wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) (07/29/85)
Helped a friend buy a JVC VHS VCR (love them acronyms!) Friday night. Something that I thought I understood, based on the traffic I've seen in this newsgroup and the Videotech list on the ARPA side, was that I expected that just about every VCR, except maybe the cheapest bottom-of-the-line models, would have a stereo audio playback head for the longitudinally- recorded audio tracks, and two audio output jacks. Then, in addition to this, the fancier models would have the HiFi audio system, of course. The one we bought -- a four-head VHS JVC which sold for $449, marked down from ~$800 or so list -- had a single audio output jack. I fed it into my friend's audio system through a Y-adapter, and he's happy with the sound. Am I just simply totally mistaken about this stereo vs. mono situation on VCRs? Do only the HiFi models also have "ordinary" stereo audio heads and two-channel sound output? Or do just about all of "this year's" models have that, and this one just happened to be an older version? Another point: He lives in a small apartment house, which is not wired for cable and has no MATV antenna system. All he used was the rabbit-ear antennae on his TV. I would think that this situation would be fairly common; lots of people who live in the city here have no outside antennae, and no cable for some years yet. However, the instruction book and literature that came with the VCR completely ignored this possibility. It assumes that you have an outside antenna or a cable hookup, and makes no mention of how to attach another set of (separately-purchased) rabbit ears, using the (supplied) 300-to-75 ohm matching transformer and plug unit. I'm going to be doing this, since I know how to; however, does anyone have any idea *why* this common situation was ignored in the manufacturer's literature? (Aside from this lack, I found the manual to be fairly well-written and clear in most respects.) Most people who are currently using the rabbit ear antennae on top of their TVs and who buy a VCR are *not* going to realize that you really have to buy another, separate set of rabbit ears for the VCR (there usually is no way to use the set's antennae in this case -- they come with short stubs of 300-ohm line, and splicing that stuff is usually a bad idea, causing glitches and reflections and the like, so a new separate set of rabbit ears is needed). I would think that leaving such a mention out of the literature is asking for trouble, in the form of returns and call-backs. Any comments on this? Regards, Will Martin ARPA/MILNET: wmartin@almsa-1.ARPA UUCP/Usenet: seismo!brl-bmd!wmartin
brown@nicmad.UUCP (07/31/85)
In article <258@brl-tgr.ARPA> wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) writes: [about getting $449 JVC VCR that was mono and basically wondered why] You can't count on the fact that a $800 list VHS VCR will be stereo. If you want linear stereo in a deck you will have to go look for it. Not all Hi-Fi models has stereo linear track either. Almost all of the table-top models do, but not all portable models. You probably should have done a little bit more looking. Just recently our local BIG tv store that an RCA unit (forgot the number) for $499. Here is the kicker, it is VHS Hi-Fi stereo. They can be had if one digs thru the stores and mail order bins. But, in your case, it was unwise to assume that a VHS deck is going to be in stereo (because of price range). I find that a little disheartening also, that a VHS linear stereo deck can sometimes be cheaper than a mono deck and have pretty much the same bells and whistles. [he talks about not having cable/MATV/antenna and using rabbit ears] Yes rabbit ears can be a problem. But, there are 300-75 ohm transformers out there that allow you to screw on the lugs of rabbit ears. I have a few of them lying around, because I got them in VCR and TV boxes. They are kind of universal connector, where twin leads can be attached or a 75 ohm cable attached inside the snap cover connector. So, rabbit ears should not be as bad a problem as you may think. Only one set of ears is needed. Attach the matching transformer and plug it into the VCR and have the VCR plug into the TV set. But, it gets a little tricker if you have UHF stations in town (you didn't mention any). Most VCR have a UHF in and out position as well, so connect the rabbit ears UHF portion to the VCR and then attach the VCR UHF out to the TV. -- |------------| | |-------| o| HRD725U & PV9600 Mr. Video | |AV-2010| o| |--------------| | | | | | |----| o o o | | |-------| O| |--------------| |------------| VHS Hi-Fi (the only way to go) {seismo!uwvax!|!decvax|!ihnp4}!nicmad!brown
andrew@orca.UUCP (Andrew Klossner) (08/01/85)
[]
"Most people who are currently using the rabbit ear antennae on
top of their TVs and who buy a VCR are *not* going to realize
that you really have to buy another, separate set of rabbit
ears for the VCR (there usually is no way to use the set's
antennae in this case -- they come with short stubs of 300-ohm
line, and splicing that stuff is usually a bad idea, causing
glitches and reflections and the like, so a new separate set of
rabbit ears is needed)."
I used the set's antenna in this way and didn't have any problems.
-=- Andrew Klossner (decvax!tektronix!orca!andrew) [UUCP]
(orca!andrew.tektronix@csnet-relay) [ARPA]