walt2@ihuxl.UUCP (Walt Kurszewski) (05/24/85)
I'm looking for a VCR and am currently looking at a Fischer 830(?) that records MTS stereo off the air and also bilingual broadcasts. Currently only one station (channel 11) broadcasts stereo sound in the Chicago area. Are more stations near Chicago going to be broadcasting in MTS or has interest faded? Recording bilingual broadcasts is a feature I don't really need. When I began looking into stereo VCRs I realized I'd need a good amp and new speakers. Now I'm shopping for a stereo VCR with "compatible" stereo system. The material I've read says things like "a great VCR is only as good as the TV" and "the stereo sound of your VCR is only as good as your speakers". I know very little about TVs and virtually nothing about stereos. I've got a 19" Zenith System 3 that's a year old so a new TV is out of the question. With my apartment's master antenna I get good reception and a clear picture. My Zenith dealer mentioned a plug-in module for the TV that would get me stereo reception but the two speakers on the TV are small and wouldn't produce a quality stereo sound. I plan to buy a good stereo (hopefully records in stereo) VCR, a stereo receiver (hopefully with a built-in amp), a cassette deck, and a pair of speakers. I really don't want to spend more than 1500, but for a "great buy" I may go to 1800. My question is what specs do I look at to decide if the stereo is "compatible" with the VCR? I plan to buy the best VCR for my money and then worry about the stereo's compatibility because I rate video quality ahead of audio quality. The summer Consumer Electronics Show is in town in June and I'll be picking up spec sheets on dozens of components but I need to know what to look for and how to mix-and-match. Post replies if you feel there would be general interest or mail them to me. Thanx. Walt Kurszewski ihnp4!ihuxl!walt2
nzm10@amdahl.UUCP (Neal Macklin) (05/29/85)
> I'm looking for a VCR and am currently looking at a Fischer 830(?) > that records MTS stereo off the air and also bilingual broadcasts. > > Walt Kurszewski > ihnp4!ihuxl!walt2 Walt, I went in to buy the Fisher this weekend (after looking at ads for quite some time.) You should be aware (I wasn't) that it is NOT hi-fi, but only stereo. I ended up getting a $398 Sanyo BETA HI-FI, which doesn't do MTS, but seemed to have a better picture than the VHS units in its price range. I figure I can buy a MTS standalone decoder when one comes out. Also the Fisher only had twelve channel presets, I think, which seemed like a disadvantage. (Only way to get the other channels was to manually retune the presets each time.) Anyway the Fisher seemed to be a pretty good price performer ($498 around here). -- Neal Macklin (408) 737-5214 ...{hplabs,ihnp4}!amdahl!nzm10 [The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Amdahl Corporation, its management, or employees.]
dce@hammer.UUCP (David Elliott) (06/01/85)
When you start thinking about Fisher products, it is a good idea to know what the warranty is good for right now. According to the people servicing my AIWA portable cassette deck, Fisher parts orders are currently taking a minimum of six weeks. If you have any problems that require parts to be ordered, you are out of luck. David Elliott tektronix!tekecs!dce