km%emory.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa (03/21/85)
I have a Panasonic PV1730 VHS Hifi VCR. Generally it seems ok. The sound is a big improvement over my 5 year old VHS unit, and the picture is about the same. However, I have one problem. I have two tv sets that I use it with. One is a 10 year old Sony, with which it works fine. The other is a 2 year old Panasonic which is the problem. The Panasonic has VIR, and it is an all or nothing proposition. If you turn on automatic it uses the VIR signal if its their, or some heuristic if it is not. If you turn off automatic you are totally on manual. You can tell if it is using VIR or not when it is on automatic by an indicator light on the tv. The problem is that the VCR attempts to reproduce the VIR signal, but does not do it correctly. If I leave the tv on automatic the bad VIR signal throws it way off. At times you can see the VIR indicator light flicker while playing back a recording, with the color varying along with it. My old non-hifi vcr does not have this problem. It seems to reproduce the VIR signal correctly. The new vcr works fine with the Sony tv , which does not use VIR for automatic adjustment. My solution is just to manually adjust the Panasonic tv, when I use it with the PV1730. When the vcr was brand new, I had the dealer swap it out, so I know that it is at least not a single unit defect. Has anyone else noticed anything like this?