54325wm@houxa.UUCP (W.MILLER) (12/21/84)
I have recently purchased a Beta Hifi VCR (Sony 2710). The sound is fantastic
on pre-recorded movies (The Last Waltz, The Big Chill were both great)
I have had some problems recording FM-simulcast (MTV, HBO) but I think the
problem is that those stations (especially MTV) do not transmit great
signal over my cable. Does anyone else have this problem?
Anyway, I am very happy with my unit. The list price for this unit was about
$1200, and I had seen it in various stores for 900-1000 dollars. However,
I found it listed for $659 in one of the mail order section of popular
photography. I then went to a discount stereo store in my area
(TOPS Appliance, Edison, NJ) and got them to beat the advertised price I found.
They gave it to me for $640!
I found out that this model will be discontinued soon and will
be replaced with the Sony HF300. However, this unit has much better video
effects, crystal clear freeze frame, very good forward and rewind search,
etc., 9 event, 3 week programming, etc., etc. The sound specs of all the
Sony Beta HiFi units are identical. I think there are still many of these units
around and there may be good deals to be had. I would definitly recommend
this unit as the Beta HIFI to buy. The only unit I have seen with more input/
output connections and more effects is the Sony SL-2700 which won't be found
for under $950.
Wayne Miller
ATT-Bell Labs
Holmdel, NJ
figmo@tymix.UUCP (Lynn Gold) (01/01/85)
> I have recently purchased a Beta Hifi VCR (Sony 2710). The sound is fantastic > on pre-recorded movies (The Last Waltz, The Big Chill were both great) > I have had some problems recording FM-simulcast (MTV, HBO) but I think the > problem is that those stations (especially MTV) do not transmit great > signal over my cable. Does anyone else have this problem? > > > Wayne Miller > ATT-Bell Labs > Holmdel, NJ > You are not alone. We often ditch the cable transmission and hook ourselves up to a standard antenna when doing simulcast recording. Our results using this method were MUCH better. --Lynn Gold Tymnet, Inc.
newton2@ucbtopaz.CC.Berkeley.ARPA (01/03/85)
Are your unsatisfactory recordings using Beta hifi only as bad as the signal from the cable? If so, the problem is obviously with the signal source as you suggest. However, if the recording is mysteriously degraded look to the possibility that leakage of high-frequency interference (most probably the stereo pilot carrier from the FM multiplex decoder) is fooling the (little- publicized) compandor used in so-called hi fi video recording schemes.
mikey@trsvax.UUCP (01/05/85)
First you have to decide if MTV EVER had good sound! mikey at trsvax Of course, my own opinion.
mikey@trsvax.UUCP (01/06/85)
I just picked up my Beta HiFi today. It has a special position on the audio selector switch for FM. It switches in a filter to get rid of that last little bit on pilot that may cause problems with the noise reduction circuitry. My receiver even has a switch to do the same thing. In addition, my receiver will blend the left and right at the top end when this is on. It does wonders to reduce hiss and distortion on bad FM stereo. Also, some people have commented about some of the HiFi decks "breathing" when recording stereo. I experimented with the "Street Life" album and only have a trace of this if I leave the ALC on. If I turn it off and use manual level controls, it's incredible. Absolutely the best recording device I've ever owned!!!!! As for the cable FM (i.e. MTV (see my previous comment)) it is usually so bad a quality that it is almost worthless. One of the guys here complained to the local cable company that his HBO was overmodulated so bad that it was distorting and that left and right were reversed. They kept taking his complaints for 8 months until a new engineer at the cable company agreed to look into it. It was just simple fixes, but it shows the pride in their product that most of the cable companies put into the FM. Face it, they are in the TV business, and most of the people who previously got the FM hookups had cheap little systems that couldn't tell the difference. Now with the publicity that HiFi is getting, that may change. mikey at trsvax