5123jam (12/20/82)
Here is what came in on my VCR query --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In regards to your request for info on vcrs: 1) I own a Sony Betamax, so I'm partial to Beta. Since VHS far outsells Beta (you'll see figures ranging from 3:1 to 10:1), most people will recommend you buy VBHS. And if your objective is to swap tapes with as many people as possible, VHS is the way to go. BUT -- Beta is supposed to be slightly higher in quality (again, experts and non-experts would refute this), and the cassette is slightly smaller. Actually, when I shopped for VCRs, I looked at the machine, not the format. Sony gave me what I wanted in a machine (I got the SL-5000, which has electronic tuning, front-loading, and one-day, one-program programmability, and is going for as low as $440 before rebate at places like 47th Street Photo. $50 rebate expires on 12/31/82), so I accepted the fact that it came in Beta format. I also don't plan to trade too many tapes. By the way, most video stores stock as many titles in Beta as they do in VHS, so renting movies in either format should be no problem. 2) I'd consider Sony, Panasonic, and RCA. I'd avoid Sanyo, Quasar and Magnavox. No opinion on Zenith, Toshiba, JVC, etc. 3) Good dealers: 47th Street photo in NYC. By the way, look at last April's issue of Consumer Reports, if you haven't done so already. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I hear that now is NOT the time to buy, that a new standard tape format (not VHS or Beta) was going to become the industry standard. Mind you, I haven't heard anything about it lately, so maybe they decided that there was too much user base out there using the established formats. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Re. VCR I biught a RCA VCR at Crazy Eddie in July, 79. It has worked fine so far. No repairs needed. Since they accept credit cards, I asked for, and got, a discount for paying cash! Be sure and get a battery backup feature if you get a programmable model. I lose all preset programs on mine if the power goes off for even approx. 1 sec. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ever considered the Video 2000 system (European, not Japanese!)? More state-of-the-art than VHS and Beta, two-sided cassette, 8 hours playing time..... I wonder if it's known at all in the States. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- VHS or beta? Vhs is moch more populay, about 2:1 in the US. hence, many more cassettes are available in more places. JVC, and others, are building industrial quality recorders for VHS format, but none so far for betaland. I understand that the beta format is a little better on a multiple generation basis, and is better mechanically. This is, of course, inconsistent with the JVC's building VHS editing systems. The specs on the portable panasonic and hitache recorders are the same as the commercial (panasonic) decks. I ran some informal tests with by Hitachi portable recorder and RCA 011 camera, taping a b&w crt screen, in competition with a $45K camera and a sony $4.5K 3/4" deck. Back at the TV studio, we ended up dubing in video from my gear, onto the edit master, because it had tighter shots on the crt screen. needless to say, the quality was indistinguishable from the more expensive studio equipment. That, for me, was a valid test of the quality of the consumer gear, compared to the broadcast equipment. The rationale goes like this. Once a man who made radar detectors for the police left and went into business on his own making fuzbusters. He had an inherent 1/r**2 advantage, of course. In any event, he took in so much revenue from the consumer business, that after a year or two, he had SUPERIOR TECHNOLOGY. the consumer business does generate revenue. similiar story in the reel to reel versus philips tape arena. As a result, it is not really suprising that the consumer VCR gear is equivalent in quality to the 3/4" gear. Panasonic is the root conpany for VHS. Hitachi and RCA are OEM's. there are a host of others. Sony is the root company for Beta, there are a host of others. The media costs are comparable. There is a cute little VHSc or something, mini, but mechanically compatible cassette for a JVC(?) portable system. By the way, I like the RCA cameras. they have super low light specs. The best of the lot currently, seems to be the Panasonic P5500 portable system for about $800, maybe $750 in NYC. Advice, go for broke and buy the recorder with all the bells and whistles. you will not believe the ways that you will use them, for example, I usually watch NFL games delayed, 'cause with the fast picture search whistle, it onlyu takes about 1.5 hours, no commercials, no halftime, no timeouts time and no delays between plays!............enjoy --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: VCRs I would get VHS rather than Beta, since VHS is more popular and you are more likely to find movies to rent or friends to share tapes with. I would avoid Sanyo, because I have had bad luck with their equipment before, but this may simply be a statistical anamoly. Realize also that any VCR you probably had its tape drive and heads manufactured in Japan, where they all share trade secrets (or are reputed to do so, anyway). So if I were to buy a VCR again, I would purchase one based on what features it offered, like 8 hour programming, remote control, how far in advance/how complex/how powerful the programming for the timer for recording programs is. DO get one with this feature (the ability to record a program later, say in the middle of the night or when you are at work.) I own an Hitachi 8500A, which I have been satisfied with except that I find the program timer programming too simplistic. Delears: pick up a copy of Video or Modern Photography and go through the ads, once you have picked a model you like. To get the lowest price, call the mail order houses and see who sells the model you like for the cheapest price.