sdyer@bbncca.ARPA (Steve Dyer) (12/05/84)
>> Why should I not spend $1100 or so on a VHS-HiFi unit instead? >> >Several reasons: > >1. VHS Hi-Fi is NOT compatible with VHS Stereo. This means that you won't >be able to do anything with your friends' tapes or rental tapes other than >look at the boxes. This is a falsehood. All VHS recorded tapes use the VHS standard audio track. In VHS "stereo" that track is split into two thinner parallel tracks, just as on a stereo cassette. VHS Hi-Fi decks ignore the audio track in playback if there is a HiFi signal present. Otherwise, it uses the audio track, and plays it back as mono. A VHS HiFi recording has the standard mono audio track AND a HiFi signal. I believe there are VHS models which are both Dolby stereo and HiFi--that is, they will play older stereo tapes in stereo, if that's what you want. It's a bit of a frill. >2. VHS blank tapes are more expensive than Beta tapes. Therefore, you'd be >spending more money for the same outcome. I don't know where this guy shops, but I have found that competition is so great that the difference in price between Beta and VHS blank tapes is very small, certainly not a factor in determining which type of machine to buy. >3. There have been problems with producing (duplicating) VHS Hi Fi tapes; this >is why you will find so few of them in your video stores. You'll see so few because VHS HiFi is only a 6-month-old consumer marketing phenomenon. Where were the tapes for Beta HiFi when it was first announced? -- /Steve Dyer {decvax,linus,ima,ihnp4}!bbncca!sdyer sdyer@bbncca.ARPA