VCRs that will last forever

[Adam]

I got a old top-loading RCA at a thrift today, model VCT400X, 1979, it worked when I got it home, head is a bit dirty though. I also got a CED player, RCA SFT100W, but I don't have any CEDs, so I don't know if it works or not.

[tv beta guy]

I've been collecting Beta and VHS VCRs in the past several years. Most of my (small) VHS collection is all made by Panasonic. A Magnavox and 2 Sylvania's. They all worked perfectly as is. I got several ones from the 90s from other manufacters, but they aren't built as well.

My Beta collection also works well. Still got my first VCR I've had since I was 5 (parents gave it to me.) A Sony Super Beta SL-100. All original parts, direct driven. Works as good as it did over 20 years ago.

I need to find more early 80s VHS machines...

[Magnat10]

Still have and use my SL-HF300 Beta, thinking about selling it lately

[gonzo]

Heres a tank Sony SVP-9000,its a bear .

I got an RCA SelctaVision VDT-501 on eBay. It is black plastic with woodgrain shell, and DIALS! It was made in 1979 and still works like new! I will never part with it... I'm taking it to the grave! It's an excellent pieceof equipment, built like a tank, and it's a shame they don't still make them like this.

[glen65]

Mitsubishi had some older units that were pretty nice.
Heres one.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mitsubishi-HS-U7...QQcmdZViewItem

[reggaenaut]

I recently bought a vcr Sony Slv-n750, because I have lots of old tapes(documentaries, concerts) that I love. I had to shop hard to find this one. Pretty soon vcrs will be unavailable.

[andy]

...

[dr*audio]

Originally Posted by andy

I never cared for the "G" chassis Panasonics. They were VERY slow to change modes because they used the capstan motor as the loading and mode motors. I also saw lots and lots with gears that jumped a tooth or two rendering the VCR unusable. It was possible to reset the gear timing, but they tended to jump again after a while. I see the G chassis as the beginning of the end of quality VCRs.

Panasonic's previous mechanism was great though. Only two belts, no idler tire and separate loading and mode motors. I've never seen a serious mechanical failure in one of those. Even the belts were made of very good quality rubber.

Hmm, that must be the chassis I was thinking of, because mine has the separate motors for loading and functions. (But I had thought that one was the "G" mech.) And it has the aluminum chassis, right?

[andy]

...

[dr*audio]

Now that I'm home I took a look at the service manual. My VCR is a PV-4361 and it has one separate loading motor, not 2 as I had thought.It has that rack gear on the bottom and the capstan motor is used to drive the reels and move the rack to apply the brakes, and determine which reel is driven. Whatever, it's been a good soldier.

[Kiwick]

Originally Posted by andy

Panasonic's previous mechanism was great though. Only two belts, no idler tire and separate loading and mode motors. I've never seen a serious mechanical failure in one of those. Even the belts were made of very good quality rubber.

The one from 1986 with the orange toothed capstan belt, right?

I used to have one, the loading motor had a plastic thingy which coupled the motor shaft to a longer shaft with a brass worm gear on it, the plastic thingy cracked in half, i managed to glue it back together only to find that the whole loading mechanism was jammed, i finally had to junk the VCR.

[jhalphen]

Hello Gentlemen,

Maybe you are a little bit interested in what we used on the other side of the pond, in Europe, France to be specific.

- The JVC HR-7600S, a SECAM single standard VHS VCR, JVC's flagship model in 1982, costing around US $2000.00 back then. One of my Broadcast customers stopped its duplication activities and were selling them off at 20% of list price. Nearly everyone in the office wanted (and got) one.
Well, believe it or not, 2 out of the 3 units i purchased are still going strong. Every 3 years i sent them in for maintenance (belt, capstan idler change) + drum check, and these 25 year-old machines just keep on working.

- Next, a big jump in time with the Sony SLV-767B, a beautiful high-end deck produced in the early 90s. Full editing with a flying erase head, full Jog/Shuttle on the deck and the remote, Hi-Fi Stereo recording and dual standard PAL/SECAM compatability. Have two, regular maintenance, both work fine.
Around 2005, a heck of a lot of purple electrolytics to change. For those who know, same caps as in the Indextron TVs with 100% bad caps guaranteed!

- Next, another jump in time, this time to S-VHS technology with the JVC HR-S7600E. Another high-end deck, purchased new in Germany last year, apparently S-VHS was a big hit there. The machine has Jog/Shuttle on the deck, but not on the remote, full insert/assemble editing, a Time Base Corrector,...

Now, why did i buy a tape deck in 2007 when you can record digital video onto a hard disk, a DVD, etc.?

Simple! the life span! My first VHS tapes, best-quality then, Fuji Beridox were recorded in 1976. 30 years later! i replay them with just an occasional long dropout. I was seriously considering a DVD burner/HDD combo, but 4 friends who have experience with these products reported difficulties playing back recordings as early as 2-3 years old, so NO WAY! for me.

Last machine is highly original: the Panasonic AG-W1, a VHS machine with built-in full standards conversion, so for instance you can dub an NTSC 3.58 525/60 USA tape to Euro PAL or SECAM 625/50 or vice-versa.
This machine came out in the late 90s before cheap digital standards conversion was available and was immediately embraced by the corporate world as the solution for solving tape/format standards problems in offices worldwide.

The one i acquired saw minimal use, and after changing 12 caps, works like new.

Hope i haven't bored you,

Best Regards

jhalphen
Paris/France

[jhalphen]

Hello again,

I have a question for you, the AK recording community:

In my philosophy of remaining faithful to tape, deeming DVD burning not reliable for long-term storage, i've kept a close watch on the US HD recorder scene.

The machine pictured in the photographs, a JVC HM-DH30000U appears quite frequently in Germany, don't know why (Mil PX sourced?)

Anyway, it can record off-air USA HDTV. Has anyone worked on the idea of making a switchable input switch modification say "Tuner & Aux" where "Aux" could record any HD source.

HDMI would have to be foiled, much like MacroVision in its day, anyone working to solve this?

I know you can time-shift off-air HD to a hard disk recorder or maybe to the just-appearing Blu-Ray recorders (Panasonic) but this is no solution for long term storage.

Additional problem could be that USA HD is 1080i/60 or 720p/60 whereas in Europe we use 1080i/50 or 720p/50. The recorder may not be able to cope with the 50/60 frames issue, which brings us right back to the problem of USA/Europe TV exchanges from the very beginning!

Thanks! for any comment, suggestions, etc.

Best Regards

jhalphen

[ChrisW6ATV]

Originally Posted by jhalphen

Hello again,

I have a question for you, the AK recording community:

In my philosophy of remaining faithful to tape, deeming DVD burning not reliable for long-term storage, i've kept a close watch on the US HD recorder scene.

The machine pictured in the photographs, a JVC HM-DH30000U appears quite frequently in Germany, don't know why (Mil PX sourced?)

Anyway, it can record off-air USA HDTV. Has anyone worked on the idea of making a switchable input switch modification say "Tuner & Aux" where "Aux" could record any HD source.

HDMI would have to be foiled, much like MacroVision in its day, anyone working to solve this?

I know you can time-shift off-air HD to a hard disk recorder or maybe to the just-appearing Blu-Ray recorders (Panasonic) but this is no solution for long term storage.

Additional problem could be that USA HD is 1080i/60 or 720p/60 whereas in Europe we use 1080i/50 or 720p/50. The recorder may not be able to cope with the 50/60 frames issue, which brings us right back to the problem of USA/Europe TV exchanges from the very beginning!

Thanks! for any comment, suggestions, etc.

Best Regards

jhalphen

jhalphen-

The JVC HM-DH30000U (and the next model 40000U, commonly called the "30K" and "40K" here) cannot directly record HDTV signals. Rather, they both have analog TV tuners built-in, and component-video HD outputs built-in. For HDTV recording, they have IEEE1394 (also called "FireWire" and maybe "I-link", I think) connections. These recorders can be used with a few set-top USA (ATSC) HDTV tuners that have the matching IEEE1394 data connection. There are also some HDTV sets that have the '1394 connectors. The tuner or TV set can often also control the JVC VCR from its own remote control.

I do not have a long-term storage solution for my HDTV recordings, but the ones I have on hard disk drives from 2000-2001 are still good.