gerolima@wdl1.UUCP (11/01/85)
>1. Of what value are "hifi" and "stereo" capabilities in a deck >a)currently and b)in the foreseeable future? That requires a fortune teller. Although, most new movies (especially the Spielberg-style S.F. and musical ones) are coming out in HiFi. >How do these capabilities >jibe with the current programs that I've noticed are broadcast in stereo >this fall? (few that I'd care to see let alone hear in stereo but >who knows...) HiFi VCR's have NOTHING to do with stereo T.V., except that they probably have stereo receivers. HiFi refers to the recording technology (most current decks, HiFi or not, are stereo), see below. >2. Any recommendations about portable VCRs (any Magnavox 1040 of the >portable VCR world out there?) available at a good price? With goodies? I have no reccommendations, other than that I am not buying one for many years (waiting to see if BETA makes a come-back). Both BETA and VHS have HiFi tek (BETA was furst), and both are more-or-less the same. Having worked with video tape for many years (pre-hifi), I can say that the least satisfactory machines we have ever gotten were cheapo PANASONICs. Conversly, we (my old job at U.C. Berkeley -GO BEARS- Television Office) have a very early HITACHI (1977), and used it over newer models until 1984. Of course, when you go to top o' the line, most brands have pretty good quality. >3. Any recommendations for sources of VCRs by mail? I'd like to order >from outside NY State and save some sales tax. DONT DO THAT, unless you are willing to take the risks in getting service. You're better off (snore....same old story) getting a VCR from a reputable dealer with a good warranty (sp?). >4. I noticed that Consumers Report's article on VCRs in September >mentioned recording up to 8 hours of music on a hifi deck. Sounds like >a great way to put together a truly fine day of music for oneself. >Anyone try this? Kind of. There is a mode on these new machines that lets you record the audio without the video. How they got 8 hours is beyond me (most machines I know of are 2-4-6 hours). Maybe they used 180-min tapes, which is a BAD IDEA! >5. What is the relationship between hifi and stereo on these decks? Are >there hifi decks that are not stereo? In the old days, these terms >meant entirely different things but... In the olden days, audio was recorded on the edge of the tape, just like an audio tape deck. The slow movement of the tape obviously limited the bandwith of the audio system. Someone (probably Japanese) figgered out that you could increase the bandwidth by placing the audio heads on the video head drum. Now, since a video system must provide frequencies in the range of 4-5 Mhz (video is recorded in FM and chroma is recorded in AM to reduce bandwidth...1 Mhz difference versus DC -> 3.5 Mhz), you can figure that you can get some real kick-ass bandwidth (more than you can hear). Correct me if I'm wrong, but SONY has a seperate track between the video tracks that stores the audio (am I thinking of BETAcam's chroma subcarrier?), while VHS records it "deep base", in the same place as the video tracks, only DEEPER into the tape. THE OBVIOUS DRAW BACK IS THAT WHEN YOU RE-RECORD THE AUDIO, YOU MESS UP THE VIDEO!!!!!!!! (But probably NOT vice-versa). Hope that helped..... Mark Gerolimatos, Video Ranger, 1st Class gerolima@ford-wdl1.arpa fotrune!wdl1!gerolima