VHS Stereo?

[pdm4606]

Any one interested in recording with a VHS Stereo recorder?
I remember the specs were way better than anything at the time.
Full frequency response.
Full dynamic range.
Very low noise level.
Recording in the FM mode.

I had a VHS stereo recorder for years. It had a audio only record function.
Sounds like the first attempt to generate a recording with a non analog system.

Paul

 

[grateful]

VHS HIFI is a fully analog system. It is capable of doing a decent job, but it is prone to drop outs and noise artifacts.

 

[tybrad]

In the late 80's I was doing it without problems and was very happy with fidelity, dynamic range and noise floor- better that any cassette setup that I had.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

And the tapes played back great only on the machine they were recorded on. And the mandatory companders used sometimes were audible. The first non analog recording people at home had available was the Sony PCM F-1 format, which was expensive to buy the adapter. And had to be used with a U-Matic or Beta deck. Which was around $2500 together.

 

[mrdbdigital]

Well, I was going to add some content to this thread, but I see my input is not required. You guys beat me to it!

Dave

 

[KentTeffeteller]

P.S. The first digital recordings I ever made were on a Sony PCM F-1 with a Beta deck.

 

[portnoy]

I bought a 6-head Zenith Hi-Fi VCR on sale for $495 at the Post Exchange in 1986. The Zenith VR-3200 pictured here:

From this thread

I recorded many VHS tapes on SP mode of classical music from albums. No DBX or Dolby necessary. If anything they might have suffered from a little "variable" speed problem. I believe it was measurable if not noticeable.

Mine worked like a champ until my teenage daughter (at the time) tried to dig out a VHS tape with a flathead screwdriver that would not eject one afternoon before i got home from work. When I got there the VCR looked like it had been butchered with an ice-pick.

If you ever see one of these on ebay or craigslist, grab it or buzz me so I can grab it.

p.s. - the door on the right folded down and this unit had audio record level adjustments for identical to record level adjustments for left and right channel found on high-end cassette recorders.

--wayne--

 

[hifijohn]

I always thought the sony beta hifi was better than vhs hifi. I'v tried vhs hifi and its pretty good. the only problem is age, any sony beta or vhs hifi deck yu find now is goint o be a goo 25 yrs old.

 

[pdm4606]

vhs age

Is there a problem with the age?
Maybe belts and drive wheels.
I have an old Sony and the hi-fi function keeps dropping out. I wonder if there is an alignment problem and if it is fixable.

Paul

 

[KentTeffeteller]

VHS tracking for many years was primitive at best. Beta and U-Matic were more robust in practice. That Zenith VHS deck was actually built by JVC, one of their best VHS machines ever offered.

 

[NEMOaudio]

VHS HiFi used as audio only recorder is very sensitive on what type of cassette you use. After a discussion in a recent thread I tested my VHS HiFi with a brand new basic SONY VHS cassette and the result is not satisfactory. Constant dropouts resulting in switching between the HiFi and normal audio during playback.

 

[BuddhaBob]

I had one of this first VHS Hi-Fi machines, it was a JVC and made excellent recordings. I always used TDK SA (Super Avilyn) tape with it--it's all about the tape. Although the automatic gain control was quite good, it also had manual level control, so I used it to make intermediate dubs of old Dolby B tapes, then recorded them back to R2R, with very good results. It lasted more than 10 years with heavy use. Most of my off-air recording was at the slowest speed--the picture and sound were that good.

 

[sssmokin99]

And the tapes played back great only on the machine they were recorded on. And the mandatory companders used sometimes were audible. The first non analog recording people at home had available was the Sony PCM F-1 format, which was expensive to buy the adapter. And had to be used with a U-Matic or Beta deck. Which was around $2500 together.

I made and still make recordings using three VHS HiFi decks and move between them with no problem. This isn't always an issue....

 

[Bstable]

In the late 80's I was doing it without problems and was very happy with fidelity, dynamic range and noise floor- better that any cassette setup that I had.

I had the same results with a $1200 MSRP Toshiba Digital HiFI recorder I bought in the late 80's. I recorded a live Who "Tommy" concert (with other various artists) onto the HIFI format. The sound was nothing short of fantastic.

 

[pishta]

I have 30+ T160 tapes from 1991-ish, 6-8 hour radio program (12 to 6 AM saturdays) taped on a Sanyo Hifi VCR. I recently started playing them back on 3 other hifi VCR's and they all still sound great. And the tapes were stored in a garage, not inside. They didn't seem to degrade any in 35 years....! Hi-fi switching in and out is a tracking issue. one of my decks refused to lock in hi fi until I tweaked the leading roller before the rotating head while watching the hifi indicator, just a 1/8 turn got it back.