View Profile
View Forum Posts
Private Message
Video Hospital on East 12th by any chance?Originally Posted by fuzzblaster
With some VCRs it doesn't matter, with some it does. If something can possibly go wrong with a JVC SVHS, it inevitably will: if I were you, I'd run a tape thru it at least once a month. You're lucky it worked when you got it, you're even luckier you found a tech (esp if it was VH on 12th) who actually knew how to tune it up properly. Probably your luck will continue, but if your project is well and truly finished it might be best to sell the 9800 immediately while the tuneup receipt is still recent and you can get top dollar for the unit. If you really think its gonna sit, you risk it becoming a headache: to follow your car analogy, better to let it become someone elses' headache.I asked him after it was cleaned would it be good to run tape through it now and then to keep things moving, or can I let it sit there for a year without using it. He said "I could just let it sit there and not use it and when you use it, it will work fine". Not using, no wear and tear.....but could it be like a car....you need to run it every now and then to keep things moving.?
+ Reply to Thread
Results 31 to 60 of 73
-
-
No, this is a tiny shop on York and 74 St. The guy rents DVD's and one of those all in one places. But he does seem to know a lot when I questioned him. He is old enough to have been a real VCR repair days when the VCR was king. I want to keep it around becuase I going to do one more pass through my caotic tape collection and digitize anything I missed. Then maybe I'll sell it.
Another issue, how long do these tapes have......Fuji Film Hi Grade S VHS...I was lucky to use mostly good tapes. But the eight millimeter and Hi eights are starting to drop out like crazy. These are from 1990 to 1997. -
Yeah, I was lucky when I got it.
Clean and heads seemed like they were new. No problems at all. Digitized hours and hours of tapes. Finally I had an audio problem, but the tech guy said he fixed it. He said "work like new" so I guess I'm lucky. I will run a tape right now just for the hell of it.
Thanks -
The video calibration is the only thing in a JVC deck that I feel could wreck a tape, other than that, no problems. A lot of the professional VHS tapes (aka Star Wars on VHS) that kind of thing, look a lot better on the JVC deck. However most of my home recorded stuff, doesn't cause the recordings become dull.
The JVC decks also record VHS better than the AG1980 units. Not sure the reason for this, but I have tested this out. One of the features of the JVC decks is to record 400 lines to a VHS tape. To me some of those recordings looked really grainy when playing them back. Those recordings looked better being played back on the AG1980 unit.
Now I don't record anything on VHS anymore, however from time to time, it is still sometimes needed.
The professional/broadcast units in my opinion smoke these units away. The sound and than the picture quality, is night and day.
Last off:
Not boasting, but just saying my end results are going to be a lot different than many of your using the same units. With the help of Lord Smurf, basically have created really good transfer setup. Have added in a few things of my own, but use his core principals. Each VCR that I use for my restoration work is set-up a certain way.
AG1980's, I use these machines a lot, however the issues with these units are too much to write...
Last edited by Deter; 16th Feb 2012 at 20:28.
-
Originally Posted by Deter
Of course they will as they have much more advanced TBCs built in, particularly in the area of dropout compensation. The problem with them is that they usually can't play EP tapes and many ebay specials need expensive repairs and maintenance.
I think the AG-1980 and JVC units get a bad rep around here. I have two JVCs, one SVHS deck I bought refurbed in 2000 and a DVHS deck I got off ebay. Both work perfectly fine. I haven't had any issues with them so far, even though the DVHS deck has some obvious corner damage from being dropped. At $61 it was worth the risk, and I was rewarded with a nice VCR that could also serve as a pass through TBC. I never had a JVC degauss a tape or eat one either. I will admit the SVHS deck has had EP tracking issues since I got it, but those problems are well known with these units.Last off:
Not boasting, but just saying my end results are going to be a lot different than many of your using the same units. With the help of Lord Smurf, basically have created really good transfer setup. Have added in a few things of my own, but use his core principals. Each VCR that I use for my restoration work is set-up a certain way.
AG1980's, I use these machines a lot, however the issues with these units are too much to write...
I also have a AG-1980 which I was worried about when I bought it. I got it "as-is" for $53 as I was willing to take the risk at that price. Turns out it was practically brand new and hardly used.... it even came with the remote! Gave it a shakedown test of SP and EP recordings of 90s Star Trek I have laying around and it passed without a problem. Granted not every VCR is going to be perfect. These machines are old and need to be taken care of from time to time. Deter's experience with capacitors in AG-1980s doesn't surprise me, a lot of electronics from the past decade are plagued with bad caps. Even the JVC decks have problems with them from time to time.
-
Yeah to some extent, I think we're getting to that point with these products that they are old enough that they will all start to be a riskier proposition due to a lack of available parts (the more proprietary ones anyways) and a lack of people to repair them (when the electronics start to go out, we'll really be in trouble) no matter what you get. Still, some decks are more serviceable than others and there were some decent decks built near the end of the VHS life cycle and most people would be best to stick with those.
The more adventurous among us will always come up with a good reason to drop $$$ on a VCR or some vintage equipment and perhaps stumble onto something great that works perfect for their particular run of tapes. The rest of us will use the typical "safe bets", whether that be a fancy SVHS deck or a solid regular VHS deck. For 95% of people and their tapes this may not be the optimal solution, but it is the best balance of cost, time, and results for that same group. I think a lot of these more exotic decks and equipment will produce slightly better performance for some types of tapes than others, but for the most part you're getting incremental improvements at that point, although there are certainly exceptions.
Deter -- I'm definitely a more adventurous type myself (haha) so I'd love to see some screenshots or video clips of your tapes on whatever broadcast/professional decks you have against the other decks you use. What is your basic VHS to DVD setup like these days? It's always fun to compare notes.Last edited by robjv1; 17th Feb 2012 at 00:50.
-
Good to know: I'll have to try your guy out before his rent goes up and he retires. The place on 12th used to be great, but got rather poor in recent years (surprising, considering how much "pro" gear they get in- maybe they just give the consumer stuff short shrift now that its probably a minute part of their work compared to 20 years ago).Originally Posted by fuzzblaster
Other than some early 1980s Ampex that flaked apart within a year, I find VHS remarkably durable if it is just sitting and not being played/searched/paused constantly. I have many Scotch and TDK VHS dating back to 1981 that still play just fine. I wouldn't want to bet how much longer they'll go- 30 years was a nice surprise. I digitized the oldest first, then my SVHS just to unload most of my SVHS vcrs while they still had resale value. The camcorder formats are much more fragile: VHS-C had the weird miniature head design that makes tracking them a pain 20 years later. The tiny 8mm stuff is very fragile, even just sitting on a shelf: I would make those your top archiving priority if you still have any. Oddly enough, I find Beta is rather less archival than VHS: most of my old Sony L500s and esp L750s are way more problematic than similar-age T120 and T160s. It may be Sony blank tape quality in earlier Beta years was not as good as we assumed: my TDK, Scotch and Fuji Beta tapes have aged far better, about on par with their VHS companions.Another issue, how long do these tapes have......Fuji Film Hi Grade S VHS...I was lucky to use mostly good tapes. But the eight millimeter and Hi eights are starting to drop out like crazy. These are from 1990 to 1997. -
IF you're in the lucky group blessed by the JVC gods, yes. If not, you'll be cursed with tape damage that will blow your mind in its deviousness and variety: physical damage is the least of the potential issues. This ongoing nastiness was not properly addressed by JVC until the much later WVHS and DVHS units, which are great (I wouldn't take another "classic" SVHS if you gave it to me).Originally Posted by Deter
This was ever the case: Panasonics have always been mediocre or average, at best, in recorded PQ. That is the ONLY reason I bought one $500 JVC after another back in the day, despite every single one of them screwing me over with unrepairable defects and causing damage to my tapes the likes of which I have never witnessed with any other brand. JVC technically offers very high quality, but in practical use they are as fraught with problems as any other brand, frequently more so. There is no middle ground: you either have a lifelong love affair with JVC, or you seethe with anger to the point you wish you could torch their headquarters and watch it burn to ashes.The JVC decks also record VHS better than the AG1980 units. Not sure the reason for this, but I have tested this out.
Last edited by orsetto; 18th Feb 2012 at 14:50.
-
I have had several other JVC's with multiple problems...audio.....chewing tapes....mostly with the HRS 7100 I think
But that last 9800 has been a total success in every aspect.
As for the Mom and PoP video repair place
Fifth Dimension Video
1427 York Ave. NYC
I think this is one of the few remaining places left for consumer video. I'm only promoting him because....
A) He is a nice guy and is very fair with pricing, and seems to be a consumer video expert.
B) I want to give him business so he can stay in business. Like you said, it looks like the many other shops that cannot afford the NYC rents. Who knows, maybe there are enough customers around NYC to keep him going. I may need him again.
There was a crazy place on like 84th and York. They sold and repaired vacuum cleaners up front and in the back was a chaotic TV/VCR repair section. With a crazy owner and his wife always arguing in an office right there. They also did UPS shipping, Notarizing, renting vhs tapes.....crazy, they must have been travel agents too. They had a Chinese guy slaving away under a mountain of vcr chassis and television parts. He spoke no English at all.
I think the guy at Fifth Dimension is better. -
Orestto,
Wow you have had some bad experiences with JVC. Actually Lord Smurf told me to get a specific DVD recorder made by JVC. The 1st two has loading issue problems. Later to find many of the units had defective CAPS.
Never really purchase any JVC stuff, maybe a DVD player, think that was it, until Lord Smurf came around. Have pulled apart MV1's (wrecked two of them) and a MV5's (Which is mint and I have a back up DVD drive to replace when this unit tanks), just using the DVD recorder side of them. On those never used the VCR's...
On the SR-V10U and off the top of my head JVC SRV101, which on the insides kind of looks like the 7800U, they are not that complex of machines. The newer VCR lines, the circuit work is not crazy (it is pretty tight), you may be talking about alignment issues or bad pinch rollers, I don't know.
The JVC deck I was talking about above, forget the name of it, that thing has like 14 expansion slots, it weighs like 70lbs, to figure out that machine, is not worth it. Had like 4 or 5 broken JVC Industrial VCR's and after looking at them, just junked them, the power cords were cut on these units also.
Personally have not had any problems with my JVC stuff. Yea the "Loading Issue", but that was an easy fix, no problems with the VCR eating tapes or wrecking them. Had three, Pro Decks, and they were all so close to each other, that I sold off two of them.
Last edited by Deter; 22nd Feb 2012 at 16:56.
-
Deter, I have had some JVCs that I liked, believe it or not.
I loved the huge JVC "boombox" AM/FM cassette unit I had as a teenager: it lasted nearly 9 years before it broke down. This was an early version, before the term "boombox" was even used: at the time, there were only three such "boombox" models on the market (one each from SuperScope, Panasonic, and JVC). They were first marketed in the late '70s more as compact home stereos for small spaces, before they caught on as a public nuisance all thru the '80s. My JVC direct-drive turntable still works perfectly after thirty years.
I loved all my dozen or so JVC vcrs, until they screwed me over with tape damage. My favorite was the goofy "miniature" JVC that loaded tapes via the short side: it had every feature under the sun and excellent PQ, probably the longest duration of any JVC I owned before it started ruining tapes. Runner-up fave was a TEAC vcr made by JVC: built like a brick and wonderful to use. Sadly they all eventually began to magnetically damage my tapes (very hard to detect, and by the time you do notice countless tapes have already been trashed). Those that didn't develop magnetic issues ate tapes the old fashioned mechanical way, or their tracking drifted so extremely no technician could correct them. Comparing notes over the years with many many JVC vcr owners around the world, I found there is no "average" experience with them: every single one you ever own works absolutely perfectly and never breaks down, or they never give you a minute's peace and drive you to financial ruin. Those in the "lucky" group firmly believe those in the "unlucky" group are delusional or making up stories, and vice versa.
My first DVD recorders were the DR-MV5 VHS/DVD combos you mentioned. I really liked these: as LordSmurf often noted they had a unique encoder PQ unlike any other recorder. The DR-MV5 was one of very few recorders that would convert PAL dvds to NTSC on the fly during playback, with superb PQ. I also found their VCR section to be remarkably good for a combo, with excellent tracking of fussy hifi and EP tapes. I once employed ten DR-MV5s and several DR-M100s simultaneously for a large commercial transfer project, as well as personal tasks. Unfortunately the incessant "loading" problem became too much of a hassle with all these units: board level PSU repairs with a soldering iron are not my forte, and I became addicted to using Pioneer DVD/HDD recorders, so the JVCs got sold off as-is.Last edited by orsetto; 22nd Feb 2012 at 22:48.
-
How are the Pioneer DVD/HDD recorders? How is it with HD feed, what kind of settings do you use to record? Always looking for new things. Only use the MV5 for VHS stuff in FR80 mode. Yea, the Loading problem, was something major.
When I first got the unit in (MV1), was like what a piece of junk, what is Lord Smurf talking about.
Loading on the machines can also mean different things, some DVD's the machine doesn't like, if the lens is dirty or a bad disk can send the machine in to loading mode.
The thing is those units don't have that many capacitors in them. At the same time when you purchase something you shouldn't need to get it repaired. When you purchase USED stuff, most of the time they need repairs. It is very hard to find these units new, and if you do, guess what....It could have the LOADING PROBLEM...they are not worth the hassle to many people.....
Back to the AG1980, most of them need repairs, which is a pain...The problem #2, nobody really knows how to fix these things...Maybe you can get lucky and find someone that does. Problem #3, you don't know the unit is faulty or not working correct, than do a lot of videos work. Later to find that your VCR had a problem the entire time...ARGH !!!!
Soldering is not that hard, however it is easy mess up things, if you don't know what you are doing.
The MV5, on the VHS stuff, think it does a really good job, that is what is used for. The JVC Professional line SVHS players, whatever models, the ones that are all the same, just have different names, are good for some videos. These VCR's also really look good on Older TV's.
Maybe this is just me, just thought for the avg person trying to convert VHS stuff, the JVC decks were the best way to go. They are easiest to deal with. (Again I am talking about the higher end decks not the crap that came with the MV5.)
Didn't know about PAL dvds to NTSC, however from using the unit, just knew they would play the PAL disks.
Four years ago, had a Sony VCR from College and a Panasonic with Omnivision spatel audio (I think) from College or High School. Than purchased an LG Recorder. That DVD recorder has been smashed to pieces after it messed up its hundred DVD - or + R disk. The Sony VCR is gone also, it wore out.....Now I have Industrial VCR's that retailed for $7,000, it makes no sense.....Last edited by Deter; 23rd Feb 2012 at 00:45.
-
I went thru several generations of Pioneer before being fully satisfied. Initially I had the DVR-310, which was contemporary with the JVC DRM-10 or MV1. I found the Pio made sharper recordings than the JVC and was preferable for video shot mostly as dark scenes, the JVC was great with brighter scenes. Neither was worth a damn dubbing commercial tapes, even with expensive stabilizers or TBCs: distortion city. After awhile, I came across a good deal on a used Pioneer 510, which was my 310 with an HDD. The HDD feature was a revelation but the interface was atrocious. I went hunting on eBay and found another bargain Pioneer, this time a 2004 DVR-520 which was (and remains) the single most popular DVD/HDD recorder ever marketed worldwide. This came between the crude 510 and more sophisticated 531, but aside from the addition of a dedicated "erase section" screen its interface is the same clunky mess as the 510. I've never quite understood the raging cult behind the 520: its a pill to edit with, although it was the last Pio to include the feature allowing one to add chapter marks on the HDD during normal full-screen playback of a video. Shortly after I found a then-current Pioneer 531 at a good price, and tried that. Jackpot! Pioneer revised the interface into something of a masterpiece that I fell in love with, and beefed up the internal "TBC" to cope much more amenably with commercial tapes and other funky inputs. Unfortunately the 531 was part of Pioneers cursed "TVGOS" recorder series of 2005, which was very unreliable due to poor implementation of the EPG.Originally Posted by Deter
After struggling with TVGOS issues in the 531, I was very relieved when Pioneer chucked the entire design to cooperate with Sony on a new hybrid Pio/Sony chassis. The final Pioneers of 2007 (550) and 2008 (560) were a dream: slick interface, rock solid reliability, great with all types of line input, and further improved 12-bit video encoder. Sadly those nifty 2007 and 2008 versions were not sold in USA, only Canada. I was able to get a number of "open box demos" from a Canadian liquidator at 50% off the $469 retail, and grabbed as many as I could afford until they sold out. Today, you can't find them used at all in USA, owners hoard them: if one does turn up for sale its either broken or the asking price is close to what it sold for brand new. I have a 550 and a 560 running constantly, when they aren't dubbing from a VCR they record from off-air or cable. The 550 is patched thru the line outs of a Magnavox H2160 (so it can tap the Mag ATSC tuner for off air near-HD broadcasts). The 560 is connected to my cable box HDMI via a quirky HDMI>SVHS converter arrangement, allowing 16:9 anamorphic recording. The results look fantastic on a CRT television but only good/adequate on large LCD flatscreens (nice, but of course not as stunning as true HDTV broadcasts or cable).
Yes, this is another reason I didn't open them up and hack at them with a soldering iron: I knew that wouldn't really fix everything. The "loading" tendency was too unpredictable, inevitably striking when you had a particularly crucial timer recording set up or were in the middle of a painstaking tape transfer project. After a year of that happening, I was ready to toss them.Loading on the [JVC DR-M] machines can also mean different things, some DVD's the machine doesn't like, if the lens is dirty or a bad disk can send the machine in to loading mode.
I can solder: I've had to replace the motors in a few Thorens turntables, and have taken the iron to a few repair projects I've done for other people. But I don't have a well-ventilated space and do have family underfoot: the house isn't well-suited to having lead fumes blowing thru it, but "lead-free" solder is garbage that decomposes when exposed to summer humidity (some "green" ideas are really, really bad ideas).Soldering is not that hard, however it is easy mess up things, if you don't know what you are doing.
Accelerated wear and difficulty obtaining repairs is more of a problem now than it was two or three years ago, for Panasonics and JVCs both. The machines are getting pretty old, most are on their tenth owner and eighth shipment. Most smaller towns don't have any VCR techs still in business, and you and I have seen them all but disappear even in NYC. Five years ago the Panasonic was a lot easier to get repaired than any JVC, but today its tough to find a good local tech for either.Back to the AG1980, most of them need repairs, which is a pain...The problem #2, nobody really knows how to fix these things...Maybe you can get lucky and find someone that does.
Depends. The Panasonic AG1980 can drift way off spec and still be usable, not up to full potential but still offering some improvement for a surprising number of tapes. The earlier AG1970 is built like a tank, and is usually found in good working order (the TBC is weak and no DNR, but it has advantages over the 1980 or JVCs for some tapes). The classic JVC svhs models are not as forgiving: if they aren't absolutely mint condition you could be buying a bag of misery. Given the dearth of competent repair shops and the age of these VCRs, I think its really WAY past time we stop recommending them to newbies. They're just too risky: they seem appealing when you find one for $99 or $150, but by the time you add shipping and the inevitable repair fees (if you can even find a repairman who'll touch it), you're closing in on the price of a much newer DVHS vcr from JVC or Mitsubishi. The DVHS have much tighter tolerances in the transports, are much newer, and far more likely to be in mint condition (some can still be found brand new). In 2012, I don't think there are any bargains left: either save up $400 for a nice clean DVHS, or pick up a nice ordinary second-hand Panasonic, Sharp or Mitsubishi 4-head hifi VCR for $25. Skip the AG1980s and HR-S7600s unless you know a close friend or family member who is skilled at repairing vintage high-end VCRs.Maybe this is just me, just thought for the avg person trying to convert VHS stuff, the JVC decks were the best way to go. They are easiest to deal with. (Again I am talking about the higher end decks not the crap that came with the MV5.)Last edited by orsetto; 23rd Feb 2012 at 02:43.
-
UPDATE:
Have two perfect working AG 1980 units, wanted to do a few tests on capturing the same recording over and over around damaged sections of the video. Running over damaged sections tends to make the AG1980 adjust the colour.
What I found, is the colour on these units are not stable, what I mean by this is you match up the frames, you get slightly different colour tones on the same recording.
Also, two or three different units, same recording (Normally) = different colour tones.
If you are not running over damaged section, it is possible to get a stable colour playback, a slight bounce in the recording can cause it to shift. Start and stops can cause the same effect, depending on the unit. Sometimes the colours do match up, but not always.
If you have some bad caps in the machine, your start & stops will almost never match, and your colour will always be off from what it was supposed to be.Last edited by Deter; 27th Feb 2012 at 00:36.
-
That's pretty interesting. I wonder if the inconsistency affects all AG1980's, or if it's related to bad caps only? I had all of my bad caps replaced to fix a barber poling problem. From what I've seen, mine actually seems to have pretty consistent color when I take multiple captures, except when the AGC in some other piece of equipment fiddles with the luma levels. (My AIW 9600 does that if no intermediate piece of equipment is used, and other pieces of equipment can do that if I don't reduce the gain enough first with a proc amp.) I should note that the tape I've taken the most captures of is probably my most damaged, and it's more jittery than you can believe.
That's not to say I especially like the color presentation of my AG1980, but mine seems pretty consistent at least, even flipping back and forth between multiple interleaved captures. (I should point out it's been a while though, and I can't retest at the moment; I've merged and deleted the duplicates, and my AG1980 is in the shop.) I'm sure it would stack up differently against other AG1980's though, even ones with good caps. orsetto has mentioned that they all look a bit different from one another.
EDIT: WAIT! I know what you mean now! You mean that whenever there's a hiccup in the signal, the AG1980 alters the luma levels! I was under the impression that the levels alteration in response to those hiccups was entirely my capture card's fault, but maybe the AG1980 itself contributed?Last edited by Mini-Me; 27th Feb 2012 at 08:01.
-
Yes that is correct the problem is the unit itself, even if it is in perfect shape.
When the caps start going bad, the colour shifts to more of a black & white tone. Over time, you will not get any colour just B&W. If you turn on the machine and it is B&W, than two days later it looks fine, guess what it is not.
Once they go bad they are shot and need to be replaced, waiting 10 hours for the unit to charge up, is not the answer....
Easy way to spot that you have bad caps, is how the unit powers up, if the front panel is dim or takes a while to load, your colour or luma levels will always be messed up. If you start getting random noise in the picture, to streaks or random drop outs. Sometimes the drop outs are the video head or bad tapes. Most of the time it is the caps inside the unit.
These units have a lot of capacitors in them. For example the colour problem could be bad caps in the power supply to something located on the circuit board.
Again as I stated before, on a perfect working unit, sometimes when the tape runs over a trouble area, it could be just a commercial skip. A re-start of a VHS recording on the tape itself, you pressed pause or stop and than added to the recording. Can cause the colour to shift on these units. One of the ways to fix this, is to stop the tape after the error, remove it from the machine, than restart. Hense you reset the colour to the machines default. (Bad Caps you have no default it is just random)Last edited by Deter; 27th Feb 2012 at 10:25.
-
One thing I noticed about the AG-1980 (at least the one I have) is that its poorly shielded. You can hear the clock blink "12:00" on an AM radio a couple feet away! It could be a factor with some of the playback issues with this deck.
-
Very interesting. Wonder if the AG-5710 suffers from these same issues or not.
-
I just looked up the AG-5710, on the outsides it looks very close to the AG-1980, however its retail price was a lot less. My guess would be YES. The Panasonic Industrial/Broadcast VCR's are made different, the answer to those units would be NO.
NJRoadFan, I forgot about that issue. Just never think about it, cause moved my units away from anything. If they are close to other electronics, speakers or whatever can cause these units to act up.
Don't want seem like I am bashing the AG1980, they are more than likely the best VCR for SLP tapes. Have not tried any of the DVHS units. If you can get them working correctly, I feel the picture is a lot better than the SR-V10U.
Because I needed these AG Units to work perfect, had to take a lot of time and research in to the different problems. As I stated above only use the JVC decks when a specific tape calls for it.
Maybe I can do a DEMO video of the JVC vs AG1980, just have to find some random tape that would be good for this test. Online, sometimes the JVC's decks look better, but I am just uploading the file and not a YouTube video. -
^ As I recall, the AG-5710 sold for like twice as much originally as the AG-1980 did, but I believe it is the same internally as the 1980, minus the tuner and + the computer interface abilities.
Yeah, all of these decks have their quirks I guess.
I've noticed a quirk on the JVC SR-W5U decks (it performs the same way on each of the ones I own, so I can only assume it is a quirk of the VCR and not a malfunction). Sometimes when the TBC is engaged, if there is a drastic change in the frame (usually a camera angle switch via a cut) the first frame of the next camera angle will have a slightly desaturated color and the hue will be slightly shifted. It's like whatever the TBC is doing to the color is lagging behind by the one frame. It is always fixed by the next frame, so I've never noticed it when actually watching a video, but I see it on a frame by frame analysis on occasion.
To some extent, I think the concept of "video x looks better/worse than video y" is hard to pin down in any situation when making comparisons (although it is fun to compare). I mean there are the things just about all of us expect from our best performing VCRs -- we want decent tracking for all tape speeds, a stable picture that isn't jumping around all over the place, and decent audio performance. Beyond that, people are all over the place and priorities make a big difference in the way we evaluate one deck to another.
Some people insist on video that is so 'sharp' that it is full of noise, where others think it blasphemous to leave the screen looking anything but NeatVideo smooth. Some people want the VCR to have a really dynamic color range, but for others, as long as the palette is natural and the contrast isn't too high, they could care less as long as they can dial in the ideal settings on a proc amp.
Some folks drop down to the linear/mono track at the first sign of hi-fi noise, despite the loss of fidelity and call it good for their purposes. Other people insist on maintaining the hi-fi and make multiple captures with different VCRs and try to edit them together, or painstakingly trudge through a recorded track, applying pop and click filters to individual phrases or words. I was formerly in this camp, so a VCR that can track hi-fi audio almost perfectly to someone like me is very high up on the list of priorities, but for someone else it might make almost no difference.
Sometimes I think it is a miracle this stuff works at all.Last edited by robjv1; 28th Feb 2012 at 20:27.
-
I don't know what website I found that info on......
This one gives u the retail price
http://www.broadcaststore.com/store/prod_detail.cfm?eq_id=512254
This one gives u their price
http://www.broadcaststore.com/store/model_detail.cfm?id=14320
This is kind of funny, started doing the JVC vs AG1980 video, and my JVC deck went bad. It is loses the signal and goes to blue screen. You have to be freakin kidding me.....Now I got to pull the JVC deck apart......ARGH !!!!! Tried cleaning it and that didn't work..... -
I believe I heard it from Orsetto -- I'm sure he'll chime in. BCS reports a mixture of different data, the link for the AG-5710 reports an MSRP, I'm assuming for a used deck, they don't appear to be selling one at this time. The link for the AG-1980 doesn't show the MSRP, it shows the BCS price sale price for a deck in "reference condition". In general I believe the AG-1980 prices have inflated due to their reputation for the particular model #, while the AG-5710's used to go at bargain bin prices despite being the same deck more or less (except for the differences mentioned above) as people weren't aware of them. I don't know if that is still the case, but I often wonder if the 5710 is a safer bet, in terms of having passed through less hands / seen less harsh use at the hands of inexperienced users.Originally Posted by Deter
Which JVC deck has fallen apart on ya? Also, I'm curious what are your basic workflows in terms of VCRs and equipment?Last edited by robjv1; 28th Feb 2012 at 22:37.
-
The 7900U, Don't know what the hell happened, maybe it was a bad tape, something is not right. The tracking seems to be going crazy and than fizzing out to a blue screen. Was able to get an SP recorded tape to play back with no problems, but everything else is a mess. It cuts out and goes to the blue screen, you can FF or RW and you get a picture. Than it wrecked a couple of segments on the tapes. This VCR was perfect never had a problem in it's life, until this test video.....I'll get it fixed...
That was the link....
http://www.soadv.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=PanasonicS-VHSVC...Fcjc4AodPnNaWg -
The next two posts are examples of the JVC 7900U vs the AG-1980
(This segment is from a 16 year old VHS tape recorded in SLP mode)
All the specs are the same for both videos.
The point of these two posts are to compare the picture quality of both units and decide which one YOU like best. -
Ag-1980
Last edited by Deter; 28th Feb 2012 at 23:39.
-
Was this recorded from a cable signal or via antenna?
I think they both have their plusses and minuses. As far as negative aspects, the Panasonic looks overly sharpened, but the DNR on the JVC creates prominent shadows on the field that don't seem to really exist as they just sort of get smudged together as dark areas. The logos definitely look better and more natural on the JVC and look way too sharp on the Panasonic. Color balance/density on both looks about right and are pleasing. In motion on a TV, both are more noisy than I'd expect with the DNR on, but overall fairly pleasing to look at for a 20 year old TV broadcast! Noise is really the main issue, everything else looks pretty good. -
This was cable TV, saw some of that noise also, never watched this tape before to be honest. You can adjust the sharpness on the AG1980, personally like the picture sharper, that is just me. The JVC is as sharp as it could be. On the JVC deck when you view things at a distance, it is a bit of a blur. On a very dull recording it really tends to blur. The edges of some of the objects or people never look natural on the JVC deck, it really depends on the tape.
-
Yeah, I am in the same camp for the most part, I like the look of a picture a little sharper than the DNR on the JVC leaves sometimes, although this is maybe a bit beyond what I'd consider a little sharper, but to each their own and having the adjustment right on the deck is surely a nice feature. The JVC DNR does leave some recordings looking too dull for my tastes sometimes. In a recording like this, at a distance, the JVC makes the numbers on the football jerseys kind of hard to see. and you can make them out more clearly on the Panasonic version -- which for something like a football game may be more important than having a completely noise free picture.Originally Posted by Deter
I typically use my JVC SR-V101US deck for really noisy recordings and my JVC SR-W5U for those with very little noise, as it uses a different DNR method that is not quite as aggressive and has a baseline 'sharper' picture than the other JVC decks to begin with. It just has a more pleasing look in motion to me. For a noisy recording that needs a little sharpness boost, I'll use the JVC SR-V101US + the SignVideo DR-1000. -
Chiming in.Originally Posted by robjv1
The AG5710 was more expensive than the AG1980 back when they were last available to purchase new, which would have been the last time they appeared in the B&H Pro A/V catalog circa late-1999. Southern Advantage is a rather dubious vendor offering new-old-stock AG1980s at well above the original retail price: they specialize in whoring the AG1980 out to unsuspecting deep-pocketed enthusiasts. They offer a few "reconditioned" 1980s for about $900 and a smattering of AG5710s on the rare occasion they come across one (I'm betting never: probably the only reason they even started mentioning it is because they've seen my own postings about it wherever the 1980 is discussed). Southern Advantage doesn't even bother to show the correct AG5710 photo on their website, I wouldn't take their pricing as indicative of anything but what they think they can get for it.
The AG5710 does lack the tuner, IR remote, and front panel Line 2 connections of the AG1980: along with being virtually unknown outside professional circles, these missing "consumer" features tended to depress second-hand prices compared to the once wildly-popular AG1980. However, when it was a "current" product, the AG5710 was more expensive at retail due to its very elaborate and pricey time code subsystem. The 1980 was designed as a "crossover" deck for semi-pro and consumers use, the AG5710 was directed exclusively toward post-production and pro editing users. Those users needed their SVHS decks to interface with the "pro" time code tracking system employed by all other formats and computer systems in their facilities. Ultra-pro rack-mount SVHS behemoths with "pro" time code cost in the $4000 range at the time, the AG5710 was offered as an "entry level" or supplementary option at half the usual cost. The only other "non-pro" SVHS to include the extra time code circuitry, time code head, and RS-232 interface was the JVC SR-S365U. The JVC was even more expensive than the AG5710, but a real clunker based on an ancient JVC non-TBC, non-DNR consumer chassis notorious for terrible tracking drift and tape loading problems. The JVC would only accept the $500 wired remote common to pro-line RS-232 JVCs, while the AG5710 could use a more affordable $199 Panasonic control box.
Today the AG5710 is no better or worse than the AG1980: I have both, they are essentially identical aside from the missing tuner in the 5710, and average about the same condition used (although the 5710 remains less expensive due to its "unknown" status). Either is likely to be a fairly worn out VCR. I've had a few of the JVC 365s, and they were atrocious: gawdawful hifi tracking and no TBC/DNR at all. Yuck.Last edited by orsetto; 4th Mar 2012 at 14:00.
-
actually, i felt the JVC DEMO.mpg clip looked (processed) better, or at least it encoded better for me.
the ag1980 leave more original detail (hence the perceived noise) which i prefer most of the time but in this case the jvc won my vote.
fwiw noting...initially, when i first opened both files, all i could see were mpeg macroblocks in all the scenes. afterwards, when i endoded them to mkv i no longer saw them. so, its possible that my initial preview in virtualdub did not accomidate deblocking settings. i had reinstalled vdub a few days ago so maybe i messed a few config settings that i can't find now...oh well. i 'll just have to remember that the next time i open an mpeg file directly in virtualdub. what a pain.
Quote
Similar Threads
-
Panasonic AG-1980P deck ejects all tapes.
By Spektre in forum Capturing and VCRReplies: 3Last Post: 7th Nov 2013, 12:31 -
Panasonic 1980p as passthrough TBC
By magillagorilla in forum RestorationReplies: 14Last Post: 4th Dec 2011, 18:56 -
JVC SR-V10U remote control
By bigvlad12 in forum Newbie / General discussionsReplies: 2Last Post: 31st May 2011, 13:49 -
Panasonic AG-1980P and TBC Questions
By icon in forum RestorationReplies: 6Last Post: 19th Dec 2009, 23:34 -
JVC SR-V10u to Panny ES-10 to Philips 3575 for some Black Level Control
By KeepItSimple in forum DVD & Blu-ray RecordersReplies: 12Last Post: 20th Jan 2008, 09:23