Philips VR-969 S-VHS

[Quasipal]

Last year I got one of these as spares or repair and only now have I got around to fixing it. Late (1997) S-VHS deck with drop down front, analogue clock on the front panel, comb filter, TurboDrive mechanism, jog and shuttle on the remote and on the VCR, good build quality (apart from the failed flex connectors and pinch roller I had to replace). EISA VCR of the year 97/98 winner.

I have been trying some tricky tapes and despite the lack of a TBC I have been really impressed. At £800 new it was a quality item and the picture and sound back that up. No ringing or sharpening halos at '0' sharpness setting (it goes from -3 to +3) and the HiFi sound is very stable. I can really see it being part of my restoration equipment as it has a completely different look compared to JVC or Panasonic S-VHS decks.

I don't see it mentioned here - anyone here done any transfers using this deck? Any user experiences?

[hech54]

I just picked up a Philips VR1100 and it's freaking brilliant. I used to have a VR1200(which was actually a LOWER spec'd version than this one) and it was also very nice.
I almost bought a 969 from Ebay but waited for this 1100 instead.
I swear this 1100 is a JVC clone.....it looks identical to some of them....of course no matter what....there WILL be
someone coming along to bash our Philips machines even though they have never tried one.
You've been warned.

[Quasipal]

I just looked up the VR1100 and you are right - it does have a JVC look to it. Does it have a TurboDrive mechanism? That would be a plus - Philips mechanism and JVC electronics. Where did you see the 969 if I may ask - they are rare machines I get the feeling. Did you get to try it out?

My VR969 is like no other VCR really as it is very complex inside with vertically stacked PCB's on top of the main board. The picture quality is excellent and I will be making a sample to share here.

Was the Philips range sold in the USA?

[hech54]

No mention of Turbo Drive....this one says Turbo Timer. Never knew nor cared what either of them meant.
You can usually find a 969 on Ebay in Germany pretty often. The only reason I avoided the 969 was because
the one I saw had no S-Video connections.

[Quasipal]

TurboDrive is just a name for the Philips VCR mechanism (everything was 'super' 'turbo' and 'digital' back then). I have just had one in bits and they are simple to service and align but have a few weak spots. If yours does not say turbodrive then I would bet it is a JVC model.

Concerning the VR969 it does have S-Video out (two outputs in fact) one S-Video socket and one by SCART. It also accepts RGB in (not just as passthrough) - the only consumer VCR ever made to do that I think.

[hech54]

Concerning the VR969 it does have S-Video out (two outputs in fact) one S-Video socket and one by SCART. It also accepts RGB in (not just as passthrough) - the only consumer VCR ever made to do that I think.

Oh yea....now I see it. It's on page 3 here:
http://download.p4c.philips.com/files/v/vr969_02/vr969_02_dfu_deu.pdf

Maybe there was an "01" version or something I saw on Ebay. The last 969 I saw on Ebay
went REAL cheap. Maybe I'll keep an eye out for another one.

[Quasipal]

I just added a clip from this VCR to my YouTube cannel. This clip is plain VHS recorded on another machine on basic tape a few years ago. I am very impressed with the detail and lack of chroma noise. This was with sharpness set to '0' (goes from -3 to +3).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S89o9phVh5A

This deck will help me no end I am sure.

[hech54]

Nice!