SQPB - what is it?

[DVtyro]

Originally Posted by dishdude

It was nothing but an advanced chip and circuit (by regular VHS standards) that could read an SVHS recording and output it at standard VHS resolution. There was nothing special about it.

How much different / less expensive was it compared to proper SVHS if I cared only about playback? Would this chip, feeding Y/C video into SVideo jack deliver practically the same quality as SVHS VCR? Were there, to your knowledge, SQPB machines with SVideo output?

[dishdude]

Originally Posted by DVtyro

How much different / less expensive was it compared to proper SVHS if I cared only about playback? Would this chip, feeding Y/C video into SVideo jack deliver practically the same quality as SVHS VCR? Were there, to your knowledge, SQPB machines with SVideo output?

I've never seen an SQPB machine with an S-Video output (not counting VHS/DVD combos, but they would only output the DVD side over S-Video). Also all the machines I've ever seen were clear that they provided S-VHS playback functionality at VHS quality. If you're looking for S-VHS quality playback, you need an S-VHS machine.

JVC really started the push for SQPB when Sony offered Hi8 Camcorders, this allowed them to offer S-VHS-C camcorders to compete without the need for people to buy an expensive S-VHS VCR for playback.

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by dishdude

I've never seen an SQPB machine with an S-Video output (not counting VHS/DVD combos, but they would only output the DVD side over S-Video). Also all the machines I've ever seen were clear that they provided S-VHS playback functionality at VHS quality. If you're looking for S-VHS quality playback, you need an S-VHS machine.

JVC really started the push for SQPB when Sony offered Hi8 Camcorders, this allowed them to offer S-VHS-C camcorders to compete without the need for people to buy an expensive S-VHS VCR for playback.

My Toshiba D-VR5 has SQPB and will send the tapes output through S-video, it also has S-video input and will record to VHS or DVD from that input. It'll also playback VHS through it's HDMI output too.

[DVtyro]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

My Toshiba D-VR5 has SQPB and will send the tapes output through S-video, it also has S-video input and will record to VHS or DVD from that input. It'll also playback VHS through it's HDMI output too.

Nice! I guess since it is a VHS/DVD combo, Toshiba decided to reuse SVideo and HDMI outputs for both sources, which is what I expect from EVERY VHS/DVD combo machine. Sadly, most of them use SVideo and HDMI for DVD only.

Do you have a proper SVHS machine? Have you compared the quality from an SVHS machine to this Toshiba when played off SVideo output?

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by DVtyro

Nice! I guess since it is a VHS/DVD combo, Toshiba decided to reuse SVideo and HDMI outputs for both sources, which is what I expect from EVERY VHS/DVD combo machine. Sadly, most of them use SVideo and HDMI for DVD only.

Do you have a proper SVHS machine? Have you compared the quality from an SVHS machine to this Toshiba when played off SVideo output?

I have MANY S-VHS and S-VHS-ET decks... I made a sub-hobby of collecting them a decade ago when the local thrifts had ~50 VCRs on the shelves per store (the S-VHS, beta, and top loaders were what I bought). I'd need to pull the Toshiba out of my rack or rig up a 25' S-video cable and connect AV directly to my 'modern TV' to properly compare. It's going to be a few days before I have time.

Back when I was time shifting on S-VHS-ET a decade ago my main TVs were a 1964 Silvertone CTC-16 clone roundy color and a 1971 Zenith 12B13C52 color fed through RF so quality difference wasn't as distinct. I don't think I've ever had the Toshiba directly AV linked to a set that was built during my lifetime.

My current video setup is kind of a weird mish mash of eras. My modern TV is Sony 1080i Super-fine-pitch Trinitron HD-CRT fed HDMI and RF from my main rack, and all the non-HDMI sources in my main rack (most of it) and all the HDMI sources via analog output or conversion feed into some Blonder Tongue AM60s that transmit NTSC house wide to all my vacuum tube sets. I've got around 100 TVs almost all of which are pre-solid state. I don't even own a flat panel set currently.

[dishdude]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

My Toshiba D-VR5 has SQPB and will send the tapes output through S-video, it also has S-video input and will record to VHS or DVD from that input. It'll also playback VHS through it's HDMI output too.

As soon as I posted that I new someone would come along with a DVD recorder to correct me.