JVC DVD Recorder Question.... About to buy one, but I've got a few Q's

[hulk1066]

Hey,

I'm about to buy a DVD Recorder. It sounds like the JVC DR-M100S would be best for what I'm looking for, which is something that is capable of recording beyond 2 hours and maintaining good quality from a VHS transfer.

I'm having difficulty finding it at any store around here, and I'm hesitant on ordering it off line incase it needs to be returned.

I did find a JVC VHS/DVD Recorder combo unit at Sears and was wondering if it would do basically the same thing in terms of being able to record well after the 2 hour mark.

Any help or suggestions will be appreciated.
Thanks....

[mazinz]

Im in the US and I could not find the deck either at a regular big chain retailer. However Lordsmurf pointed me in the right direction. Go here. The company is huge and very good. I have been extremely satisfied with the deck ever since. You will be very happy with the quality of the machiens over 2 hour record modes (main reason why I purchased it)

www.bhphotovideo.com

[BrainStorm69]

Don't know if you live anywhere near a Fry's Electronics, but I've seen them there.

[BCdave]

Hulk, I understand from LordSmurf that it's the LSI encoding chip that is primarily responsible for the recording quality of the JVC DR-M100S, along with JVC's own circuitry. (I have a LG recorder with the LSI chip, and I was amazed at the quality of 4 hour recordings. 1 hour and 2 hour recording is actually better than the original, which I didn't believe was possible !! )
Here's the LSI site showing all the recorders containing their chip: http://www.lsilogic.com/products/product_showcase/index.html

You can check to see if the VHS/DVD model at Sears is on this list.
Note, however, that LordSmurf recommends the DR-M100S, and he's The Man in these matters, as far as I'm concerned. Note that it has a FR mode, so you can set the duration to match the length of the source, presumably maximizing the quality for durations which differ from the standard 1, 2, 4 hours. None of JVC's preceding models have that feature, so you might want to wait until you can find one, or order it online.

[mazinz]

What else helps in addition to the lsi chip is that the jvc deck has pre-filters that the video runs through first. This cleans up a lot of noise and
makes a very nice image. Combine the filters with the chip and you have a winner.

[Bix]

DRM100 at Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/9kykd

If you need to return it, Amazon provides a prepaid UPS label for you.

[mazinz]

www.bhphotovideo.com

still the cheapest selling the deck for $192.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?ci=1&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=...=t&shs=drm100s

[lordsmurf]

Fry's Electronics has them for $249 plus tax. I got another JVC "open box" a few weeks ago from them, for $235, and it was only the box that was opened, everything inside was still sealed and unused.

Online, they run around $200, and can be found at B&H. Trust B&H for good service and good prices on prosumer and professional video/photo equipment.

The combo unit is a DVD recorder merged with a cheap VCR. I'm not fond of the VCR, and combo units can break. If the price is right, go for it, just don't expect the VCR to be of much use. I would suggest the standalone unit, and a reliable seller like B&H should not pose a problem.

I've used B&H for photo/video equipment since the mid 1990s, never a problem (just do NOT buy that MACK warranty crap).

You could always buy the one from Sears, to see if you like the quality (you probably will!) and then return it. At that point, buy the non-combo online. A bit of a hassle, maybe not completely ethical (though still legal!), but an option nonetheless.

[trhouse]

BestBuy's in store price is $229 for the DR-MV5S combo and it is not an open box but brand new. The $192 from B&H still requires shipping so the price difference is not much. There is no requirement that you use the internal VCR since the combo can be used with external VCR's but it is handy for the transfer of good quality, non-problem tapes.

[mazinz]

in general what all these replies boil down to: BUY the machine you will not be disappointed!!!

[hulk1066]

Thanks guys, I appreciate all of the input. I went ahead and followed LordSmurf's idea of picking the one up at Sears and seeing how I liked it.

It was the DR-MV5S model. I've been playing around with it, and the only problem I've came across is the color on the picture that is recorded from the DVD Recorder is much darker than than the VHS Source. Any clue to what causes that or a way to fix it?

Thanks again.

[trhouse]

Some sources are set up for an IRE level of 0 and others 7.5. These numbers indicate the level for black. 0 is a lower dark level than 7.5, so if you have a recorder set to record an IRE 7.5 source and record an IRE 0 source, it will appear darker than normal. Conversely, if you set a recorder to record an IRE 0 source but use a source with IRE 7.5 then the recording will look too light.

[lordsmurf]

Are you playing this DVD back on the DVD recorder? Another player? The computer?

[hulk1066]

On the DVD Recorder

[lordsmurf]

You may have it in a darker picture mode (playback only).

[hulk1066]

You may have it in a darker picture mode (playback only).

Thanks, you must be right, because I stuck the DVD in another DVD player and it definitely wasn't dark. Any clue how to change that though? The only options I'm finding about playback mode picture controls are: Normal/Cinema/Sharp/Soft, but neither of them make much of a difference in terms of darkness.

[lordsmurf]

The combo unit is laid out different than the non-combo, so I really could not say.