New VCR a good idea? S-Video (1 Viewer)

[Barry.Evans]

Will a new VCR be a good idea? I have a huge collection of VHS but my current 4 head VCR doesn't push S-Video out, just RCA. If I spent $150 on a new VCR with S-Video out would I be likely to see or appreciate any differences? Who makes a good VCR these days?

-bp

 

[Phil Nichols]

bp,

I still watch VCR movies even though I have a pretty good DVD setup too. Some of my widescreen VHS movies view so good through my Sony SLV--R1000 S-VHS VCR that I may not replace them with a DVD equivalent anytime soon. You can't rent widescreen VHS movies hardly at all and almost never find them used at flee markets, etc., so I had to buy most of mine or bid for them on eBay. I even have some (rare) S-VHS widescreen commercially made movies that view almost equal to DVD. IA Jones and the Last Crusade in S-VHS WS is superb.

The FM stereo sound from a good VCR is right up there in quality with DTS and Dolby. If your A/V receiver has a Dolby PL II mode, just route your VCR's stereo through it and convert your VHS stereo movies into 5.1 (.... At least I understand this is what DPL II can do fairly well.)

You have to be careful which S-VHS VCR you buy though, as they all don't do justice to VHS tapes in good condition. It's hard to find a good new one anymore. You aren't going to get a good new or used one for a couple of hundred bucks, unfortunately. I'd look for a used Pany AG-1080 or Sony SLV-R1000 over a new JVC any day, for instance.

 

[Jerome Grate]

Like so many replies I've made in reference to your situation, I certainly advocate for a S-VHS vcr. Now I wouldn't put DPL II up there with DTS or DD 5.1, but having DPL II that provide stereo surround mimicks 5.1. I would go with the higher end models though like the JVC 7??? or 9??? series. They have Digital Noise Reduction and Time Base Corrector that remove color bleed that's associated with VHS and S-VHS recordings. The higher end gives you really high fidelity stereo also, low distortion almost cd quality sound. Couple that with a good receiver, you can enjoy those Widescreen VHS tapes. I have Star Wars and Raiders in Widescreen, playing it on the JVC 7600, DNR and using Logic 7 for Stereo (same as DPL II) is a joy. In fact I'm home tomorrow from work, I think I'll watch one of them tonight. Never can get enough or Raiders or Lukie boy

 

[Phil Nichols]

Jerome,

I even have the Star Wars Trilogy in their orginal threatrical versions in VHS widescreen - not the later (Lucas modified) widescreen VHS versions that came out in the late 1990's and beyond. I paid too much for them, sealed set, by bidding in an auction.

I unsealed them and watch them, of course!

 

[Chris Gerhard]

I still own several SVHS VCRs and they get very light use but I plan on keeping them around for many years. TiVo, D-VHS, DVD, and ReplayTV all get used more in my systems than my SVHS VCRs which primarily I use to archive programming for my children from my TiVo. I like JVC SVHS VCRs and use a 4.5 year old JVC HR-S9500U and a 1.5 year old HR-S9800U. Both offer very good picture quality for consumer SVHS. I agree that the Panasonic AG-1980 or Sony SL-VR1000 are good choices if you want to spend that amount of money. The JVC HR-S7800U or 7900U are discontinued and can be bought for about $200 and should offer picture quality as good as any SVHS VCR but are not built as well as the expensive Panasonic or Sony. With light use I think JVC SVHS is a good value. For heavy use, I would go with the Panasonic.

Chris