1987 GE 3 Head Hi-Fi Stereo VCR Acquired Today

[vortalexfan]

Hello Everyone, today I went through some more of my great-grandfather's stuff today and I was able to get my hands on his 1987 GE 3 Head Stereo VCR Model 9-7675 which is a rebadged Panasonic VCR, but I'm not sure which Panasonic model this GE VCR crossed to.

This VCR has been in storage for over 10 years and hasn't been used on a regular basis for at least 20 years or so and when I got it home and went to test it out, the VCR still worked like brand new yet which I was shocked about that because most VCRs that sit unused for long periods of time usually need new belts at least, but not this one.

The really surprising part is how good of picture and audio this thing produced, the video quality out of this thing was near HD Quality (720i quality or early CRT HDTV quality) and the sound quality was like that of a High Quality Stereo Receiver from the 1970s, and I had this VCR Hooked up to my 2015 Vizio 60" LED HDTV, and this was a 3-Head VCR!

I would appreciate some information about this VCR and how much of a score this VCR was (my guess is that this VCR was NOT cheap when it was brand new in 1987).

Here's some pictures of the unit in question posted below.

[dishdude]

That's not a Hi-Fi VCR, it's stereo. Some lower end models up until around 1990 offered this as a lower cost way to get better sound. It's a well built and pretty cool unit having all the buttons on the front panel, a nice big VFD along with on-screen display.

This is right at a transition point in VCRs and includes a lot of old and new features. A cool find for sure.

[vortalexfan]

Originally Posted by dishdude

That's not a Hi-Fi VCR, it's stereo. Some lower end models up until around 1990 offered this as a lower cost way to get better sound. It's a well built and pretty cool unit having all the buttons on the front panel, a nice big VFD along with on-screen display.

This is right at a transition point in VCRs and includes a lot of old and new features. A cool find for sure.

Ok, so what's the difference between a "HiFi" and and a "Stereo" VCR? I thought a HiFi VCR was Stereo?

Also I thought Non-HiFi VCRs didn't have Stereo Tuners? This one has a Stereo Tuner complete with MTS Stereo decoding and two different SAP modes.

This VCR has the Same exact features as my JVC HR-D630U Which is a HiFi VCR from 1987.

Anyways just asking out of curiosity.

[dishdude]

Originally Posted by vortalexfan

Ok, so what's the difference between a "HiFi" and and a "Stereo" VCR? I thought a HiFi VCR was Stereo?

Also I thought Non-HiFi VCRs didn't have Stereo Tuners? This one has a Stereo Tuner complete with MTS Stereo decoding and two different SAP modes.

This VCR has the Same exact features as my JVC HR-D630U Which is a HiFi VCR from 1987.

Anyways just asking out of curiosity.

This is a great explanation. You have a linear stereo deck.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHS#Or...r_audio_system

[John Adams]

I had Beta Hifi units. If my memory is correct; beta had space left on the tape layout to add the hifi audio to the video track. VHS used a separate stereo head to record a linear audio track, non hifi. About 2 years after Sony developed HiFi, VHS came up with a way to add the audio to the spinning video track. One deck I had, had the ability to turn off the video so you could use the vcr as an audio recorder with near CD quality.

[vortalexfan]

Originally Posted by dishdude

This is a great explanation. You have a linear stereo deck.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHS#Or...r_audio_system

Interestingly enough that article said that Linear Stereo Decks were Superior to HiFi Decks because the audio channel heads don't have to switch back and forth like HiFi decks do.

[KentTeffeteller]

They are inferior, not superior. Regular linear track was bad enough, splitting it in half for Stereo even worse. Want VCR based audio, get a Sony U-Matic or Beta deck, and a PCM F-1 and do it right.

[Jeffhs]

My Panasonic 4-head "Omnivision" VCR, which I bought new some time in the 1980s, still works great with my 32" Insignia TV. This Panasonic VCR has, IIRC, just one belt, which is still in one piece and shows no signs of wear. The only reason I still have a VCR in this age of DVDs, streaming, etc., is I still have 60-some VHS videocassettes, most of which are old ('70s-early '90s) TV series and a few movies; however, since most of those shows are now available on DVD, streaming, etc., I don't use the VCR much anymore.

When the VCR finally quits, I probably won't have it repaired, but will as I mentioned gradually replace the VHS tapes with the same programs on DVD, as my LG DVD player, purchased new some years ago, still works every bit as well as when it was new.

BTW, I've heard of 4-head VCRs (as I mentioned in another post, my Panny PV-4002 has four heads), but VK member Vortalexfan's 3-head deck is a new one on me. How did Panasonic get away with using just three heads in this deck? I would think at least four heads would be the minimum number required to make a usable VCR.

[dishdude]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

BTW, I've heard of 4-head VCRs (as I mentioned in another post, my Panny PV-4002 has four heads), but VK member Vortalexfan's 3-head deck is a new one on me. How did Panasonic get away with using just three heads in this deck? I would think at least four heads would be the minimum number required to make a usable VCR.

The third head is only used during pause and scan to clean up the image. For normal playback and recording it operates like a two head.

[Electronic M]

As long as tracking and tape is good VHS HiFi has FAR better audio than the linear tracks....Heck it IIRC frequency response, noise and dynamic range are better than CD quality.

[waltchan]

The original Panasonic belts from factory are some of the most-durable and longest-lasting around. They never, ever melt, or turn to goo.

[vortalexfan]

Originally Posted by KentTeffeteller

They are inferior, not superior. Regular linear track was bad enough, splitting it in half for Stereo even worse. Want VCR based audio, get a Sony U-Matic or Beta deck, and a PCM F-1 and do it right.

Yeah and pay $1500 for a machine that was about that much brand new? No Thanks.

U-Matics don't even have commerically available movies titles available for them, it was strictly a commercial grade recording format that was used for TV Studio Archival Purposes.

I've had some Betamax Machines and while I agree they produce great audio and video, they are a pain in the butt to service with their odd-ball loading mechanisms, plus trying to find movies for them is super hard and costly, let alone trying to find a decent Hi-Fi Beta Machine for a good price (I had one once that I picked up from Goodwill but I ended up selling it to a friend of mine who needed one to replace his that the video heads died on it).

I'm more happy I got this VCR because I remember my Great-Grandparents having this VCR hooked up to their old Console TV they had in their Family Room in their old Farm House (which by the way was a 1960s vintage Zenith Color TV that they had given to my parents when I was little so they could have a second TV but it ended up blowing up on them when they tried to use it).

[vortalexfan]

Originally Posted by waltchan

The original Panasonic belts from factory are some of the most-durable and longest-lasting around. They never, ever melt, or turn to goo.

That's good to know.

I used to have a Panasonic Omnivision Stereo VCR from 1984 that I had given a friend of mine so he could have a VCR again and that one for some reason has an issue with wanting to eat tapes when stoping a tape during playback and going to eject it from the machine, which is something to do with the idler tire I think because that machine has brand new belts on it and the belts have nothing to do with the loading and unloading of the tape from the cassette housing during playback and stop/eject.

BTW the VCR was working when I gave it to my friend, but then after a while of him having it was when it started acting up.

[vortalexfan]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

As long as tracking and tape is good VHS HiFi has FAR better audio than the linear tracks....Heck it IIRC frequency response, noise and dynamic range are better than CD quality.

I do have a JVC Hi-Fi VCR from 1987 (this one is actually a Hi-Fi VCR, complete with its original manual and remote), its a Model HR-D630U.
This was the Hi-Fi VHS version of the HR-S8000U S-VHS VCR that JVC made at the same time (same front panel layout and everything).

But I have reserved the use of that unit for my LCD Projector setup in my basement.

See picture below.

[WCV82]

I hope you don't trash those tapes when you have no use for them anymore as I do collect the old home recorded stuff, especially if they have commercials.

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

My Panasonic 4-head "Omnivision" VCR, which I bought new some time in the 1980s, still works great with my 32" Insignia TV. This Panasonic VCR has, IIRC, just one belt, which is still in one piece and shows no signs of wear. The only reason I still have a VCR in this age of DVDs, streaming, etc., is I still have 60-some VHS videocassettes, most of which are old ('70s-early '90s) TV series and a few movies; however, since most of those shows are now available on DVD, streaming, etc., I don't use the VCR much anymore.

When the VCR finally quits, I probably won't have it repaired, but will as I mentioned gradually replace the VHS tapes with the same programs on DVD, as my LG DVD player, purchased new some years ago, still works every bit as well as when it was new.

BTW, I've heard of 4-head VCRs (as I mentioned in another post, my Panny PV-4002 has four heads), but VK member Vortalexfan's 3-head deck is a new one on me. How did Panasonic get away with using just three heads in this deck? I would think at least four heads would be the minimum number required to make a usable VCR.