make a list of specifically NOT recommended decks.

D-VHS decks are generally only good for SP mode VHS tapes. It's not that the units cannot play LP or EP/SLP, but simply do a miserable job at it. So to me, that model decks is always disqualified. The HS-HD2000U in particular has touchy audio tracking from my experience, so I'd doubly avoid it for VHS (or S-VHS) tape playback.

The 7860 is a fine deck, a close relative of my own HR-S7965EK.

You need to understand that eBay is gambling, not buying. Sellers on eBay are rarely video-savvy. When most folks see a picture -- any picture, of any quality -- they deem it to be "working". Of course, that's ridiculous. Same goes for "tested". The person sticks in a ratty old SP mode retail VHS tape, sees anything on screen, and it passes their worthless idea of a test. VCRshop.nl is buying, eBay is gambling.

Could you share your input on the following?

1) Panasonic PV-9664
2) Panasonic NV-HD670

HD670 was an excellent VHS machine. I say was as it was rugged with amorphous heads and simple to use for reliable good quality timeshift work. But now it does not have all the trick features like TBC and NR we need. The other one I don't know I'm afraid.

There are at least two NV-HD670s, one PAL one with K mech similar to the more common 610 (I think), and one Multi-system one which more resemples the PAL NV-HD620 and may or may not have the newer simpler Z mechanism. I think the former is pretty nice as far as hi-fi models go, and one of the last with k-mechanism and adjustable picture settings. I'm guessing you may be talking about the latter as you seem to be based in the americas? I have the slightly newer NV-HD630AM multi-system, it seemed to have decent picture quality but I haven't really had a good look into it yet. A bit more nice and sturdy than the Samsung SV-7000W (and similar) multi-system but lacks the conversion functionality and SECAM-L playback those have. They use the same mechs as the SVHS equivialents from Panasonic, but the video ICs are completely different, they used some Philips chips in most of the NV-HD models rather than their own for some reason. It may be one of the better VCRs for PAL tapes in the US short of importing a PAL SVHS deck.

Don't know much about the PV-9664 as it's NTSC-only model, so someone else has to chime in there.

They're both standard VHS Hi-Fi models without any TBC or other digital stuff. So, if you plan to use them for capturing you would want to pair them with a Panasonic DMR-ES10 or other DVR with line-TBC functionality on pass-through, but I'm not sure if there's much you can get that supports PAL if you are in the US. Just like on VCRs, A number of PAL DVRs had some support for NTSC, including the ES10, but the reverse was not really thing (even though the hardware is pretty much the same).

When you say "now" do you mean the newer builds of the device? I've found it on craigslist. I can ask when it was bought if it determines whether or no it has those features.

To give you a little bit of background, I have digitized my PAL VHS-C tapes using the camcorder that recorded them (Panasonic NV-VS70EN), but there is a bit of a halo around the people's faces. I have tried with another exact model camcorder and I still see the issue. Now, I am not sure if this is because of the camcorder's playback capabilities or it's intrinsic to VHS-C tapes. Can the HD670 help in this regard?

For capturing tapes the high-end super-vhs decks with TBC are the the ones that can give the best quality. The TBC function in the VCR stabilizes the unstable video signal coming off the tapes and significantly reduces horizontal wiggling you would otherwise get. This isn't a feature any of those two models have.

Does the NV-HD670 you are looking at look like this or this? The first one is the older PAL model quasipal is talking aboutt, the other is the slightly newer multi-system one.

Panasonic VCRs often sharpen a bit much by default which can cause haloing, and on most of the newer ones like the newer of the two they removed the ability to adjust anything about the picture for whatever reason. It may also be something that's on the tape though. The older NV-HD670 has a sharpness knob and a button to turn off the CVC auto-adjustment function. So if it's the multi-system one it may not be any better than your camcorder. Your camcorder also has the coveted TBC/DNR functionality, it will be very hard to find anything else in the US that can play PAL tapes and has that so it will be hard to beat it without importing a high-end PAL SVHS deck. It's also a S-VHS camcorder, so if you recorded in S-VHS format (it can record SVHS to normal tapes with SVHS-ET), you won't be able to play them back on either of those decks (I don't think the PV-9664 will play PAL tapes at all.).

Thank you for your response. It is the latter. I think I'm left with no choice :hmm:

Just to add about the haloing, it may even be part of the recording. Some camcorders do this and some old broadcasts too. But you don't want to add to it with adding halos to the halos! Panasonic decks do sharpen - it was essential to give not only crisper edges but cleaner colour too on CRT sets. My main TV is CRT and if you turn the sharpening down or off you are left with an old fashioned wishy washy faded look. You soon want to sharpen again. That's why it's baked into so many VCR's. But for capturing do keep looking for a machine with such manual setting. It's important for best results if you want to make them viewable on modern screens.

Only one deck I have - think it's the AG8700 - has no option to sharpen at all and looks great but this is a super expensive machine for studio use. And no LP playback. No machine is perfect.

Yes, I do understand that ebay is a gamble but the cheapest refurb TBC VCR on VCRshop.nl is 200 Euro plus postage to the UK. For what I need it for I think I'll get the odd prized recording digitised for a tenner each and take my chances for my other TV recordings. I can always sell on any I buy that are too below par without too much of a loss.

As long as you understand the nature of it, being gambling and not buying. Good luck! :congrats:

Hi All,

I have an option to buy either JVC HR-S7700EU or Panasonic NV-HS1000.
Which one would be a better buy?
Can't decide as both of them are quite good from what I know.
Panasonic NV-HS1000 offer is a bit more expensive though.
Does it worth extra over JVC HR-S7700EU?

Thanks

I'm sad I ordered a second hand HR-S7955MS I dont see TBC in the menu :( Is there any reasons ?

Ehm, according to the service manuel its only included in the EU/EK version.

-- merged --

Service Manual :
Attachment 12561

Hello i am thinking to buy a complement to my jvc hm-dr10000eu pal model.
This vcr works fine but id like to have another one to complement this one.
What i looking for, obviusly, best picture and sound quality possible for my vhs and s-vhs tapes.
I know the panasonic nv-hs1000 is a good choice and is very appreciate for the people,there are a lot of units to sell in ebay, but i was reading in the forum that the jvc hr-s9700 is better than panasonic.
As i said i am looking the best picture and sound quality possible, i dont know if those vcr (both the panasonic and the jvc) are better or worst than my jvc d-vhs deck but hope you can help me to choose the correct one.
Obviusly i cant buy both because i have no phisical space to have so many decks, I have a Beta Hifi Sanyo vtc-m40 and Superbeta Sony Sl-Hf950 plus the d-vhs jvc (all decks are PAL MODE)and as i say i have no physical space to buy both the panasonic and the jvc.
Thanks

It depends on your source tapes. But the general rule is JVC 1st, Panasonic 2nd. If you can only have one deck, get the JVC. If you can get both, then get both, as the decks will behave differently. Usually tapes act best with the JVC, but sometimes JVCs reject some tapes (therefore Panasonic better, for those tapes).

All JVC is nicely complemented by a Panasonic deck. But JVC D-VHS can be completed by a JVC S-VHS, with the HR-S being more different than the SR models. So the 9700 would be a complement.

A JVC being better than a Panasonic is, again, the general rule. But as a complement, the Panasonic would get my vote more than another JVC. But again, it really depends on source tapes (retail, homemade, recording modes, etc).

JVC and Panasonic S-VHS are generally better than the D-VHS. (But that's also not saying the D-VHS is bad. Better doesn't make not-better = bad.)

Yep, decks do take up space. Build a custom rack. A good rack can hold at least 4-6 decks, plus other gear like TBCs. I have 3, with 2 in use, 1 in storage.

That makes me sad, too. :(

That's a deck I've not seen, don't know much about. When in this thread (post#) was that exact model mentioned? This needs to be noted.

Interesting.
The 7711 has a MESECAM mode, though I have no way to test it.

Thanks for that added info. :congrats:

I saw it there : http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-restore/1567-vcr-buying-guide-2.html#post17383

But there is absolutely no problem, it was the only decent available in second hand market in France.

It's a LordSmurf rule.

Here in Europe, especially in Germany, the two most popular video recorders for digitizing are the JVC HR-S 9600 and the Panasonic FS200. Many users prefer the Panasonic recorder.
Some prefer the JVC others the Panasonic. It depends on your videotape.

The only rule there is that there is no rule.
Each player plays the tape differently. Therefore, if you want to digitize a large number of video cassettes, you should have a Panasonic, JVC and maybe any different brand at home and choose the player that works best with your video tape.
On the European market you have a large selection of different devices, even if you look beyond national borders.

Yep. All rules have exceptions.

I still want one of these. :( :laugh:

But if it ever develops caps issues, I'm pretty screwed, nobody wants to recap PAL decks. And I'm not really equipped to solder anything anymore. I'm more likely to make a mess.

Yep.

Also, certain JVC and Panasonics have differing properties, so you can actually have 2x JVC or 2x Panasonic, different models with the brand, as each reacts different to the tape. If you can afford all those decks, it helps ensure a smooth transfer projects. But my advice is when you can only pick one unit. Usually (not always) the JVC is the best deck overall, for the project. But it's always best to discuss a project here in the forum, before buying, get a 2nd opinion for the project planning.

I don't know about that. Some countries are dead zones for good players. Most of the good gear comes out of UK, Germany, and (these days) Netherlands.

I'm looking to get an S-VHS deck to digitize both SP and EP/SLP VHS tapes. I've done some searching of this thread and forum. Would a JVC S-VHS deck with Dynamic Drum (8000/9000 IIRC) be better for EP/SLP? I've seen a lot of people have praise for the Panasonic AG1980, which looks like a good model overall, but I was wondering if a JVC would be worth it for EP/SLP.

For EP/SLP tapes, I would recommend an AG-1980, it has DNR circuitry that is able to sharpen the picture and provide a great output. They can often suffer issues from age and build quality though, so they may need service Here are a couple of pictures from my never serviced(as far as I know) AG-1980 using a non-hifi tape in EP mode for demonstration. I captured these using my Dazzle DVC-100 capture card.

Hi All, I have the following setup...

Panasonic DMR-EZ48V (using component (RGB) output into Blackmagic device)
Blackmagic Shuttle Intensity USB3.0
Capture with Blackmagic Media Express (makes about 200-300GB file)
Import into Premiere Pro > edit and encode to MP4 (15-20GB file)

I was just checking if my setup looks ok to you guys. I have done a few tapes and they seem ok but want the best quality as only going to be doing them once. I have 100's of tapes to get through. Is it worth buying a VHS player with TBC? Such as the Panasonic NV-HS930 or a JVC?

I noticed the ones with TBC dont have component output but scart, is there any benefit of me using my existing Panasonic with component output or would the TBC ones with scart be better?

Thanks

Is Metz 9877 equivalent to Panasonic NV-HS1000?

Ended up going on a bit of a deep dive..

The 9877 should be the equivialent to the NV-HS1000, while the 9876 seems to be equivalent to the NV-HS800 (which is the same as the NV-HS1000 but without the TBC.)

Metz VC62 seems to be the NV-HS950, which is a slightly newer model with some digital circuitry using similar ICs to the NTSC AG1980P (but with a bunch of differences otherwise.) while the 64VA14 seems to match the similar looking but less featured NV-HS900.

Metz VE61 looks like NV-HS850.

Metz VF61 looks like the NV-HS860.

Metz VG61 looks like NV-HS825 though small pictures so I'm not sure..

Metz 9874 seems to be equiv to the NV-FS88 (FS200 sans TBC).

Metz 9875 seems to match the (I think older) NV-FS100.

Their normal VHS models seem to be a mix of panasonic and others, the VE44 looks a bit lik the NV-HD645, but others look like something completely different.

If I remember correctly, this post(http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...html#post15015) received a reply on this thread explaining in more detail the differences between "these" VCRs than just by "saying" that "one version is newer than the other", but I cannot find this answer directly(by searching this thread) nor through a general internet search engine.
From what I remember, there was probably an explanation(among others ?) for which markets(countries, regions), which versions are intended ...
I might be wrong... ? :) [I know there is this type of data(in this thread probably) for JVC VCRs].

I have no stabillization issues with my DMR-ES35V component (YUV btw) with the Intensity Shuttle, works fine without TBC, your DMR-EZ48V not ?
Through component you get more detail, because of that fine noise patterns will "come to light" some people prefer the more washed out picture you get from composite and s-video, the prores codec works fine for VHS and will also prevent dropped frames due to slow media transfer during capture.

I am looking to buy JVC HR-S7700EU, but it is not listed in the recommended ones.

Is it not good? Has anybody used this for digitizing and can provide feedback?

Thank you in advance.

Would a "used" (non refurb) deck from vcrshop.nl be OK? They've got a used Panasonic 950 for 300 Euro but the cheapest refurb TBC deck is a JVC SR-S388E for 500 Euro.

Do you know anything about https://www.positron-e.com/? They advertise a refurb Panasonic FS200 for 370 Euro: https://www.positron-e.com/panasonic-nv-fs200-svhs-videorecorder

Hello,

As I recently found my old Radeon X800 GT AGP AIW (yes, a rather rare card) in one of my drawers, I starting building a rig for a S-VHS digitizing project.
In my search for a decent VCR I stumbled over a PANASONIC NV-HS870 for sale.
This specific model is not mentioned in your recommended VCR list, but I did find a (bad quality) pdf manual file (attached below) and it specifically mentions a 3D DNR button to turn that function on/off (page 20).
So does it contain a line TBC and would it be recommended?

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

I'm pretty sure the 870 doesn't have TBC, it would be mentioned in the manual if it was.

As far as I've been able to find out none of the Panasonic 8nn models have TBC except the NV-HS860 has and all the 9nn ones have TBC except the NV-HS900.

Yeah I have a 870, it does not have a TBC, the digital chip it has only has 3D DNR, the NV-HS930 is the higher-end version where they used different digital chip that did TBC too.

Second that from andkyn.
From what I know of these newer SVHS PAL models:
NV-HS900 has no TBC, and some overlap with the older NV-HS800 and NV-HS1000, all K mech.
NV-HS950 looks superficialy similar to the 900 but has digital processing and TBC.

NV-HS850 swapped to Z mech and has digital process, but no TBC

NV-HS860 has digital process and TBC (think it's newer than the 850),
NV-HS960 is similar to the 860 but with some extra features.

NV-HS820 basic model with no TBC or DNR
NV-HS825 no TBC/DNR
NV-HS870 similar to 825 but with DNR
NV-HS930 similar to 825/870 but with TBC/DNR instead of just DNR.

NV-HS830 no TBC/DNR
NV-HS880 similar to 830 but with DNR

NV-SV120 DNR only - I think they swapped to the R4 mech at this point, similar to what the panasonic combo decks use but not entirely sure. They also seem to be more shared between the SVHS and normal VHS decks here than the earlier models, as they share the same user manual.
NV-SV121 DNR and TBC

I don't know if there were equivialents of these released in the US, tho there are a number of Japanese ones that look very similar.

-- merged --

Also, discovered an interesting thing about my JVC HR-S8500EH. The TBC/DNR worked on NTSC playback (it is not active on MESECAM.) Not sure if this is the case for later ones, tho at least the manuals doesn't say it's not active on NTSC. As far as I know this is not the case on the older panasonics (FS200, HS1000 HS950) but may be on the newer ones.

To complete the useful information hodgey and quasipal have provided on PAL Panasonic VCRs, here is an overview of Panasonic SVHS VCRs (and their equivalents from other manufacturers) as released in Germany from 1988 to 2004.

1988: Panasonic NV-FS1 (Blaupunkt RTV-910)
1989: Panasonic NV-FS100 (Blaupunkt RTV-920)
1990: Panasonic NV-FS90 (Blaupunkt RTV-915, Metz 9875)
1991: Panasonic NV-8000 (Blaupunkt RTV-1000) first ones with TBC incl. HI8
1992: Panasonic NV-FS88 (Blaupunkt RTV-925, Metz 9874)
1992: Panasonic NV-FS200 (Blaupunkt RTV-950) with TBC
1994: Panasonic NV-HS800 (Metz 9876)
1994: Panasonic NV-HS1000 (Panasonic AG 4700, Blaupunkt RTV-965, Blaupunkt RTV-966, Metz 9877, Loewe OC3800) all with TBC
1996: Panasonic NV-HS900 (Blaupunkt RTV-926, Metz 64VA14)
1997: Panasonic NV-HS950 (Metz VC62) with TBC
1999: Panasonic NV-HS850 (Metz VE61)
2001: Panasonic NV-HS860 (Metz VF61) with TBC
2001: Panasonic NV-HS960 with TBC
2001: Panasonic NV-HS820
2002: Panasonic NV-HS825
2001/2002: Panasonic NV-HS870
2002: Panasonic NV-HS880
2002: Panasonic NV-HS930 with TBC
2002: Panasonic NV-HS830
2003: Panasonic NV-SV120 EGS
2004: Panasonic NV-SV121 EGS with TBC

maybe some additional information:
the models until 1992 could be used without remote control. From the Panasonic HS1000 onwards, you need a remote control (for the 1000 for the tracking setting).
The Blaupunkt and Metz units are equivalent to the Panasonic units. Blaupunkt was a well-known brand, especially for its car radios. Some Blaupunkt sets were available earlier than the Panasonic sets.
Metz was a well-known brand for good quality and expensive equipment that could be bought mainly at the local small electronic shops.

Bogilein, that's an amazing list and I can confirm it's right. Really helps to clarify the range.

Just to add, the 860, 930, 950 and 960 also had frame store noise reduction. Like JVC Digipure.

Hi there, has anyone used any of the following models and can confirm that they have all the important features for capturing(picture mode and audio filters and TBC):
-JVC HR-S7700EU
-JVC HR-S7950EU
-JVC HR-S8850EU
-JVC HR-S8960EU
I'm asking this as I'm looking for a quality deck, which only seems to be available from vcrshop.nl, but they only have the above models available(apart from S7500/S8500 and below which I think is highly not recommended?), nothing from the recommended list(avoiding S9xxx series as I really don't wanna gamble on the Dynamic Drum failing, and from what I read on this forum the SR-S388 isn't the best, not a true 'pro' model like the rest of the recommended list)

Hi everyone,

I've read that Sharp VCRs have excellent tracking. Any suggestions/recommendations of PAL models?

regards