Which Panasonic SVHS VCR? (1 Viewer)

[Ricky T]

I need another vcr and thinking about getting a svhs (for possible recording from Direct TV). I don't want to spend more than $200, which puts the good JVCs (7000, 9000 series) out of the picture. Which Panasonic models should I look at? Any online deals? I'd prefer one in dark black to match my Panasonic RP91 dvd player. 7670, 7680 any good?

 

[Howard_S]

Panasonic makes only one SVHS so you have no choice. I think they're priced around the same as the higher end JVCs I think. Only other choice I can think of is the lower model JVCs.

 

[Rachael B]

Ricky, I have a 7670. It makes a decent picture for a non-TBC model. The bad, the remote window is so small,to the point of being irritating. Point and click, click, click, until it registers. The 7670 is a plain jane model. I think the 7680 is more or less the same thing but with a flying erase head and a bit different remote. My 7670 has develped a whiny noise despite very light use. Well, all the brands are about as cheesy as Panasonic, give or take a few percent.
The JVC ergonomics are way better than Panasonic's, me thinks. The remote windows are big or wide angle or work very easily and the remotes are better too. I think you should throw a few more bucks in and try for a JVC 7800/7900. The TBC will be a big difference. If you have a digital TV definitely get a TBC unit. Me thinks our eyes are getting spoil't by DVD, and the lower your VHS looks the less you'll really like using it.
If the $200 limit is firm I recommend the JVC 4800 or 5900 or a Mitsu if you can find one on sale. Best wishes!
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Rachael, the big disc cat! "...in a democracy it don't matter how stupid you are you stille get an equal share..."
I survived the AFI top 100 Film Challenge! I've seen them all.

 

[Bill Adlhoch]

what exactly is TBC (time based correction), what exactly does it do?

 

[Dan Driscoll]

Panasonic makes only one SVHS so you have no choice. I think they're priced around the same as the higher end JVCs I think. Only other choice I can think of is the lower model JVCs.

Only partially true. Panny does only make 1 SVHS model, the PVVS4821. But it can be found for about $200, if you shop around.
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Dan

 

[Rachael B]

Bill, I'm not good at technical explanations but I think it resyncs video and sound after Y/C are recombined for output. It helps the edges in images, objects, people in the tape recording. The biggest, most noticable difference would be on camcorder tapes. Movies will show less dramatic improvement generally... I'm not much for explaining Tim Base Correction! I've used the JVC 7500, 9500, 9800, and Panasonic AG-1980 that employ it and they're the best VCRs I've ever had. Best wishes!
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Rachael, the big disc cat! "...in a democracy it don't matter how stupid you are you stille get an equal share..."
I survived the AFI top 100 Film Challenge! I've seen them all.

 

[Guy Kuo]

The scan lines of a video field are recorded onto the tape in a helical manner. One line is played back after another off the tape by a mechanically spinning drum. The drum carries several pickup heads. The mechanical system and tape inherently have some variability in the timing of the start of each played back scan line. This time base error shows up as a horizontal displacement on screen. All VCR's have some form of mechanical "time base correction" which reduces the problem, but if you look carefully at vertical lines in an image you'll notice that the lines aren't perfect straight. They often wavering slightly along the entire height of the picture and even you may even see pronounced bending at the top and bottom of the field (near the time that the playback heads switch). On a small screen with a large amount of overscan both types of instability are hidden. With the larger screens in home theaters and their low overscan you can spot the timing problems. This is also an issue for multigeneration copies. Each generation of the tape adds more time base error.
An electronic time base corrector (TIBC) grabs the entire line of video and basically shifts the time that it starts and how long it lasts so it is perfectly time (and hence geometry) aligned with all other scan line. This stabilizes the picture and eliminates time base error. TIBC basically takes an imperfect mechanical system and removes the timing errors. As a result you can acually see rock solid and straight vertical lines on screen. Because this takes additional circuitry, one usually sees this only in higher end VCR's. Once you get used to seeing a good TIBC working, a deck without TIBC seems like a vibrating funhouse miror.
TIBC doesn't have to do with timing of the chroma and luma signals relative to each other nor alignment of video to sound.
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Guy Kuo
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[Edited last by Guy Kuo on November 14, 2001 at 12:06 AM]

 

[Michael Lee]

It would appear that Guy Kuo is good at technical explanations

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