Which VCR to buy?

[J C]

I have no idea with which VCR to get to restore some of my 5-3 year old tapes that have noise in them. I thought about the JVC S-VHS VCRs, but they are to expencive for me (at least the ones I saw recommended here). I always like Panasonic because the 8-10 year old VCR has never broke down yet. I hate Philips because the VCR that is only 2 years old refuses to rewind or fast-forward tapes sometimes and doesn't play tapes that where taped on it that good.

I have over 100 tapes (taped in SPL, 6 hour, mode) to put on DVD, and two of the three VCRs that they were taped on broke down. I need to find a VCR that can play the tapes the best. And my third VCR tapes noise during some motion scenes in the SPL mode (just noticed a few days ago when I was putting the tapes onto DVD, shows up a lot when transfered to DVD).

The VCR has to have a noise reducer, a TBC, and play VHSs from various VCRs well. I would like to find one new or on Ebay that is almost like new for less than $100 or $150.

Does anyone know of any VCR like this.

[adamf9898]

hey, im in the same situation... so here is what i have come up with, just get a VCR that will play, dont have to record but it usually does.... get a sound chord, from the audio out of the vcr into the microphone or line in onto the back of your soundcard on your pc.... and i use a tv tuner card called WinTV to get the video.... i then use virtualdub mod to capture the movie or video uncompressed <--- very important, ... use some filters with virtualdub mod if u wish, i use the deinterlace both fields, and the resize filters... and for the sound, i use the program called Xilisoft Audio Converter, to convert the audio to 128 lame mp3... first after the video has captured, go to the stream list option, make the audio as .wav then use Xilisoft Audio Converter to make the audio as mp3, then go back to vdubmod and disable the orignal sound, and add the mp3 file u just made....after all of this... just use tmpgenc with a kvcd template and that is how i do it, lol...... it may sound like alot, but hey watever works is fine with me .... and its worked every single time so far , cheers

[J C]

I do have a TV Tuner, a WinFast one too. But I think that might be to much for my computer. It isn't that fast and crashes down too often. I might do what you suggested, I don't know yet.

Thanks for your info

[J C]

I think I might get the JVC HR-S3912U. Does anybody know how good this VCR plays tapes taped in SPL mode in various VCRs?

[Marvingj]

You need a JVC 7xxx-9xxx with DRN & TBC. Either Pay now or Pay later. I can't believe you have a Tape in Extended Mode. Its not going to look good with some restoration. See Lordsmurf site he has some great stuff there...

[J C]

You need a JVC 7xxx-9xxx with DRN & TBC.

I found a few on Ebay. They are HR-S8000U and HR-S7800U. Do they have a DRN & TBC? Doesn't say if they do or not.

I can't believe you have a Tape in Extended Mode. Its not going to look good with some restoration.

The only thing that I don't like about the tapes is that there is noise in most of the motion scenes. My DVD Recorder fixes the grainy-ness of the video, but makes the noise clearer to see. Would that be able to be fixed with the VCR or do you think that I would have to fix it using software on the computer.

[victoriabears]

The jvc vcr's 9500/9800 have been going for about US$200.oo on Ebay, they are owrth buying believe me, of the ones I have tried I like the SR-v10u, but they are few and far between.

Leave the other super vhs jvc models alone, please.

You could try a Sharp vcr, they do a very good job, supringly so sometimes.

Good luck.

[J C]

The jvc vcr's 9500/9800 have been going for about US$200.oo on Ebay, they are owrth buying believe me

I think that I will go with what you suggested. I will keep my eye on Ebay the next few days for either the 9500 or 9800. The 9500 is on Ebay right now, but the starting is $275, too much for me, even if I am saving hundreds of dollars.

[victoriabears]

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5779709156&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=67829&item=5778937396&rd=1

12 hours to go!!

I have found the 4mb to be unneccessary sometimes.

There is a guy selling 5 ! sr 365U JVC VCR's but I don;'t think they have digipure.

[bnbhoha]

I love the 7800U. I paid $200 for it a couple of years ago. It has s-video out as well. Back then it was a killer deal. I don't think they make them anymore. It got great reviews.

[Bondiablo]

Of the more recent models the only VCR I like is the JVC 5902, even more than the 9911 with it's TBC, etc. The 5902 is the only model I found that doesn't have a single problem playing any tape I've tried, retail or from other machines. Still if you can find one of the older models in good condition, they're better.

[pfh]

The S in the jvc name indicates super vhs and the 9xxx series are considered super vhs and I haven't seen one on Ebay sell for $200. More like $300 or more usually. 7xxx series are good and cost a little less.
http://www.diditalfaq.com = good advice.

[lordsmurf]

Some of the JVC model numbers being discussed here are NOT DESIREABLE as the machines are very old and don't have any of the filters of the machines from the past 8-9 or so years.

Read this:
http://www.digitalfaq.com/dvdguides/capture/playback.htm

[J C]

I am glad of all of your help. After reading the http://www.digitalfaq.com/dvdguides/capture/playback.htm , I have decided to buy either the 9800U or the 9911U. I will be watching Ebay for the next few weeks for one or the other.

[AlecWest]

I cheaped out on my VCR and discovered something interesting afterward. My VCR is a 2-head model. It can, in theory, play back 2/4/6 hour tape speeds. But, it can only record in 2/6 hour tape speeds. This is not because my VCR is broken (grin), that's just the way it was built. Also, it comes with "auto-tracking" without the ability to set tracking manually. Not long ago, I was watching an old 4-hr-speed tape, recorded on a much older machine, and I simply couldn't get it to track well. But, when I borrowed my neighbor's VCR, it tracked it like a champ. The difference? His VCR is a 4-head machine that records in all three speeds and has the option of manual tracking control.

So, if I was to buy a new VCR, I'd look for a 4-head machine with a manual tracking control option.

[Marvingj]

If budget is a problem, Mitisubishi has very good vhs & Svhs on Ebay at a very good price. The only problem is that they have good models & Bad ones. most of the older ones are great example U-80,82,61,69 the bad are Hs-748,748,770 newer model can't take the abuse. Sharp have some good ones too most of the mid 90's are great likeVC-A565. Only thing I don't like about Ebay is most Owners Jack up the price on the most wanted models....

[gshelley61]

Because the best performing models are not being built anymore and are naturally in short supply, getting a "deal" on a 9000 series JVC is difficult. The 9500 is the first one with 4MB DigiPure and was built very, very well... even had a real brushed aluminum faceplate. The 9600 added another filter or two and is considered to be the best overall 9000 series unit because of the great build quality and top quality picture. The 9800 performs just as well as the 9600, but build quality isn't quite as good. The 9900 and 9911 units are still great performers, but are not built as well as the 9500, 9600 or 9800 machines.

The 9600 and 9800 are very hard to get under $200.

The 7600 is a great alternative, if you can find one. Very well made, 2MB DigiPure. Best of the 7000 series.

The 6600, 6700, 6900, 8000, etc. do not have the TBC/DNR filters. They were very well made, but are at least 15-20 years old now. Be careful with buying machines that old. They will likely need some maintenance to get them up to snuff.

[lordsmurf]

7800, 7900, SR-V10U all pretty much the same in build quality. They're alright.

[cyflyer]

The jvc vcr's 9500/9800 have been going for about US$200.oo on Ebay

Don't know about you guys, but I would not trust an electrical appliance bought on e-bay. Can you trust that its actuaully working ? Can you trust thats its not going to be in peices from the delivery ?
Besides, and most importantly,they are practically giving away new VHS sets at retail stores nowadays, at dirt cheap prices !!! In case nowbody has noticed hardly anyone buys VHS any more. This is the digital age.

[J C]

Since I can't find the HR-S9800U on ebay right now, and I will be needing it soon. I am going to go with it at http://www.refurbelectronics.com/jvchrtopvcr.html . I know that it is refurbished, but I probably have a better chance of getting a good VCR there than a used on at Ebay.

[lordsmurf]

Don't know about you guys, but I would not trust an electrical appliance bought on e-bay. Can you trust that its actuaully working ? Can you trust thats its not going to be in peices from the delivery ?
Besides, and most importantly,they are practically giving away new VHS sets at retail stores nowadays, at dirt cheap prices !!! In case nowbody has noticed hardly anyone buys VHS any more. This is the digital age.

You've obviously wandered in and gotten lost. This is a RESTORATION forum, about restoring the quality of video.

"The digital age" doesn't mean the "analog age" should just be forgotten. People have lots of memories and valuables invested in analog mediums and want to transfer it to digital media with the best possible quality.

Those VCRs sold in "retail stores" now are 100% complete crap. You couldn't give one to me, you couldn't pay me to take one. The VCRs we are talking about here are near-professional grade machines, aimed at filtering and stabilizing video.

Most machines sold on eBay tend to come from reputable people. These VCRs are often owned by pros and serious hobbyists, not jokers that shop at Walmart.

Also, in the future, if you have nothing constructive to add to a post, please refrain from replying. Especially when it's obvious that you've not read anything in the thread (or even the entire forum where the thread resides).

[lordsmurf]

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5778937396

I would also suggest this as a good deal. Five hours and counting.
Anybody that wants a good machine, the price is right.

[thecoalman]

The jvc vcr's 9500/9800 have been going for about US$200.oo on Ebay

Besides, and most importantly,they are practically giving away new VHS sets at retail stores nowadays, at dirt cheap prices !!! In case nowbody has noticed hardly anyone buys VHS any more. This is the digital age.

The VCR's mentioned above provide better playback than the 50 dollar sets....by far. See for yourself, for best comparison results burn the clip to disc and playback on a TV.

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=269801