Quote:
Originally Posted by ggregg
Hitachi was also very dependable, my personal favorite, but the mechanism used SIX! different belts. Almost always was the only problem they would ever have though.
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Hitachi is "dependable" with 6-belts! I don't think so.
. It's the least dependable. Correct English word should be "durable".
Consumers actually hate it. If they had to spend $75 average for new belts every 5 years (or even 1 year if loading and unloading tapes 25 times a day), they would be furious, and they would unkindly dump them to trash. Plus, it was really slow for each mechanical function.
Durable as it may sound, in actual, most had already been trashed, and there are fewer Hitachi units still around today than Panasonic, based on number of units posted on eBay. I see more mid-90s Hitachi VCRs on eBay than 80s Hitachi VCRs, despite the 80s Hitachis sold in much higher number.
I had problems with the 6-belt chassis, with loading belts that snap out for no reason if loading and unloading tapes repeatedly for about 25 times a day in a 24 hour period. Sometimes I love a video scene so much, I would hit stop, rewind a little, and push play again. And then I found out it shuts down for no reason because a loading belt snaps out. Imagine me buying it new for $1,000 in 1986 for the 7-head Hi-Fi version (VT-1805A), plus $75 for belt replacements every year for the next 15 years from a repair center. It would cost me $2,125 plus gas, time, 3 days without a VCR every year, and effort in operating expenses. THAT'S NOT DEPENDABLE. I would be much better off in the first place with a Emerson, JVC, Mitsubishi, NEC, Panasonic, Sanyo, or Sharp for lower operating expenses than the Hitachi.
These eight companies do better in heavy-use, tape loading reliability than Hitachi, with Panasonic being #1 here (1986-1987, MBK-36), Mitsubishi being #2, Sanyo being #3 (1988, MBK-09), Toshiba being #4 (1990-1991, MBK-76), NEC being #5, Sharp being #6 (1988-1993, MBK-16), JVC being #7, and Emerson being #8, all in order from my expert eyes. Only three companies that did worse than Hitachi are Funai (1986-1988, MBK-66, flat loading belt every year), Toshiba (1986-1989, MBK-52 and MBK-26, loading motor every year), and Fisher (idler).
For extreme commercial/heavy use environment, the 1986-1987 Panasonic chassis does the best and rates #1 by me of all time, but it eats power supply that drags down the long-term reliability. If it ever had a linear power supply, it would be a big dream for me. For extreme longevity (not reliability), the 1981-1982 JVC chassis does the best and rates #1 by me of all time. It was designed to run for 500 years (if parts are available), but there's only 15 year parts availability, so they get trashed with 99.9% lifespan left. All gears inside are completely metal (no thick plastic), only VCR I saw. For a perfect balance between reliability, dependability, and longevity, the 1992-1993 mid-90s Hitachi chassis with linear power supply is the winner.