Are there any VCR's out that have macrovision disabled?

[Bob W]

I had two old VCR's that didn't have that macrocrap but my idiot nephew managed to distroy them both. How about the "GoVideo brand are they macrovision free?

[spiderman2k1]

Yes I think GoVideo is

[leebo]

The JVC's with the built in TBC's strip it out too, with the added advantage of improving the picture and helping in captures.

[wulf109]

I have three JVC 9500 VCR's with TBC and I can assure you that they donot remove macrovision. If you want to get rid of macrovision on VHS tapes you need a Sima box,SCC if it's a DVD you want to copy. I'm old enough to remember beta and they happily ignored macro because of the way they processed the AGC. Some early VHS machines,with special effects,did ignore macro.

[vance43211]

a lot of the newer ones don't have it either

[wulf109]

Macrovision on VHS tapes is encoded into the vertical interval bar between the video frames,unlike DVD which only triggers the macro circuit in the DVD player. Not all VHS tapes have macro on them. Even current movies are shipped with and without macro encoded. It depends on which batch of tapes you encounter.
Some DVD players can be made macro free by switching the firmware bit that triggers macro. You can't do anything comparable in VHS because the macro is permanently encoded on the tape.

[leebo]

Well, I have a JVC HRS 9800, and I can assure you that it DOES remove macrovision. Never had a problem copying, er, backing up a Hollywood VHS tape with it.

Perhaps JVC redesigned their TBC to pass the Macrovision signal. Are you sure you have the TBC engaged?

[Bob W]

Well, I have a JVC HRS 9800, and I can assure you that it DOES remove macrovision. Never had a problem copying, er, backing up a Hollywood VHS tape with it.

Perhaps JVC redesigned their TBC to pass the Macrovision signal. Are you sure you have the TBC engaged?

Were you able to record the VHS tape of Star Wars? That's one of several tapes that are giving me problems even with the Sima CopyMaster connected. Anyone know where I could buy the JVC HRS9800 VCR?

[dafoe]

Many of the really old (1980s) VCRs do not have Macrovision technology built into them.

[leebo]

Many of the really old (1980s) VCRs do not have Macrovision technology built into them.

Macrovision (a fancy name given to a procedure that alters and degrades the video signal) is inserted into the video signal before it's recorded to tape. It is NOT built into the VCR.

Here's what happens (to the best of my knowledge):

You hook two VCR's together to make a copy. Consumer VCR's usually have automatic circuits built into them to adjust the recorded signal (things like brightness, color, etc.).

Macrovision confuses these circuits in a effort to mess up the visual quality in the new copy.

Many older VCR's don't have all the automatic circuits, so using them on the record end works. A TBC removes part of the video signal and replaces it with it's own. The macrovision signal just happens to be located in this removed part. It is possible that JVC was bullied by Hollywood into including a special circuit to pass the Macrovision signal in spite of the built in TBC.

The cheapest TBC's I've seen are about $300US.


I don't have Star Wars on tape, but like I said, I've never had a problem making a copy.

[Bob W]

Damn I guess I'm going to be forced to just buy a TBC unit. I found one for $175 but it really pisses me off that I have to spend even more money to make a stupid DVDR backup of a twenty year VHS tape.