best cables to use with vcr's??? (1 Viewer)

[william_h]

hey i am trying to find the best composite video cable to use to record some of my favorite shows and i was wondering which brand would be the best to use for my recordings also the tapes i will be using are maxell high grade tapes and be recorded in SP mode.

the are the only brands of cable i know

cobalt
better cables
acoustic research
monster

are they all the same in terms of picture quality or would i be better off using my 5 dollar gold plated kmart cable??

btw. i also hear a cable is a cable but i dont think that true though..

 

[DarrenHo]

with an analog vcr, cables are a none issue. the weak link isn't the cables.

 

[ChuckSolo]

Yes, I agree with Darren on this one. The standard cables that you get with the VCR should be fine, especially if you are going to be using the composite video input on the TV. Using the RF input, that is, displaying the picture on channels 3 or 4 of your TV would be inadvisable since that is definately the worse picture source you could get. Your only other alternative would be to purchase an S-VHS machine with an S-Video output to the S-Video input on your TV. I have had a JVC S-VHS machine for over a year now and am very happy with it. In the SP mode (2 hr.) the recorded material is nearly unrecognizable with the original source and the picture on pre-recorded movies is superior to standard VHS. Unless you buy the standard, low grade, bargain basement tapes any high quality tape should suffice for your purposes. In today's hi-def world, VCRs really don't cut it any more, unless you include the new D-VHS machines which are in another league entirely.

 

[Steven_Lazarus]

I say "BRAVO" this is the first VCR post I've seen in a while and it made me smile good luck and just but the cheap one's Will !!

 

[william_h]

i never heard of svhs before i think i will look into that.

i will use the cables i have then it will save me some cash too .

 

[Phil Nichols]

William,

The posts above are correct in that an S-VHS player would provide better VHS playback, especially since an S-VHS VCR would allow you to use an S-Video cable to feed your display for regular VHS tapes and S-VHS tapes.

I have an over-the-top S-VHS VCR setup with cabling as good as any used today in any home theater to make sure "just in case" that all components in my VCR system in no way contribute to degradation of playback, as I still watch VHS and Super VHS (I even have some Super VHS films) along with DVD and satellite. I ran split-screen A/B tests with my S-VHS VCR to select an S-Video cable for it and picked the same type cable after the testing for both standard definition satellite and the S-VHS VCR.

But all the above stuff is lunatic fringe stuff and not necessary for most. I wouldn't recommend spending over $25 for a VCR composite or S-Video cable unless you also have a professional-grade VCR and high-end display so all equipment compliments each other. Use what cabling came/comes with the VCR if possible to save $$.