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  #1  
Old 03-29-2022, 04:42 PM
starbond starbond is offline
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VCR with sharpness knob has worse picture than without

I'm working with a very small sample size here, but the VCRs that I own that have a adjustable sharpness knob/dial look much worse at 0 setting than the VCR I have with no adjustable sharpness.

Case in point: I have a 1990 Sony SLV-575UC which is supposedly a higher end consumer unit for dubbing and editing. It has a adjustable sharpness knob which when kept at the middle (default) position, produces the image below.
I also have a standard hi-fi 2001 Panasonic PV-V4611 which has no adjustable sharpness dial, which produces the image below.

As you can see, the Sony has a softer skewed visual that bleeds to the right (and does more so the as you turn the sharpness down below 0). Can this be fixed with calibration? As I was considering downsizing my gear, I was planning on keeping the seemingly better sony and parting with the Panasonic but now I'm not so sure anymore.

1990 Sony:
tape150segments(20220120-2249).avi_snapshot_00.08.775.jpg
2001 Panasonic:
2001pana.jpg
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  #2  
Old 03-29-2022, 08:56 PM
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technoman9 technoman9 is offline
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Interesting observation. I have a SLV-575UC I am currently futzing with so I have the service manual for this machine (which you can find online or get from Sams Photofact for $20). The manual does not show any kind of adjustment for calibrating the sharpness. The signal goes from the potentiometer on the front panel into the main video chip, no trimmers or the like in the path.

What happens if you turn the control to the right (clockwise)? Does the image ever improve closer to the Panasonic? How much usage has the Sony seen? It could be worn out or something out of whack.

It's also possible in the ten years since the Sony was made that Panasonic figured out how to make a better picture with cheaper hardware. Ten years is eternity in electronic development.
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Old 03-29-2022, 10:38 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by technoman9 View Post
It's also possible in the ten years since the Sony was made that Panasonic figured out how to make a better picture with cheaper hardware. Ten years is eternity in electronic development.
I think this is the case. The Panasonic picture looks much better.
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Old 03-30-2022, 02:13 AM
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I've seen this with sharpens controls on TVs too....I think they should be renamed the "how much it hurts grandma's eyes" control. 0 = happy grandma, while everyone asks her if her TV is broken. 10/10 = Grandma won't watch it and is irate about modern electronics, but everyone else thinks the TV has a fairly impressive picture.

It makes slightly more sense on a VCR because if you recorded a snowy OTA show, or are playing a damaged or poorly made tape you could probably make the noise less annoying by softening the picture.

I've got a 2003 era JVC S-VHS deck that has a hand full of video modes EDIT mode (which is meant to prevent changing video when doing multi-generation dubbing) is one of 2 that don't soften the picture...I think the other over sharpens it.
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Old 03-30-2022, 02:43 AM
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My experiences with VHS was that newer is better, the mechanicals got cheaper, but the picture and sound got better as improvements in video processing were made. A 1998 Funai can look better than a 1988 Sony.
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  #6  
Old 03-30-2022, 09:25 AM
starbond starbond is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by technoman9 View Post
What happens if you turn the control to the right (clockwise)? Does the image ever improve closer to the Panasonic? How much usage has the Sony seen? It could be worn out or something out of whack.

It's also possible in the ten years since the Sony was made that Panasonic figured out how to make a better picture with cheaper hardware. Ten years is eternity in electronic development.
The Panasonic was bought in the family and used pretty regularly from 2001 to about 2005 or so. The Sony was purchased at a thrift store in 2012 with a broken blue gear (apparently common), but came with the manual and remote, which is rare and perhaps suggests the unit was used more often.
Did you find anything worth fixing in yours? Any common spots to check or something to look out for? I was able to find a NOS pinch roller assembly last month for mine (in Australia of all places), since the original was on its way to be shiny and slip.

Seems like you all are right. I suppose if I were watching tapes on an old CRT TV it wouldn't make much difference but these days, I capture them to the computer for saving, and every pixel sharpness (or lack of) becomes noticeable.

Given the cool look of the Sony with the swing down panel and large display screen, you can understand why I would be hesitant to want to part with IT over the rather plain and unimpressive Panasonic
(thanks probnot for the video source image)
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Old 03-30-2022, 01:08 PM
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You could just keep them both. VCRs are small I've easily got 20 VHS/S-VHS decks and I barely notice them compared to my TV console collection.

You never know when whatever drive you have the digital copies stored to is going to die, and that will be the day you learn the one deck you kept to play them is fubar from sitting.
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  #8  
Old 03-30-2022, 04:43 PM
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Agreed on keeping both, the Sony is pretty cool. Can you ever get the picture to be sharper and look similar to the Panasonic?

Our Sony was purchased new in 1990 and had MANY hours of Thomas the Tank Engine run through it by yours truly. I even learned to use the Shuttle knob to slow-mo through the crash scenes...over and over again. It currently has to be manually tracked to lock onto HiFi from recorded tapes so I'm using it to teach myself to adjust and troubleshoot VCRs. So far I'm in the "still learning" phase.

Not sure if I have much advice since I've not finished servicing mine, but I recommend you watch 12voltvids on Youtube. Search his channel for "Sony vcr"; he has a dozen videos or so servicing machines just like ours. Sony used the same chassis for ages.
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  #9  
Old 03-30-2022, 09:05 PM
starbond starbond is offline
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I'll set up the rig again and do multiple captures at the various dial positions but i have a feeling turning up the sharpness will have little help.

One thing I'll ask, when I record anything with the Sony, it seems to record fine but during playback the hi-fi audio is hissy and borderline distorted, with only the L channel sounding okay. Any idea what would cause the recording to go so bad? Playback audio of other tapes is fine with no issue.
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  #10  
Old 03-30-2022, 10:33 PM
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lol never thought I'd see the picture of my VCR on here.

Anyways, I love the look of the Sony, but those samples - the Panasonic looks loads better. The Sony appears to have a lot of noise in the picture. I know these models had unreliable power supplies - maybe that needs some servicing. Something, something bad capacitors

Nothing wrong with keeping both.
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  #11  
Old 04-02-2022, 04:38 AM
WCV82 WCV82 is offline
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I'm honestly surprised the Sony is worse than the Panasonic in this comparison, as that Panasonic is the same unit that Kmart sold a bunch of in the 1999-2002 era, I should know, I ended up with 2 of them, mostly because the first one chewed tapes and made bad recordings, so I got a replacement under warranty, and the 2nd wasn't much better but lasted past the warranty period at least. From my memory they were about $100 each. That Sony had to have been expensive when new, I'd guess $350 as a top of the line model.
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Old 04-02-2022, 02:03 PM
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That Sony was probably $800+ when new in 1990.
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  #13  
Old 04-02-2022, 02:22 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dishdude View Post
That Sony was probably $800+ when new in 1990.
I have the original bill of sale for mine. It was $649+tax (Canadian dollars)March of 1991 and came with two blank T-120 tapes.
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