VCR with EP recording quality

[mishtag]

I am looking for a VCR that has a good EP or LP recording quality, I have an old JVC black VCR that its EP recording is amazing but this VCR start to have freezing problem and I checked with friends and families and I didn't like any of the VCRs that they have because none of them has the EP or LP recording quality that I am looking for, any suggestion would be appreciated.

[wulf109]

Look for a JVC SuperVHS-ET with a TBC builtin. The TBC works wonders on old jittery tapes.

[mishtag]

Thanks wulf109, but those VCRs are expensive, I would prefer to buy a recorder DVD players instead.

[Krispy Kritter]

Most current VCR's don't even use SP/LP/SLP any longer, they just use SP/SLP. I have one of the JVC units wulf109 suggested. As for a VCR/DVD combo, you are on your own. Most people that buy a combo player are looking to move VHS to DVD...not to use the VHS recorder, so you aren't likely to get much feedback.

[Milardo]

Walmart is the place to get a cheap vcr and also a cheap vcr dvd combo. I just got a Magnavox MWD2206 vcr dvd combo and it works great. Only $59.86. Not even on sale. Was 49.33 on January 4th 2007. Still cheapest anywhere though I think. Also have an Emerson vcr for about 39.87, cheapest then anywhere I can think of, even on the internet.

[jman98]

Maybe there is another forum elsewhere on the internet where someone can answer this question. VCRs are so old tech that most of us here don't bother with them. I haven't bought a blank video tape in maybe 5 or 6 years. I honestly can't remember the last time I actually recorded a show on a VCR. I realize that quality is a subjective measurement and your standards may be a lot different than mine, but in my humble opinion there aren't any VCRs that record in EP or LP mode in decent quality.

[jlietz]

I am looking for a VCR that has a good EP or LP recording quality

Just curious, but why in the world would you want to record in EP or LP?

[Captain Video]

Panasonic does have a VHS VCR that does recored and playback at all 3 speeds. I have had the best results with them. Always use SP record speed now as blank VHS tapes are $1 or so, and always use name brand tapes as well.
Captain Video

[lordsmurf]

I would not use a JVC, Magnavox/Philips or Panasonic VHS VCR to record in extended modes.

I would suggest, if you really want VHS at EP, is to use a Sharp VHS VCR. The tapes made on these machines tend to track very well on pretty much any VCR.

Tracking an extended recording is quite difficult, and will be important if your recording deck dies or starts to go out of whack.

I would suggest 2-4 hour DVDs, or just use a hard drive recorder, instead of EP VHS.

[Marvingj]

Personally, I do everything in SP. Both picture and sound are better. I know it costs more, but if you are building a library, SP is the way to go. If you don't feel like buying 50 tapes (I don't blame you), take the middle ground and record in LP. Not quite as good as SP, but not as bad as EP. There's a perceptible difference. Remember, you lose enough recording in 2-hour mode as it is. I work with video tape for a living. Recording anything in EP or LP mode loses quality faster than SP. The only thing I reccomend recording in EP is sports games, other than that, if you are archiving, SP works best unless you have a video input on your computer and can make MPEG's or AVI's. Better yet, record in SVHS, a much larger leap in quality. And given how cheap SVHS decks are now and the fact that all modern decks allow recording in SVHS mode on VHS tapes, it's not an unreasonable expense at all if you care about the quality.

XP = broadcast quality
SP = S-VHS quality
LP = VHS quality
EP = what streaming video looks like over a 56k modem connection

Recording VHS tapes to XP would probably be overkill, but then again you would be assured there is no quality loss at all. DVD discs are cheaper than videotapes these days, so it never hurts to use a higher quality setting. That way you won't regret it later on. If it were something important/irreplaceable, I would definitely use the higher quality settings. Even though LP is about equal to VHS in terms of resolution, LP will occasionally give you noticeable pixelation during fast-moving scenes or crossfades.

[lordsmurf]

Terms like "LP" and "EP" change from manufacturer to manufacturer, in terms of DVD "recording modes". It's so consumer-stupid that those terms even exist.

Also, SP and XP are basically the same, resolution-wise, only bitrate separates them.

And broadcast quality is lower than S-VHS tape quality, given the same sources.

This is another instance when what you know about VCRs and what you think you know about DVD recorders have ZERO RELATIONSHIP and cannot be compared in easy terms.

[dvdcrack]

Here is a very good soulotion to your problem. you will have to get the video head and the entire tape path professionally clean as techs would say but it is easy to do it yourself!
I use to clean vcr's and fix them back 15 years ago. follow these steps.

1) Remove the vcr cover so you can see the tape assymbly. besure you unplug the vcr first.
2) I suggest you use 75-90% isopropyl rubbing alcohol. 90% is better.
3) you will q-tips and a small cloth.
4) with the q-tips dip it in the alcohol and strart wipeing the audio head and erase head. depending on the amount of dirt that is inside you may want to use the cloth. put the cloth onto your index finger and dip the alcohol over the cloth. wipe the erase head and audio head. do not press to hard but a little pressure is required.
You can do the same method with the cloth on the video drum head which is the silver chunk of steel. The video head is silver and it rotates clockwise. place the cloth over your index finger with alcohol on the cloth and place it to the video head. use your other hand to spin the head with your finger. I suggest that you wash your hands prior to starting. then use some of the alcohol onto your hands and rub your hands together rubbing the alcohol in. This will remove the oil from your skin temporary. Dont get your finger prints on the any of the heads!
be gentle when cleaning the video head. do not apply any amounts of pressure. aviod the cloth from getting in the vent hole that is on the outside top of the video head. The cloth may hitch as you are cleaning. I suggest you use a white face cloth for the video head. You will see the dirt coming out of the head onto the cloth. The dirt is what video head cleaners dont remove. Video head cleaners do not provide a good cleaning! however the professional cleaning is best because it restore the quality as if it were new. If your vcr has been used quite often since the history you have had it for chances are you may not get the highest quality as it was due to useage. Video heads become degraded over the amount of use.

[dvdcrack]

in reguards to the tape speed gentlemen....the speeds stand for:

SP standard speed. this speed is faster giving the higest quality of recording/playing back the picture is 3 times sharper then the other speed's

LP long play. This speed will provide better quality then EP/SLP.

EP extended play back in the two head vcr's which is low quality.

SLP super long play. For the 4 head vcr's up to even 6 head vcr's Which are used by broadcaster's. 6 head vcr's are better then super VHS 4 head.

Super VHS 4 head vcr's supply Digital Audio.
DVD Recorder's simply gives better sound quality in the EP+ mode but the picture is not the greatest. Far as im concerned sp vhs is better pic quality when compared to ep+ mode on a dvd recorder.

[mishtag]

Thanks to every body participate in this discussion, I didn't expect that but I am really happy that I leared from everybodys experiances and comments.

I didn't want to go in details and said that the vcr I am asking about is for my mother who doesn't like to use DVD, and me personally I am using SP to record programs (I have DVD but it is only a player not recorder) and some times I have to record program using my VCR in order to use it when I go to visit her, actually, yesterday I bought JVC VCR (HR-592A) similler to what I have thinking it might have the same feature but I didn't try it yet.

jlietz, I hop that I answered your question.

dvdcrack, great info, I will try it.

Thanks again to everybody.