Video Asylum

Posted by Some Guy on August 26, 2003 at 09:07:39

In Reply to: I need the the best vhs recording deck posted by Track Bike on August 21, 2003 at 10:35:34:

Is this for backup or for distribution? The end use makes a bit of a difference. If it's for backup, you can probably buy a hard drive and make quick work of backing everything up either as raw data or finished files.

S-VHS heads aren't really any better quality than standard VHS heads. The recording format is simply different. For that reason, I wouldn't suggest getting an S-VHS deck.

I would honestly suggest buying a few different VCRs and seeing which one worked the best, then take the rest back. I've had good luck with Toshiba and Sharp. Panasonic isn't too bad, either.

One feature that I've found is really good for the extended play mode is the 19 micron heads, but I'm guessing that you're recording in full speed mode. Are you sure you're recording in SP on your current deck? EP or SLP will look pretty bad.

I've built several large dubbing systems using Sharp prosumer VTRs (they were equipped with BNC outs and had a switch to allow overwriting without a record tab) and they've always performed like champs. On state contract, they were under $70 each a few years ago... I don't even know if they still make the things, though. Last time I looked at VTRs in Best Buy they only had about 5 models to choose from total.