Hi, I have hours and hours of Raw footage from my NYC Public Access TV show shot on the Panasoinc AG 450. Most camera masters are S-VHS and some VHS tapes. Several tapes have been edited on pro eqipment, I also want to copy those. I need a deck to play the tapes into my DVD recorder and also to edit in Sony Vegas. I have a Canopus 110 for capture. I could use the camera but I need to scan the tapes and shuttle is slow. There were also some tracking issues so some of the tapes have jitters. The cameras heads might not be the best thing to use as a deck.

I have heard that the panasonic AG 1980 is a great choice and the TBC might help correct some problem tapes. They are also both Pansasonic.

However, others have stated the the AG 1980 might not be the best choice. That most of the ones on ebay have been used to death. Even though they are workhorses I would imagine hours and hours of use would take thier toll. Also some say the 1980 shows too much detail and I might be better off with high end JVC consumer model. I'm looking to spend under $200 or even less. I would greatly appriciate any feedback you have on this issue.

By the way, this isn't spam to get anyone to watch, but here is a sample of my public access program, pretty funny, huh!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZW_lEEhmQk

Best video deck to play S-VHS tapes shot on a Panasonic AG 450