DVHS decks for $600. Ok, I'm starting to get tempted. (1 Viewer)

[Paul_Scott]

i've been ignoring this format primarily for 3 reasons
1) too expensive
2) lack of software
3) better than average amount of my dvds that look damned incredible to me already.

i saw in a thread the other day though that deck prices had fallen, and went ot the store and was shocked to see that $1000-$1400 deck was now listed at $599.

i thought they would get there, but i had no idea it would be this quick.
i had the salesman pop in Independance Day (i could care less about it, but they couldn't find T2) and...yeah it looked good.
i dunno, but it still left me a little unimpressed.
i know its going to be a bit better than progressive scan dvd quality- but is it really going to be better than a superbit

anyways the price is close to where i want to see it (still too high for an impulse buy $4-500 and i could definitely see myself buying this just to satisfy my curiousity)
but there still is the problem of #2.

right now there are only 4 movies i'm even remotely interested in owning and nothing on the horizon.
i've even heard that widescreen review gave Die Hard only 4 stars.
hell my DVD of that movie is already at least 4 stars.

i'm now setting one more condition before i jump in.

there must be at least 10 titles i desperately want to own in HD including :
-the first two Alien movies (i would think the upcoming Quadrology is giving Fox the opportunity to create the hi-def masters specifically to use for Dvhs and eventually the first gen of HDDVD)
-Jaws or even Jaws 2
-Attack of the Clones (since we definitely wont get any of the Ots at this point)
-some classic widescreen musicals ( i was wishing for something like Oklahoma but would take Sound Of Music)
-the original Planet of the Apes

and 4 more ( possibly X2 and Hulk, depending on how they turn out)
or hearing that Paramount or Warner changed their minds and is getting on board.


i still don't think that HDdvd is going to a reality (either thru price or title availability) in my HT for at least 6 years, so that would still provide me some time to enjoy this format.

please no posts about disc v tape.
i was totally with you guys on the superiority of the optical format- i'm just looking for the best quality source for the next few years.

so far it isn't DVHS -because they don't have the software!
(and no, i don't have acsess to OTA or satelite HD so recording is a moot point).
i just hope this changes- if it does, i may be going HD this year.

 

[ScottJH]

I purchased a deck almost a month ago. Right now my use for it was pre-recorded movies. I was unsure about the quality of the deck so I only purchased X-Men to test it out. I could not see a difference other than it was a little bit more 3-D like when compared to the X-Men 1.5 DVD. X-Men is supposed to be one of the best D-theater tapes. I thought it would have had more a "WOW" factor when hooked up to a ISF'd Mits 65807. I could not warrant this purchase so I took it back to Best Buy before my 30 days were up.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Soon, soon they will be priced at around $299. Man, I better get off my ass and buy a HDTV pretty soon. A big one, I wasn't blown away with the DVHS vs. DVD demo on a 34" 16x9 Sony last year.

 

[Dave_P.]

When they hit $299, I'll pick one up. The format may be dead by then, but I'd have a few cool HD demos to run on my system!

 

[Todd Hochard]

Part of the problem is that the magic of DVHS can't be fully displayed on your average HDTV.
Many HDTVs, even though they say they can display 1400 lines, actually resolve quite a bit less than that. As such, a 1920x1080 image might only be a true 1100x600 or so onscreen. Compared to a very nice 720x480 DVD transfer, the difference is definitely there, but not mind-numbing. And, if you are using a progressive scan DVD player, and feeding 480p to your set, you're already using the ATSC color decoding of your set, eliminating that perceived advantage.
I think that's why many are underwhelmed by the picture quality when comparing to DVD on most rear projection HDTVs. I see the same thing on my Pioneer Elite 510- I've done test patterns (with a PC) that show the set's resolution is maxed at about 1100x600. Above that, the pattern becomes a blur of gray.

Personally, I'm underwhelmed by both the title and hardware support. JVC is the only D-Theater manufacturer, and it appears that this deck is problem-laden (check AVSForum). Marantz is coming out with one, but it's basically a rebadged JVC. So, I'm still sitting out. If you have a means to record HD (from HBO/Showtime, etc), then it might be worth it. I don't, as my HD cable box has no firewire output, which is the only way this VCR will accept HD Input.

Todd

 

[Greg_M]

The price of DVD players fell pretty quick too.

 

[Nathan*W]

i had the salesman pop in Independance Day (i could care less about it, but they couldn't find T2) and...yeah it looked good.

Did you have to wait for it to rewind from the last demo before you could watch it?

 

[Paul_Scott]

LOL. Yes!
as he was fiddle with the connections and getting the machine up and running, i was telling him of my concern over the QC of these as the last time i demo'd them a few months ago the picture looked like the tape was all mangled-he said that yeah, the first production run had problems but JVC requested all those unit back and that these were now totally up to snuff.
then he put the tape in and it was exhibiting exactly what i was talking about!
so he stopped the tape and rewound it to the begining, from which it seemed to played without a hitch.

i'm assuming the problems i see may have to do with a hyper-sensitivity to tape tension.
sad.

 

[Marc_E]

Are they firewire only connection (no component)? Can you hook one to a HTPC's firewire and output to an HDTV that only has component?
Marc

 

[Jesse Skeen]

I want an HD-CED player

 

[Mark Bendiksen]

Only if it's compatible with all my old CED discs that I've never had the heart to throw away for some reason.

 

[Mark_Mac]

If you have OTA HD available then I would consider buying if you want to record HD material. I wouldnt buy one if you only plan to watch DTheater movies. Also, dish is releasing a set top box with firewire out so if your a dish customer, recording HDHBO, HDShowtime and HDDiscovery channel is right around the corner.

 

[Jerome Grate]

I think I'll wait, only because Tokyo (according to Sound & Vision) has a Blue Ray HD DVD recorder scheduled for release in Tokyo for April I believe. Anyway, if this comes to the good ole U.S of A. that D-VHS recorder may very well be worth 200 bucks.

 

[Kevin Snyder]

I think that much of the improvement one notices when comparing DVD with HD is based upon display device size and viewing distance. With an RPTV, seated a normal distance away, I just don't think that one is going to see a tremendous difference.

I am using an 80 x 45 screen with a CRT FP, seated 12.5 feet from the screen. The difference between even a very high quality DVD and moderately high quality HD movie is TREMENDOUS. This is despite the fact that I am scaling up my DVDs with an HTPC.

I think as has been mentioned before, many so called HD RPTVs just aren't really capable of adequately resolving even close to the full HD resolution. Another limitation may be your seating distance from the screen. Perhaps if you move up your seating position to subtend a 30 to 35 degree horizontal field of view, there may be more of an improvement. If not, perhaps the lack of a major difference is simply due to incomplete resolution by your display device.

Kevin

 

[Garrett Lundy]

I want an HD-CED player

Oh yeah? I'm still holding-out for a hi-fi wax phonograph cylinder. I'm sure it'll blow SACD and DVD-A out of the water.

I hear that the Dundenburg labs in Prussia are almost done with their prototypes.

 

[Mark_Wilson]

I think its a safe bet that Fox will release the Alien Quad. on D-VHS. I can't wait either!

 

[Chris Purvis]

I thought I read / heard somewhere Fox would NEVER release anything on DVHS? Am I crazy?

 

[Chad R]

Yes, because they already have.

 

[Dave Anderson]

If Alien or Aliens were on DVHS, I don't think I could resist the temptation.

 

[Ron Boster]

Kevin:

I think you hit the nail on the head. A good example was Fifth Element recently on HBOHD...WOW...it surpassed the Superbit title without question on my display. The size of screen, the projector and the distance will determine if D-theater is a benefit or bust.

I just purchased a JVC 3000 from Onecall...why?
1) They are now $500 (also bought an extended warranty for $50)
2) JVC seems to have the problem solved from the intitial reports at AVS
3)The idea of taping flicks off HBOHD is worth it and (even with a limited library of D-theater titles, I wanted the best possible picture).

Is it a good bang for the buck....no way. Will I enjoy it...yes.

YMMV
Ron