VHS recorders

[orpheum]

Has anyone out there bought the Panasonic duel DVD hard drive recorder.If so is it easy to use.I am tthinking of buying this as it has 400 hours of memory on which you record.

The big problem with VHS machines is that they are mechanical and sooner or later they will break down and will wear out.I have recently had to get my Panasonic dual VHS?DVD machine repaired and i am concerned that sooner rather than later it will conk out altogether.

[eric7885]

With high definition tv arriving,will you be able to use the vhs machines on the telly? As for dvd players,many are coming out with high definition output which means that you can play your regular dvd,s through the high definition channel without any problems. But,do any of the vhs players have that feature? Here in Canada large shops,such as Wal-Mart are selling them for around 20 dollars or so. Thrift shops are loaded with them.

[image45]

name='JohnB_Toronto']Sounds like you maybe put it through several years worth of normal use before the warranty ran out. I'm the same - I wear out my players far faster than the average user (I suspect most of us do). This is a pretty good argument for using a quality brand name that stands behind its warranties.

Yes you always need a quality brand

[image45]

name='ron7885']With high definition tv arriving,will you be able to use the vhs machines on the telly? As for dvd players,many are coming out with high definition output which means that you can play your regular dvd,s through the high definition channel without any problems. But,do any of the vhs players have that feature? Here in Canada large shops,such as Wal-Mart are selling them for around 20 dollars or so. Thrift shops are loaded with them.

Well over in the UK I have only seen DVD players with the HDMI port that is needed for a link in high definition, a VHS machine would not be considered for such a conection in the current market

[cletus awreetus]

I think that's right. Rightly or wrongly, VHS is considered past technology

[samkydd]

name='cletus awreetus']I think that's right. Rightly or wrongly, VHS is considered past technology

I have a spare TV which is about ten years old, and so even if I can no longer record on VHS in the future I can at least watch my existing tapes. This doesn't happen too often unless I get the 'flu or something equally nasty to keep me bedridden for a few days, and of course most of my VHS films I don't have duplicated on DVD, so why throw them out? I always had to make sacrifices to afford to buy some of the films back in the 80s, and so I value them as much as my old vinyl LPs and singles.

[cletus awreetus]

Good point!

[eric7885]

I notice that some of the new dvd recorders,those that do not record in high definition but have a high definition connection outlet to let you view your current dvd's through the high definition telly channel. If one was to connect the vcr through the input part of the dvd recorder,would the vcr picture play through the dvd recorder on the high definition channel without distortion? I am going to purchase a new dvd recorder in the near future, i will try connecting my old vhs machine to the dvd recorder and see what happens.

[mark windley]

thats the way i have my old vhs recorder connected to the dvd recorder

and works quight good ....mark.w

[image45]

name='mark windley']thats the way i have my old vhs recorder connected to the dvd recorder

and works quight good ....mark.w

I dare say it does work in the same way that a S-VHS or scart conection works except that they are analogue connections. The only thing would be that you could not run HD upscaling from the analogue tape were a DVD scource would allow this 1080i enhancement.



At the end of the day I fully aprove of old and new linked up. I currently run with two VHS machines linked to all my digital set up. At the end of the day VHS is just another format, sadly just one thats deemed to be old and fadding out of use anymore.

[tgunnell]

As someone who repaired videos the latest offerings are of very poor quality being built to a price .with thin metal and much plastic .if you have a top of range model and can find someone to service it ie new belts and pinch roller tape path cleaned and all stock faults seen to it will give you better recordings and less damaged tapes

[TESTCARD CHRIS]

I agree with the above post,

These newer machines are really poor quality, i too have spent time repairing these things and they are nothing like as good quality as the earlier machines. IMHO i would advise anyone to get an older machine that will be able to be "kept alive" This is of course subject to what you want from the machine, if you want the latest style or colour then an old machine is not for you. If, however you want a good solid reliable VCR that will be able to be repaired no matter what, then i suggest an old top loader or early front loader.



All the best,



Chris.

[Andy H]

Don't worry about playing your old VHS machines through your new HD TV's - all TV sets will handle 'standard definition' signals via scart connections and also via the aerial connection.

Obviously you won't be able to record HD on your VHS machine (or indeed your standard def DVD recorder, but both will play back fine via your telly.



I agree that these 'end of line' VHS machines are absolute rubbish, construction-wise, with extremely flimsy parts and 'just about adequate' performance. Even the last video we purchased (about ten years ago) was suffering from this, and that was a Sony!

The previous early 80's SHARP one was built like a brick wash-house by comparison.