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  1. Member yoda313's Avatar
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    Hi,

    I just purchased a used panasonic dmres46v side-by-side vhs dvd recorder. It has a dvd recorder and vhs player in the same unit. Its pretty impressive in that it can record to dvd-ram in addition to all the r and rw variants. It also has hdmi out.

    The main reason I bought it used (for 8.00 USD so it was a steal really) was the fact in can output vhs over the svideo output port. Now it does not officially say svhs on the unit so I knew when I bought it that wasn't officially an svhs player but I'm hoping it can mimmick one.

    It looks pretty good over my capture cards I've tried. I'm currently downloading new drivers for my old fusion hdtv gold t 3 capture card.

    What I'm hoping is that this an adequate "poor mans" svhs player. I bought an actual svhs machine used last year but it was doa. This machine works perfectly, sans remote control unfortunately. I'll be downloading the manual shortly.

    What does this phrase in the tech specs really mean

    Originally Posted by panasonic website
    VIDEO: . 2x LP Horizontal Resolution Recording Yes, records 500 lines of horizontal resolution in LP mode VHS Refresh Dubbing to DVD Yes 4x Natural Gradation Yes
    Does that mean if I dub from vhs to dvd in lp mode that I will obtain that much quality or is that for other sources?

    So far I am very impressed with the sources I've tested. I have done a off air broadcast and a commercial tape. Obviously the commercial tape was denied on the internal dubbing but played nicely on my capture card.

    So was this a decent purchase for 8.00? I was hoping to get a true svhs for improved video tape capturing. I hope this will be a good approximation with the svideo output.

    Observations or suggestions are welcomed.

    P.S. - Yes i know in the end to get the best possible transfers I should invest in a tbc. Unfortunately at this time that is not in the cards (even used ). But I figure for 8.00 this should give me quite an enhanced experience over my other units I've used before.

    Edit -

    This is from page 37 of the manual:

    Originally Posted by manual
    It is also possible to play back tapes recorded in the S-VHS system.
    ≥Some picture noise may occur depending on the type of tape used.
    ≥It is not possible to fully obtain the high resolution that S-VHS is
    capable of.
    ≥It is not possible to record in the S-VHS system with the unit.
    So does this mean that regular vhs tapes will benefit from this quasi playback?
    Last edited by yoda313; 14th May 2010 at 18:42.
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    LP recording on to DVD is done at 720x480 resolution so 500 line can be see, but the bitrate is verry low so with high motion scenes blocking will apear. Others DVD recorder will record on LP mode at half D1 resolution 352x480 and 500 lines can`t be obtained but will look much better with motion.

    S-VHS tape can be see on this combo at VHS quality (usual even lower because the noise) thanks to SVHS quasi playback feature. On to regular VHS tapes have no effect.
    To get the whole resolution from S-VHS tapes, true S-VHS vcr is needed.
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  3. Member yoda313's Avatar
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    @danno78 - so even if I were to get a hold of a "true" svhs vcr it would have no effect on plain old vhs recorded tapes?

    What about playback of commercially produced tapes? Would those playback better with a svhs player than a vhs player?

    Or is the svhs enhancement only valid on actual svhs tapes and not other forms?
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    - so even if I were to get a hold of a "true" svhs vcr it would have no effect on plain old vhs recorded tapes?
    Regular VHS vcr will not play S-VHS tapes at all. On the latest vcr models quasi S-VHS playback feature was added. So you can play S-VHS tapes on regular vcr but at VHS quality (240 lines resolution). A true S-VHS vcr can provide up to 420 lines with SVHS tapes.
    S-VHS vcr are built with better parts, usually have features that improve picture quality (DNR, TBC) so for best results S-VHS vcr is the way to go for all tapes (VHS and SVHS).

    What about playback of commercially produced tapes? Would those playback better with a svhs player than a vhs player?
    Usually, yes.

    Or is the svhs enhancement only valid on actual svhs tapes and not other forms?
    S-VHS VCR will not transform regular VHS tapes in to S-VHS resolution but the gain in terms of visual quality is there, thanks to DNR and TBC.
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  5. Member yoda313's Avatar
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    Thanks danno - that cleared it up for me. This is still a fairly good player so I'm still happy with it. But now I know to look for a true svhs player.
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    You should check one thing. Look inside for a big chip which start with MNxxxxxxxxx. If your recorder is driven by Matsushita chipset then you already have a TBC and DNR. Is also possiblle that TBC and DNR to work in pass-through mode. In that case your combo is pretty good for VHS tapes.
    See more info:
    https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/319420-Who-uses-a-DVD-recorder-as-a-line-TBC-and-what-do-you-use
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  7. Member yoda313's Avatar
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    @danno78 - thanks but I don't want to open it. It works just fine.

    Is there anyway to verify this without opening the unit? I'm just afraid if I open it I'll inadverntly mess something up.

    Edit - this is from page 40 of the manual:

    Originally Posted by manual
    dmres46v

    DNR
    Reduces noise and picture degradation.
    On()Off

    Line-in NR (Only when IN1, IN2 or DV is selected)
    Reduces video tape noise during transfer (copy).
    Depending on the software, jittering may occur.
    Automatic:
    Noise reduction only works on picture input from a
    video tape.
    On: Noise reduction works for any video input.
    Off: Noise reduction is off. Select when you want to record
    input as is.
    So that means it does have dnr correct? I am not sure if that has tbc or not.

    I don't have the original remote so I don't know if this on or off. Also would that mean it would be better to use another vcr to input to the combo unit? What about using this as a passthrough and then on to a capture card?
    Last edited by yoda313; 16th May 2010 at 09:51.
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    So that means it does have dnr correct? I am not sure if that has tbc or not.
    Yes. To test the TBC feature you need a tape with vertical lines and a vcr without TBC. See this post:
    https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/319420-Who-uses-a-DVD-recorder-as-a-line-TBC-and-wh...=1#post1983288
    Also would that mean it would be better to use another vcr to input to the combo unit?
    Depends on vcr (track better the tapes, have less noise). A high end S-VHS vcr may provide a better picture.
    What about using this as a passthrough and then on to a capture card?
    If you don`t have a VCR with TBC and if this combo have TBC built in then you could use this combo to stabilize the signal.
    To test the TBC feature you need a tape with vertical lines and a vcr without TBC. See this post:
    https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/319420-Who-uses-a-DVD-recorder-as-a-line-TBC-and-wh...=1#post1983288
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  9. Member yoda313's Avatar
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    Thanks danno78. I'll check it when I have some time.
    Donatello - The Shredder? Michelangelo - Maybe all that hardware is for making coleslaw?
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