Toshiba DVR620 DVD/VHS Recorder, Black

[Jammers]

Anyone know if the VCR in this unit is stereo or just hi-fi?

[sanlyn]

hi-fi = stereo. You mean stereo or mono? It's stereo. The tape players in DVD/VCR combos are crap.

The only element of the DVR620 that has anything to do with Toshiba is the label. Made by Funai.

[fzabkar]

Service Manual:
http://elektrotanya.com/toshiba_dvr620ku.pdf/download.html

[DB83]

Service Manual:
http://elektrotanya.com/toshiba_dvr620ku.pdf/download.html

I am lost for words.

[fzabkar]

Service Manual:
http://elektrotanya.com/toshiba_dvr620ku.pdf/download.html

I am lost for words.

Well, you managed five of them. Can you manage a few more?

[DB83]

Sure. WTF would the OP do with a SERVICE manual ?. If you read another of his topics he cannot even be a......d to even open the USER manual of some of his kit.

I could offer some suggestions which mainly involve cutting it into small squares but these would be even more OT than your own response.

[fzabkar]

You cannot rely on the accuracy of marketing literature. IMO a service manual should be the definitive reference whenever there is any ambiguity or uncertainty.

For example, here is a relatively long thread where the OP had difficulty setting up his home theatre system:

https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/356708-DVD-recorder-hookup-Heres-a-puzzle/page2

In the above case a quick examination of the block diagrams in the service manual would have shown him the video signal paths between the various connectors and thereby saved him a lot of grief. In the present case Jammers is having difficulty determining what "hi-fi" means in relation to a DVD/VCR combo unit. Is the VCR "hifi", or is the DVD "hifi", or are both hifi? Does "hifi" mean "high fidelity stereo", or does it just mean "stereo"?

In fact regular stereo utilises a stationary A/C head whereas hifi stereo makes use of two rotating heads on the video drum. Presumably any ambiguity would be quickly addressed by examining the signal paths in an audio block diagram in the Toshiba service manual. That should make things crystal clear, even to a point-and-click board jockey.

Just to put this thread into perspective, I have only yesterday been involved in another Toshiba thread where the manufacturer's documentation had serious errors and omissions, to the extent that it could have resulted in physical damage to the affected product.

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1709367/data-mp3-player-windows-format.html

BTW, I don't presume that all people are ignorant or incompetent. I give them as much information as is relevant to their question, whether or not they are capable of understanding it. But I will make an exception in your case.

[hech54]

You cannot rely on the accuracy of marketing literature. IMO a service manual should be the definitive reference whenever there is any ambiguity or uncertainty.

For example, here is a relatively long thread where the OP had difficulty setting up his home theatre system:

https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/356708-DVD-recorder-hookup-Heres-a-puzzle/page2

In the above case a quick examination of the block diagrams in the service manual would have shown him the video signal paths between the various connectors and thereby saved him a lot of grief. In the present case Jammers is having difficulty determining what "hi-fi" means in relation to a DVD/VCR combo unit. Is the VCR "hifi", or is the DVD "hifi", or are both hifi? Does "hifi" mean "high fidelity stereo", or does it just mean "stereo"?

In fact regular stereo utilises a stationary A/C head whereas hifi stereo makes use of two rotating heads on the video drum. Presumably any ambiguity would be quickly addressed by examining the signal paths in an audio block diagram in the Toshiba service manual. That should make things crystal clear, even to a point-and-click board jockey.

Just to put this thread into perspective, I have only yesterday been involved in another Toshiba thread where the manufacturer's documentation had serious errors and omissions, to the extent that it could have resulted in physical damage to the affected product.

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1709367/data-mp3-player-windows-format.html

BTW, I don't presume that all people are ignorant or incompetent. I give them as much information as is relevant to their question, whether or not they are capable of understanding it. But I will make an exception in your case.

If you can't dazzle them with the brilliance, baffle them with the bullshit.

[sanlyn]

@ fzabkar: interesting info. I agree on the point about "hi-fi". Anyone who thinks the class of a/v component being discussed has anything approaching audio "fidelity" in the first place must have cast iron ears. I think the O.P. wants to know if the unit outputs a single audio channel or two audio channels properly separated into discrete left and right signals.

Buyers' hearing ability aside, I wonder why organizations like Walmart even bother to post product specs on their websites. Seems like a waste of data storage and bandwidth.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Toshiba-DVR620-DVD-Recorder-VCR-Combo/16617608#Specifications :

[fzabkar]

@sanlyn, thanks for the heads up regarding Walmart. In fact Walmart's description is misleading. The OP's VCR is actually both a hi-fi stereo unit and a low-fi mono unit.

See the following block diagrams in the service manual:

Hi-Fi Audio Block Diagram (page 53 of PDF)
Audio Block Diagram (page 51 of PDF)
Wiring Diagram (page 79 of PDF)

The OP's VCR has two hi-fi heads on the rotating drum, plus a single audio track on the stationary ACE (Audio/Control) head.

I hope the following URL displays OK:
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=eRhJ1dni05sC&pg=PA185&img=1&zoom=3&hl=en&ots=lpGxV...UKgdhBIg&w=685

It shows how two left and right lo-fi audio channels would be recorded in linear mode on a lo-fi stereo VCR. A mono VCR would have a single, wider track. A hi-fi VCR would record the audio information helically across the tape, just like the video, plus it would also record the same information linearly. That's why hi-fi VCR stereo has a frequency response approaching 20kHz, whereas lo-fi audio is probably around 13kHz.

To answer the OP's question, if he were to play a lo-fi stereo tape on his VCR, it would play back in mono. If he were to record a tape in hi-fi stereo mode, it would play back in mono mode on a lo-fi stereo VCR.

I hope that clears thing up.