Video Asylum

Posted by FRG7SWL (A) on March 19, 2010 at 10:17:42

Prior to OTA digital conversion, bought RCA's DRC 8335 unit because it had dvd & vhs playback, along with analog & digital transmission capability. Distant analog reception, long an RCA strength in their colour televisions, was sorely lacking. Tuner would skip during tuning as well, from say channel 31 to channel 13. For a 6 head unit, vhs playback was no better than those auld 2 headed dinasaurs of yore. Some dvds were unplayable as well, such as disc 2's extras from Beatles' recently remastered "Help". Thus it was cast into storage closet, replaced by Panasonic vhs, Samsung digital converter, & Sony dvd units. Recently read that 8335s had low voltage cap C226, 470uf @ 10 volts, which needed to be upgraded to 50 volts, to assure proper operation. Replaced it, along with another 470uf @ 10 volt cap, for good measure. Was pleasantly surprised by results. VHS playback improved substantially, & digital reception started locking in a bit better. Although tuning is still snail's pace. Noticed wider soundstage from OTA broadcasts as well, especially during current NCAA March Madness telecasts. Rear channels, which were mostly silent via Samsung digital converter, have regained their surround-sound robustness complementing the front channels. Disc 2 from "Help", however, still reads as a blank disc. So all is not bliss. But that 8335 now makes for a decent home theatre control centre, with its two A/V connection portals. Wonder what cap mods that Samsung DTB-H260F would benefit from? 73s from Sactown!!!