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Well, the 15 year old Mitsubushi VCR has finally called it quits. Need a replacement - looking for Hi Fi, 4 heads, nothing special. Brands looked at include Panasonic, Sony, Hitachi, Toshiba, Go Video.Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.
Follow Ups:
I have been using Toshiba VTRs for the past 8 years with great results. They were one of the first companies to offer the 19 micron heads for improved EP performance, a claim which I believe they've proven. I believe these models also have preamps installed in the head to boost this signal, but I'm not 100% sure on that.About the only thing I don't like about my Toshiba (which I bought in 1996 and is still going strong with the only maintenance being head cleanings) is that when you turn it off, the TV/VTR switch defaults back to TV. If you press the TV/VTR button or PLAY, it will kick back in. This is inconvenient only because I use the VTR as my TV tuner as well. That said, I know that's nitpicking. It really is a great deck. I know the model I have has been replaced, but it's a 4 head HIFI deck.
Someone mentioned SVHS-ET: I do believe it looks a bit better, but I don't have any experience with it in the EP mode. I've installed several JVC SVHS-ET decks in some dub systems that I've built and they definitely take the abuse... sometimes these decks are in 24 hour operation for weeks at a time and they just keep kicking.
The other brand I can definitely recommend for durability, believe it or not, is Sharp. I installed a bunch of 2 head models over the past 5-6 years in large units and have only had 5-7 units fail out of over 100... this after the aforementioned 24 hour operation for weeks at a time and at least 12 hour operation for most of the year. I had originally anticipated a 2-3 year service life, but when I tested the original system, well over 3/4 are still going strong. Again, all have 19 micron heads (specifically because they're being used to dub in EP mode) and most have been cleaned primarily with cleaning tapes and only a few times by hand.
To recap, Toshiba would be my first choice for a consumer deck, followed by JVC for the SVHS-ET models, and then Sharp. I would also second the hesitancy on Panasonic mentioned elsewhere as I now recall my brother in law's Panasonic VTR died after about a year.
Although my Panasonic S-VHS ET VCR has some wonderful features and sounds good, I am unimpressed with reliability. It needed a new board after only about 6 months. Since then, it's been ok, but I have had much better luck with my JVC 3600U, another S-VHS ET VCR. The JVC lacks the commercial skip and the high-speed winding that the Panasonic has, but offers better playback quality on tapes made on other machines.I highly recommend an S-VHS ET machine. The picture quality is vastly better than standard VHS, even in SLP speed using cheap standard VHS tapes. Street price on the Panasonic is about $199, JVC machines run from about $110 to $400.
Best Buy offers **Super VHS ** Hi-Fi 4 + 2 head models for $99.00. Super VHS decks produce great normal VHS tapes as well. Also, S-VHS ET allows near Super VHS picture quality on standard VHS tapes. For $99.00, you can't go wrong.Claude
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