S-vhs ET

[themaster1]

I need some clarifications on this odd format . I have a tape i believe was recorded in s-vhs on a simple vhs (aka s-vhs et) . When i insert it i have the logo s-vhs which quickly appear then fade away.

The tape is played rather good except for two things:
1- The tbc don't like it: flagging at the top thus i have to disable it.
2- the scan lines are not displayed correctly at times (it seems my software have a hard time to blend them together smoothly for preview)

My vcr is a jvc 8600 so it's high end but not "ET" capable (record), i wonder if an Et capable would cure the problem.

What do you think ?

[edDV]

I need some clarifications on this odd format . I have a tape i believe was recorded in s-vhs on a simple vhs (aka s-vhs et) . When in insert it i have the logo s-vhs which quickly appear then fade away.

The tape is played rather good except for two things:
1- The tbc don't like it: flagging at the top thus i have to disable it.
2- the scan lines are not displayed correctly at times (it seems my software have a hard time to blend them together smoothly for preview)

My vcr is a jvc 8600 so it's high end but not "ET" capable (record), i wonder if an Et capable would cure the problem.

What do you think ?

I used to know this, arrgh .

SVHS-ET was a bastard child of SVHS that would record a form of SVHS to premium VHS tapes. I forget the details but Wiki would know. The main downfall of SVHS was expensive tape media. During the 80's VHS tape stock improved to the point they could record SVHS FM deviations at some loss of S/N to premium VHS tapes.

I think playback requires an SVHS-ET deck. A standard SVHS deck would try to decode this as VHS with different FM deviation.

I recall some trick where people drilled holes to fool the player into thinking this was SVHS media.

[themaster1]

Extra holes hmm that's interesting. So that means if i happen to swap the case with a regular s-vhs case it would be interpreted as... s-vhs by the vcr

[edDV]

Extra holes hmm that's interesting. So that means if i happen to swap the case with a regular s-vhs case it would be interpreted as... s-vhs by the vcr

Maybe. SVHS tape cassettes have a different hole pattern.

You should Google SVHS-ET for facts and user experiences. I never used the ET mode because it required a special player.

[Noahtuck]

I recall some trick where people drilled holes to fool the player into thinking this was SVHS media.

Yep, i remember that.
It was actually the first thing that came to mind when i was reading your post then i saw you wrote it.

[themaster1]

Well i've just tried the swaping thing, guess what the render is more stable now. I still have lines shifts but otherwise the decoding is more stable.
Of course the TBC still don't like it (the flagging effect is now twicer big!) and i have disabled all other digipure options (b.e.s.t, digital 3R)

[themaster1]

Can someone confirm if he has known VHS ET tapes that they are playable on a regular s-vhs deck with the lilttle manipulation mentioned above, thank you.Please provide the tape standard (Pal/ntsc) and model of vcr.

[vhelp]

don't confuse the ET and SVHS, they are two different functions.

basically speaking, the ET function lets the vcr record svhs resolution / properties to the stanard vhs tape. but you won't get the actual level of quality you would get if you use an actual real svhs tape since the standard tape doesn't have the capability--tape grade ect. Also, you have to have a vcr that supports the -ET function. if my memory serves me, when i popped in the "faked" svhs recorded to standard vhs tape into a non-svhs vcr it was noisy or hard to see a picture. if your svhs does not have the -ET function then chances are you wont get satisfying results then if you played in an -ET vcr.

anyhow, i did this test a couple of years ago to see for myself. i was mainly curious to see if the quality would be as good as svhs or at least trick my vcr into thinking it was identifying the tape as an ET recorded SVHS. basically, i was just tricking my vcr into thinking it had an svhs tape. my guess is, that the vcr was not totally fooled, and bumped down to the ET function and recorded in SVHS-ET mode.

1. first, i needed to review an actual svhs and identify the hole placements, since i had plenty that was no probelm
2. then i took a standard vhs tape and drilled the hole in the same placement as the svhs tape
3. then i popped it into my svhs vcr, and then it the svhs light came on. it had tricked the vcr into thinking it had an svhs tape.

the final conclusion was.. the vcr believed it had an svhs tape and i was able to record svhs-et resolution on the standard vhs tape. i did not get the same level of quality (sharpeness and no noise) like i would if actual a svhs.

-vhelp 5484

[16mmJunkie]

A VCR with the SQPB (Super Video Home System Quasi Playback) feature would play SVHS-ET or SVHS tapes .

[edDV]

This seems to be JVC's standard warning.

http://support.jvc.com/consumer/products/glossary.jsp?gId=34

If you Google SVHS ET you get comments like this
http://support.jvc.com/consumer/products/glossary.jsp?gId=34
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_9_3/jvc-hrs-6855-ek-svhs-et-vcr-7-2002.html

[lordsmurf]

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_9_3/jvc-hrs-6855-ek-svhs-et-vcr-7-2002.html

That review was written by an idiot.

This is not even remotely related:

S-VHS ET recognizes that some tape really is good enough and will try its best after a short 'calibration' period when it starts recording.

"ET" mode (ignore S-VHS hole on tape, record S-VHS anyway)
is unrelated to
"calibration" -- a horrible feature that should never be used, neither for recording or playback.

Just FYI.

[lordsmurf]

I never used the ET mode because it required a special player.

No, it didn't.
S-VHS is S-VHS.
The format is separate from the actual tape.
Whether it's on VHS tape or S-VHS tape, S-VHS signal is S-VHS signal, and any S-VHS player plays it.

The "ET mode" was a mid-1990s JVC invention that saved us the time of drilling or melting holes in tapes.

Not that you'd want to do this very often.
It destroyed most tapes.
Very few ever looked good this way.

[davexnet]

There was a warning in the JVC VCR manual that advised not leaving a normal tape recorded in et mode
on pause as it may damage the tape. Is the machine doing something mechanically different ? Faster head speed ?
What else could "damage the tape" ?

[edDV]

I never used the ET mode because it required a special player.

No, it didn't.
S-VHS is S-VHS.
The format is separate from the actual tape.
Whether it's on VHS tape or S-VHS tape, S-VHS signal is S-VHS signal, and any S-VHS player plays it.

The "ET mode" was a mid-1990s JVC invention that saved us the time of drilling or melting holes in tapes.

I've got a few SVHS decks and one SVHS ET deck. Long ago I tested this but won't try to repeat.

Normal SVHS decks (pre-ET) determined SVHS by the cassette holes. If the holes matched, SVHS FM deviation was used. Lacking a hole, the tape was assumed to be VHS and VHS FM deviation was applied.

SVHS ET used SVHS FM deviations on tapes with VHS cassettes. There must have been some kind of analysis used to discover SVHS video on VHS cassettes on both ET decks and later SVHS decks that supported ET tapes. Otherwise, the SVHS deck would assume VHS deviation frequencies.

When I got a JVC SVHS ET deck, I tried playback in my NEC, Panasonic and SONY SVHS decks and they didn't use proper FM demodulation. That is when I decided not to use ET.

[lordsmurf]

I'll have to keep a look out for that.
I've not come across an S-VHS player made in the 1990s or 2000s that didn't understand S-VHS-ET.
And from several brands, not just JVC.