BLAUPUNKT RTV-965 or PHILIPS VR1000

[thecode]

Hello to all,

I need an advice from you people of this great forum to take a decision about a purchase I am going to do.
I need a good VCR with TBC for passing old VHS to digital format. I have a low budget (max 150 euros). I found two sellers who offer to me the following models:

1) BLAUKPUNKT RTV965 (I know it is a Panasonic HS1000 clone)
Based on the pictures I have of this receiver, it has several signs of the usage on the chassis and some dust on it. I big usage sign on the upper part of the chassis. The sellers told me that he used a normal home use of this VCR. Price including shipping: 115 euros. It seems to be a great deal

I read much about this VCR and the issues I think about are:

a) The problem of the K-Mechanism about the top piece of the motor that about 100% of the receiver suffer and it will require a service in the future.
b) It is a 1995 receiver (I think the date should be this of its release in the market), then maybe a bit too old regarding to the TBC technologies

2) Philips VR1000 (I know it is a JVC 7600 clone)
Based on the pictures I have of this receiver, it is in a very good state, no signs on the chassis and very clean on the appearance. The seller told me, he owned it for about 5 years (2000-2005) and after 2005 he stored it in its original box in a storage room until now. He told me he used it about for 5 years, 2 times a week for playing films and very few use to videorecord. The pirce is 144 euros including shipping

I read much about this VCR and the issues I think about are:

a) Its TBC is not so good as the Panasonic HS1000 model
b) It appears to be not so good quality like Panasonic

Please tell me what you should do if you was on me. Blaukpunkt or Philips?

Thanks your for the advices you will give me.

[lingyi]

According to this: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-restore/1567-vcr-buying-guide.html it is a rebadged JVC and recommended. Thatʻs the good news. The bad news is that buying from any unknown seller is a risk. If you consider that you can always resell your VCR for much of the buy cost, assuming youʻve taken good care of it during your usage, you may be able to increase your budget. Contact lordsmurf, who wrote the article and he can help you buying from a reputable seller.

Also, read these article as a good VCR is only the first part putting together a good capture system/process. http://www.digitalfaq.com/editorials/digital-video/professional-analog-workflow.htm

And read lordsmurfʻs post in this thread: https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/395788-Should-i-change-my-VCR

[hech54]

I've had two Philips VR1*** Series VCRs (have the 1100 now)....very nice machines.
€144 sounds a bit too high to me.
There are several reliable German sellers on Ebay who deal in almost nothing but VCRs....check them first.

[thecode]

I've had two Philips VR1*** Series VCRs (have the 1100 now)....very nice machines.
€144 sounds a bit too high to me.
There are several reliable German sellers on Ebay who deal in almost nothing but VCRs....check them first.

Hello, thank you for your experience with them. I checked ebay in german but I found just a Philips VR1000 for 169 euros excluding shipment.... it appears 150 euros including shipping is agood deal, why you are saying that 144 sounds a bit too high?

[thecode]

According to this: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-restore/1567-vcr-buying-guide.html it is a rebadged JVC and recommended. Thatʻs the good news. The bad news is that buying from any unknown seller is a risk. If you consider that you can always resell your VCR for much of the buy cost, assuming youʻve taken good care of it during your usage, you may be able to increase your budget. Contact lordsmurf, who wrote the article and he can help you buying from a reputable seller.

Also, read these article as a good VCR is only the first part putting together a good capture system/process. http://www.digitalfaq.com/editorials/digital-video/professional-analog-workflow.htm

And read lordsmurfʻs post in this thread: https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/395788-Should-i-change-my-VCR

Thank you for your suggestions. On the other hand, I cannot raise my budget as 150 euros for me is an upper limit...

[lingyi]

Waiting until you can afford 300-400 euros on a known good machine is a far better purchase than spending 150 euros now on a machine of unknown quality.

Ask the seller to play a few tapes on the Phillips and show you some pics or even a camera recording of the output. Five years of use is a long time for a VCR. And sitting unused for nearly 15 years could dry out the rubber parts and capacitors and deform the rollers. Cosmetic condition is one possible indicator or quality, but means nothing if the machine hasnʻt been properly maintained. My first Betamax was heavily used and showed signs of wear on the outside, but before I stopped using it, I had it completely serviced just in case I decided to use it again.

[hech54]

I've had two Philips VR1*** Series VCRs (have the 1100 now)....very nice machines.
€144 sounds a bit too high to me.
There are several reliable German sellers on Ebay who deal in almost nothing but VCRs....check them first.

Hello, thank you for your experience with them. I checked ebay in german but I found just a Philips VR1000 for 169 euros excluding shipment.... it appears 150 euros including shipping is agood deal, why you are saying that 144 sounds a bit too high?

You may be right. I picked up mine before the Philips/JVC Clone craze really got into high gear. The prices have really gone up since I got mine for about €60.....still in the original box but used. I may even be partially to blame for the rise in prices....I've been singing it's praises for years here on VH.

[thecode]

Hello, I have another choice:

JVC HRS7722 in good conditions, price 125 euros. What do you think about it compared to the other 2 VCRs?
Thank you.

[aedipuss]

not a bad choice for the money. if it works. make sure you can return defective units.

[thecode]

I buy it from ebay, then I can return defective items in max 6 months. Then JVC could be a better choice compared to Blaukpunkt (Panasonic HS1000) ??
Someone says that JVC 'eats' VHS-C tapes... is it true?

[lordsmurf]

Someone says that JVC 'eats' VHS-C tapes... is it true?

Yes, usually.
JVC transports are not as tight as the AG-1980P, and VHS-C tapes are loose. It's not a good combo.
It gets even worse with the cheap VHS-C> VHS adapters.

[thecode]

You mean that if I use the adapter VHS-C/VHS I have the probability to eat my tapes ? I have a Panasonic Adapter (VW-TCA7E) and I have so many VHS-C to play for tranferring them to PC... maybe this could be an important thing to decide to avoid JVC and buy the Blaukpunkt? What do you suggest?

I can choose between Blaukpunkt RTV965 (= Panasonic HS1000) and JVC 7722.

If the probability to ruin my VHS-C tapes is so high, maybe I could choose Blaukpunkt RTV965 (= Panasonic HS1000) ??

[oln]

I've run tons of VHSC tapes with VHSC adapters (one of which is that exact one, it's a good adapter.) in the Philips VR1100 without issues. Never noticed an issue with JVCs either, maybe it's only an issue with the different tape speeds in NTSC.

[thecode]

Thank you for your experience about it. I use just PAL, then I should expect to not have any issue with my VHS-C cassettes on JVC. If no one other have other suggestion/advice I aam going to buy the JVC 7722....