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Vintage Tape (Audio), Cassette, Wire and Magnetic Disc Recorders and Players Open-reel tape recorders, cassette recorders, 8-track players etc.

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Old 26th Mar 2017, 9:00 am   #1
Linnovice
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Default Recommended VHS machine?

Hi all, we've just survived a house move. In the aftermath my best beloved has discovered two boxes of VHS tapes that had been forgotten about. So, now we are destined to spend the odd Sunday afternoon watching films we haven't bothered with for years!
My question is, can anyone recommend a good reliable (and comparatively easy to repair) VHS machine? There are quite a lot for sale but I can't remember for the life of me which ones are worth having. Any suggestions would be most welcome (apart from dumping the tapes, won't get away with that one &#128521.
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Old 26th Mar 2017, 7:56 pm   #2
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Default Re: Recommended VHS machine?

Sorry I can't answer your question directly, but I know from experience that the final machines prior to video tape recording falling out of favour seemed to have it cracked, even though I'm sure people will say that they were poorly constructed.
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Old 26th Mar 2017, 11:25 pm   #3
Michael Maurice
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Default Re: Recommended VHS machine?

I like the Panasonic range with the Z mech
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Old 27th Mar 2017, 12:03 am   #4
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Default Re: Recommended VHS machine?

You can't go wrong with the Panasonic range. Just none with DVD drives in them.
I have a NV-HS900. That's a good machine.
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Old 27th Mar 2017, 12:59 am   #5
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Default Re: Recommended VHS machine?

Mid to late 1980s JVC machines (including Thorn Group re-badges) all seem to last a long time and are solidly built.

I'm talking the likes of the HRD725, 3V43, 3V45, 3V48, HRD170, 3V65 etc here. Machines from that period seem to last for ages and offer very good picture and sound quality (for VHS).
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Old 27th Mar 2017, 8:26 am   #6
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Default Re: Recommended VHS machine?

All good advice, but I too agree with MM.

Go for a Panasonic from about 15 years ago. Apart from the silly loading motor coupler which splits, the mechanism is simple and reliable, and they produce extellent results.

Go for a HiFi sound model as the improvement over mono linear sound is breathtaking (cf. decent stereo cassette deck with Dolby NR vs. a kid's "shoebox" cassette recorder).

Many of these were bought just before DVDs really took over, so it's not uncommon to find examples which have barely been used. I fished my current one out of a WEE recycling bin at Sainsbury's a couple of years ago, and it's mint, inside and out.

Well-worn examples are best avoided totally.

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Old 27th Mar 2017, 10:49 am   #7
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Default Re: Recommended VHS machine?

Panasonic good as they get.
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Old 27th Mar 2017, 2:09 pm   #8
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Default Re: Recommended VHS machine?

Another vote for Panasonic here.

Around 1985 I bought a NV-830B which, at the time, was one of the first units on the market with "HiFi stereo" audio recording and playback capability. It used the spinning heads and helical scan to encode the audio and, although not digital (as far as I remember), the sound quality was supposed to be as good as if not better that CD which was released a few years earlier. It was quite a heavy machine, and quite clunky in operation, but gave a good picture and great sound.

For some reason I sold it and replaced it around 1995 with a much cheaper Sony unit which by this time had the HiFi stereo audio and other features as standard. Wasn't as good as the Panny and lasted about 5 years before the picture and sound went wobbly. Its been in a cupboard for years and is on the verge of being thrown out.

I would love to get my hands on another NV830 though. Haven't found one on e-bay yet.
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Old 27th Mar 2017, 3:22 pm   #9
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Default Re: Recommended VHS machine?

For me it would have to be one of the last generation Sharp machines. I bought a VCM-H715 Hi-fi stereo machine in the early or mid 2000's. It even did perfect stills etc in extended play which gave 12hrs from a tape. The video & audio quality was superb even in EP! How they could do that when the tape was barely moving beats me!
It was used almost daily to record 12hrs of music from various satellite channels in EP mode. I would then play the tape back in fast search to watch the tracks I liked. It must have done many thousands of hours like that.
I never had a single problem with it and only took the lid of once to clean a clogged control head.
It still works perfectly and I still use it sometimes- heads are still perfect!!
I found an identical machine in a skip a while ago which also works perfectly.
So that gets my vote
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Old 27th Mar 2017, 8:33 pm   #10
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Default Re: Recommended VHS machine?

Great advice guys and much appreciated. I will have to set up some searches and see what appears. Mike
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Old 27th Mar 2017, 9:15 pm   #11
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Default Re: Recommended VHS machine?

Ask in charity shops too. Many get given VHS machines, and throw them straight in the bin because they usually can't sell them.
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Old 27th Mar 2017, 10:17 pm   #12
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Default Re: Recommended VHS machine?

I'm in the JVC camp, Mitsubishi come second. I've sworn at too many flimsy broken cogs in Panasonic machines to be truly enamoured with them. Maybe I just had a disproportionately large number of clients where the enquiry always started 'My video went dead after last night's power cut. I managed to remove the tape with a butter knife but it's still dead and now there's something loose inside...'
Agreed with the last generation of supermarket tat. Poor performance and short lives.
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Old 29th Mar 2017, 12:26 am   #13
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Default Re: Recommended VHS machine?

I'm generally with Kevin as a JVC man but I have to concede (post#9) that those last Sharps were very compact, light, and gave good pictures.

But back to JVC; can I put in a word for the HR S7955; not the most 'brick privvy' of build quality compared to some earlier machines BUT it plays S-VHS tapes as well as standard, is SP/LP, has 'hi-fi' tracks, plays NTSC tapes (albeit in pseudo PAL mode) and has S-Video output giving the opportunity of squeezing every last bit of quality out of the tape material.

The HR 7700 was the 'brick privvy' machine build quality wise but weighs a ton and unless it's permanently 'out' and in regular use is a bind to be lifting about, it's pretty big, single speed and mono longitudinal audio only.

As to Panasonic, if you're lucky you could come across the multi-standard machine with built-in standards converter and world map front cover NV-W1
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Old 29th Mar 2017, 11:30 am   #14
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Default Re: Recommended VHS machine?

Sad to say, even 'working' VCR's are likely faulty in one way or another. It has got to the point where they are all old mechanical items that are moving a delicate object through a complex path. I note that my VCR repairs are now getting more and more odd faults that are not on any faults databases. Cracked plastic parts causing odd and random issues, capacitors failing on other places than the PSU, tape path wear, faded displays, hardening grease etc. So I agree with Michael on this - the Panasonic Z mech to me has proven to be the the most reliable, with only a couple of small and easily fixed issues. Other older decks are better built, but to find one that is 100% working apart from a clean is extremely rare.
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Old 29th Mar 2017, 11:40 am   #15
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Default Re: Recommended VHS machine?

Yes. If you want a project, buy a 1980s workhorse. Otherwise go for something more recent with "low mileage" that just works.
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Old 29th Mar 2017, 6:06 pm   #16
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Default Re: Recommended VHS machine?

I would tend to agree with the recommendations for Sharp or Panasonic. I have never owned a Panasonic VCR, but I don't think I have ever had anything else they made die of old age. My workplace did have a Panasonic microwave oven fail, but only after a long campaign of sustained abuse .....

The last VCR I ever bought was a Sharp (and it came down to a coin-toss between that and a Panasonic). I purposely avoided the "supermarket specials" I had been using up to then (which were fine, when all I had was a 50 cm. tube TV) and spent a little bit extra, because I expressly wanted this one to last at least until recordable DVDs were ready for prime time.

I had owned my first DVD recorder for a few months when my parents' supermarket-special VCR died; so I gave them my old one, and they have had it ever since. It doesn't see quite as much use now as it used to, as they have a Freeview HDD recorder for day-to-day recordings. But the Sharp is still occasionally called upon to play movies on cassette; and until the analogue switch-off, was even still used for recording Casualty and other "absolutely-must-see" programmes (the HDD box is flaky, and sometimes does not record a programme. I told them to get a Panasonic .....)
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Old 29th Mar 2017, 9:54 pm   #17
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Default Re: Recommended VHS machine?

Agree with the Z mech Pannys. My only criticism is that the controls aren't very responsive and wind speed very high - going from fast wind to play means you always tend to overshoot by a minute or more! That's not usually abig deal though.

For daily use I swear by late 90s black Sony units. SLV-SE70, SLV-E80, SLV-E720... Had considerable experience with all of them and no major problems at all. Provided you remove the stupid auto head cleaner arm and also ensure the half-load arm is free and not stiff (a five minute job) they go on and on.

Provided you fit a new pinch roller the Philips Turbos can be quite good performers. I think we were discussing one here (VR465?) a few months back.

I would avoid the silver Aiwas as the PSU caps are failing and requires some disassembly to replace them. Seen quite a few like that. Pinch rollers too. A pity, as mechanically they're sound. Likewise the Daewoos from circa 1996-1999 (often rebadged SEG and Goodmans). Dirty mode switch gives rise to tape tangling on eject and other odd things. Fine when it's sorted though! Ditto for Sanyo, very similar problems (and solutions).

The later JVCs are pretty awful build -wise too, had a number where the mode switch gave rise to all manner of jamming.
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Old 31st Mar 2017, 6:00 am   #18
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Default Re: Recommended VHS machine?

Quote:
Originally Posted by ben View Post
For daily use I swear by late 90s black Sony units. SLV-SE70, SLV-E80, SLV-E720...
I don't repair VCRs, so my opinion isn't really too relevant here but my main machines are two Sony SLV-EZ70s - AFAIK they were the first silver Sony, and we purchased our first one about 1999/2000 - it looks like a silver version of the SLV-SE70 that Ben mentions. I have no idea what the EU version would be (ours are the NZ model with NICAM and a composite video in/out loop for the original Sky NZ baseband decoders).

The second was a low-mileage used one, and I also have a parts machine and spare heads.

I have it serviced regularly by someone who knows what they are doing, and so far have had no major dramas with it. Definitely get rid of the automatic head cleaner. Has NTSC playback and output either as native NTSC or NTSC-over-PAL.

My other machines are a Samsung VCR/DVD combo I bought new in 2007 as a backup because it was so ridiculously cheap, and a basic 80s NEC I purchased second hand as a student in 1992, which I use for damaged/mouldy tapes (with a clean after each use ).
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Old 31st Mar 2017, 2:51 pm   #19
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Default Re: Recommended VHS machine?

I have seen various vhs video recorders on sale in the British Heart Foundation charity shops from time to time . Hastings and Eastbourne shops larger BH charity shops for instance.
But also in many larger towns
Not the smaller local charity shops,
Pat tested not to expensive. £10 or £20 ish.
Worth a look .
Peter W...... Reelguy
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Old 6th Apr 2017, 4:23 pm   #20
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Default Re: Recommended VHS machine?

I have three good condition Panasonic VCRs in the "offered" section!

Best wishes, Geoffrey.
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