"Industrial" JVC SR-S388 with 1261 hours. Would this scare you?

[pcip]

Hi all from Italy,

my first post here, though I have been browsing here for quite a while.

I have been searching for an "industrial" JVC SR-S388, for a couple years and now I have one.
It is a nice machine with TBC and Time Code.
It is in near mint condition visually. For 90 euro the seller has also thrown in a RM-G800U Editing Controller, also mint, and some SVHS tapes.

I have tested it thoroughly. Color rendition is virtually perfect compared to the digital source and also resolution easily reaches 400 lines. TBC is essentially transparent to the picture giving obvious advantages.

So what's wrong? The hour meter says 1261! I had asked the seller of course, and he said 126! So either he is visually impaired or he was plain cheating.

So what would you do? I know I have a magazine test in which they stated that 1500 hours did not at all affect the image on a mid-quality Panasonic, but still, I am tempted to return the deck. Let me make it clear that it would not receive much use from me (I have other top quality decks) but the thing annoys me a bit.

Thanks in advance,
Paolo

[KarMa]

I have been searching for an "industrial" JVC SR-S388, for a couple years and now I have one.
It is a nice machine with TBC and Time Code.
It is in near mint condition visually. For 90 euro the seller has also thrown in a RM-G800U Editing Controller, also mint, and some SVHS tapes.

Sounds like a deal, even with the 1261 hours.

[redwudz]

pcip, in the future please use a more descriptive subject title in your posts to allow others to search for similar topics. I will change yours this time. From our rules:

Try to choose a subject that describes your topic.
Please do not use topic subjects like Help me!!! or Problems.

Thanks,

Moderator redwudz

And welcome to our forums.

[pcip]

Fine.

[theewizard]

I would Keep it, use it and not worry about it
You already stated it works perfectly
I would have questioned the 126 hours as that would be unbelievably low

[pcip]

Thank you guys for your replies.

But I also wished to raise the subsequent question.
I have never been able to find any serious info about head drum life expectancy except for the usual "...it depends".
I find it hard to believe there is no dependable data about that.
Service facilities, for instance, should have had statistics of some kind.
I have myself former Sony and Philips senior official tech friends, but then again, not a real clue.

The only factual evidence I have is a tech magazine test in which at 1500 hours a low end Panasonic would not show any sign of image deterioration compared to when it was brand new. At 2000 hours they could detect a slight worsening, but nothing really serious.

[orsetto]

I have never been able to find any serious info about head drum life expectancy except for the usual "...it depends".
I find it hard to believe there is no dependable data about that.
Service facilities, for instance, should have had statistics of some kind.
I have myself former Sony and Philips senior official tech friends, but then again, not a real clue.

There is no 100% absolute answer to this question, because too many variables can influence the answer (VCR model, pro or consumer environment, usage pattern, tape quality, tape format, etc.). When I worked in pro post-production houses some years ago, it was a commonly-held factoid that pro-level decks had a theoretical maximum video head life expectancy of 10,000 hours. Many decks designed for pro use had an "odometer" that read out head hours, much like your JVC: each time it hit 1000 hours, routine checks and perhaps servicing were performed. VCRs in pro environments received regular maintenance, were fed top-quality tapes, and were not operated by children: these factors made 10,000 hour head drums a possibility. How many VCRs got to 10,000 hours is unknown: head drums might be replaced earlier or later depending on what a tech thought during routine service and calibration. Consumer VCRs primarily used to play dirty worn rental tapes had shorter head lifespans.

Your JVC SR-S388 should last you awhile if you handle it with respect and don't load worn or dirty tapes in it. It is nearly identical to the North American SR-S365 model: neither is truly "pro", they were based on the midrange consumer-grade JVC chassis of the time (in order to offer the then-costly time code editing feature at an "affordable" price point of $1299 US). This chassis design was among JVC's best in terms of mechanical and electrical reliability, but the video heads were rather prone to getting clogged by less-than-perfect tapes, which led to cleaning attempts that often caused physical damage. As long as you don't make any clumsy attempts to clean the heads, you should get another 1261 hours use from them. I wouldn't expect the SR-S388 to reach 10,000 hours but at least 3,000 is probable (perhaps much more depending on your specific tapes). Just be aware the head drum in this model is too fragile for typical amateur cleaning swabs: if you ever experience a clog, try the old trick of playing a brand new blank tape in it end to end (this will gently wipe most clogs out of the heads with no risk of damage).

[pcip]

Thanks, Orsetto.

One thing I know for sure is that the deck has been always operated in a "semi-pro" environemnt, with top quality tapes (and this is confirmed by the SVHS tapes the seller supplied with the deck). I myself have *only* top quality tapes so this will definitely not be an issue.
Since the deck also supplies info about total uptime, total cassette load and unload times and much more, I have also discovered that capstan motor time is about 900 hours.

No problem for cleaning heads. I learned how to do it correctly the hard way, that is destroying an otherwise perfectly functioning Video2000 stereo Philips deck perhaps in 1991. No problem since then, but I really did it a surprisingly small number of times, perhaps because of the average quality of the tapes. On my Panasonic NV-FS90 (essentially a FS-200 without TBC), bought new, I cleaned the heads maybe three times. I am also aware of the "new tape" trick.

I tested the deck last night with real life digital Tv broadcasts and not only with color bars and patterns that I had used previously.

I chose computer generated cartoons as source material. This kind of material easily exposes VCR flaws because it is rock steady and colors are perfect (in computer sense of the word.) I had to do a composite connection because I am not sure my calibrated LED Samsung Tv has separated Y/C at the SCART input. I also used the first SVHS tape I had at hand (TDK XP), but definitely not brand new. Well, the results were rather interesting. I used a 4:3 source.

From a normal viewing distance (2,5 meters) the deck compared very favorably with the source. The image was rock solid, even with TBC off, and only a slight color "smearing" (borrowed from audio, for lack of a better word ) hinted at the fact it was a recording. Resolution was there. If you switched back and forth, granted, the digital image had slightly better colors but only the full blown ones and there was a very slight noise added in the tape.
Very few dropouts.

I'd say this deck retains about 85% of a very demanding source material. A careful choice of a brand new tape, as well as thorough Y/C connection would probably improve things a bit, too.
All in all a nice machine and a keeper.

Ciao,
Paolo

[Quasipal]

These are nice machines aren't they? I have one too - someone was selling them on eBay a few years back for £89 in new/unused condition. It is now a very important part of my restoration kit.

[pcip]

Yes, definitely a very nice machine.

I also got an additional bonus in this deal. After my complaints, the seller sourced from a friend a complete transport from a machine in which the heads were replaced soon before it died electronically. He sent it to me at no charge whatsoever! So I now have a like-new spare transport, just in case.

I actually don't do restorations -at all.
I have now some of the very best decks ever only because I want to continue playing my 400+ tapes at their best.
They were recorded back in the day on a Sony EV-S1000 (Hi-8) and a Panasonic NV-FS90 from PAL and D2-MAC satellite sources on premium quality tapes that play today like the day they were recorded.

Anyway I'd absolutely recommend getting a 388.

Ciao,
Paolo