01-29-2025, 02:34 PM
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Join Date: May 2017
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Hey there,
I purchased a premium workflow from the eminent lordsmurf himself back in 2020, including a JVC HR-DVS3U.
I'm now looking to do some experiments with VHS-Decode, which will involve locating the RF Test points on my JVC HR-DVS3U. I don't believe this specific player has been tested yet by the Decode community. Does anybody out there have a service manual for this player? Or failing that, does anyone know how the test points might be located?
Cheers
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Someday, 12:01 PM
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01-29-2025, 05:40 PM
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Here you go!
Let me know what you find.
And based on those findings, I may have some hardware mod suggestions.
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01-30-2025, 08:25 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lordsmurf
Here you go! 
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Thank you for the quick reply! But it looks like this service manual is for a slightly different model ( SR-VS30U rather than HR-DVS3U). Pretty similar models, so still super helpful  But do you have a service manual for the HR-DVS3U specifically?
Quote:
Originally Posted by lordsmurf
Let me know what you find.
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I absolutely will! Just don't expect it right away  I will slowly build my setup over the next several months.
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01-30-2025, 08:30 PM
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Those should be rebadges, not just similar. Are you seeing something that suggests otherwise?
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01-30-2025, 09:45 PM
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Shouldn't be hard to find the RF test point on that - It'll say something like PB FM (PB is for playback) and it's a little slot in the main board I believe to the upper/left of the VHS Deck itself with a wire that goes over the slot for you to attach a probe. There should be a few other wires parallel to it that are for other signals like HiFi Audio (which will have an "A" for audio) and maybe ground. Anything that says "Rec" is describing "record levels" and is not needed for playback.
I've got examples of both the VS30U and the DVS3U and they are indeed the same on the inside.
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01-30-2025, 10:09 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aramkolt
I've got examples of both the VS30U and the DVS3U and they are indeed the same on the inside.
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Ah ... I remember the difference!
HR is the consumer models.
SR is the pro models.
HR-DVS3 = consumer
SR-VS30 = professional
So, what is the difference, you ask? Very little.
- DVS3 plays VHS and DV
- VS30 plays VHS and DV ... and DVCAM
- both VCRs are identical
But the DV/DVCAM mechanisms were really flimsy crap, terrible tolerances, loose internals. It ate tapes equally as often as it played them.
The VS30 or DVS3 would make for an interesting vhs-decode deck. Why? Because you can rip out all the DV stuff, and it makes zero different to the VHS. I often do that these days, because almost all of them have failed. The VCR gets much light, and stays much cooler too. However ... all that room. vhs-decode has lots of "stuff" that can be kept inside the case, hidden away. So, in theory, it could be a VCR with a USB output. It'll require modding, and is expensive (contrary to the BS the -decode guys spout). But I can see it.
Unfortunately, my MS causes too much contracture and tremor now (muscle and nerve damage), so I can't solder anything myself anymore (though I was admittedly never great anyway). So I'm eager to see what you (both @aramkolt and @WestRGB) may find here. Of all the RF/FM options, I do think this is the most interesting of them all. And again, it does not replace standard workflows. But it can certainly offer alternative methods for some tapes (where you want to try anything and everything to extract).
History / trivia time:
Here's a good review from over 20 years ago (found it while verifying my vague memory). And copied here, because the interwebs eats sites, the way that JVC DV ate tapes. Also, I'm sure he eventually learned about the JVC DV deck. His main concern at the time was cost of a DVCAM deck, which was (and still is) somewhat high. But you get what you pay for. $695 from B&H was a steal, as these were about $1k at eCost a few years later on "clearance".
Quote:
The JVC HR-DVS3U is the consumer version of their dual-deck VCR, that combines mini-DV and S-VHS. Since it appears to be the least expensive DV VCR available, I believe it would be of interest to many of you. It has a tuner and program timer and plays and records both SP and EP speeds in S-VHS, which are not included features in the pro model SR-VS30U. The pro model does only SP speed in S-VHS (WRONG!), but it will play back (but not record) DVCAM pre-recorded tapes. The HR-DVS3U won't play back DVCAM.
The cost of my newly-acquired HR-DVS3U was $694., from B&H Photo in New York. A 4-year extended Mack warranty cost $75.
I spent most of the day putting every possible feature and mode it offers to the test. At this point, I am so pleased with its performance, that I'm feeling a bit uneasy. But, why worry about functional problems until they occur?
My main interest in this unit is using the DV section to play DV camcorder tapes into a VCR-based editing system and to re-record many of the camera tapes and edited master tapes I have done on Digital8. I played Digital8 recordings from my Sony GV-D200 into the HR-DVS3U over FireWire, re-recorded them on DV and then played/recorded them back and forth between the two decks through several generations. I used both SP and LP and saw no hint of any glitch from either speed. I used Sony DVM60EXL cassettes, which is the higher-grade "excellence" type of their tape, but without the special memory-chip.
If there's any compatibility problem with the JVC deck and Sony tape, it didn't show up in several hours of operation.
The controls of this deck are easy to find and use and there's jog/shuttle wheels on both the front panel and remote controler. I won't go into the tuner/timer functions, but they are the most extensive I've found on any VCR, if you want to use either side of this unit for TV program recording.
I was pleasantly surprised by how quiet all the tape-transport functions were with both DV and S-VHS. Just a faint whirring on S-VHS and only a whisper with DV. On my last new JVC S-VHS VCR, the HR-S9800U, now in my boneyard of relics, any variety of fast-forward or rewind sounded like a small train-wreck was taking place inside. I was amazed it lasted as long as the 16 months it took for the power-transformer to go out. This new dual-deck seems to be a different breed of cat, judging by its smooth sounds and the quick response of its functions. I have the impression (and hope) that it's built with more solid mechanical components. The rewind and fast-forward of the DV deck is faster than that of my Digital8 equipment.
I did many freeze-frames on DV and captured several still pictures on my stand-alone floppy-disk recorder. The stills were sharp and without any artifacts. The stills taken from freezes were just as good as the ones I captured on the fly, from rolling tape.
This deck does analog/digital pass-through conversion and I played some Hi-8 pre-recorded tapes in the Digital8 deck, passed the output into the HR-DVS3U via S-Video and then ran its FireWire output into my Digital8 camcorder, re-recording it. The results of this digitized Hi-8 recording were very good, looking better than when directly played on my Hi-8 VCR.
I then re-recorded two hours of edited Digital8 master tapes, played on the GV-D200 and sent by FireWire to the DV unit. I set up a little 5-inch monitor to show a separate, analog output from the GV-D200, so its time-code and data code could be viewed, as its tape was played. The output from the DV recording deck went into my big monitor. The data code, embedded in the original Digital8 recording, showing the date, time and camera settings, couldn't be called onscreen, when I played back the DV re-recording. Whether I just couldn't figure out how to display the data code on the JVC DV deck or if it's unusable by this other brand of recorder, I'm not sure. Perhaps someone else has some knowledge about this. Note that this transfer was done by FireWire, not by S-Video, the latter of which wouldn't carry the hidden data code.
I hope to eventually re-record several dozen Digital8-recorded tapes, transfering them to DV for archiving. I don't want to be caught with non-working Digital8 equipment in the future and no way to play back the recordings, as there won't likely be any new Digital8 units available, before much longer. At least that's my take on the situation regarding Digital8, which seems headed for the last roundup.
On the S-VHS side of the HR-DVS3U, which does VHS and S-VHS-ET and SP and EP speeds, everything was working well also. You can internally transfer and re-record between both DV and S-VHS. The S-VHS side has a time-base corrector and when I tranferred a recording back and forth between DV and S-VHS, it took about 5 of these double recording generations, before the S-VHS playback picture showed significant signs of going south.
I hope no one regards this brief review as anything but a one-day mini-trial, as who knows how well this thing will run after I've driven it hard for awhile? I might eventually have to unload $1,200., $1,700. or $2,700., for one of the more expensive Sony DV VCRs, to make my system work properly.
But, anyone who needs a DV VCR to supplement and prevent extra playback wear on a camcorder and has no wish to spend bigger bucks for it, might consider this model. How universally this VCR is recognized by NLE editing systems, will have to be determined by someone else. Next week, I will have a Sony DV camcorder and we'll see how well the tapes recorded in it will play back in the HR-DVS3U. I will post a supplemental report about the cross-brand recording/playback compatibility of these units, as soon as I can.
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