VHS deck recommendations?

[Dot50Cal]

I've searched but I really dont see anyone with particularl needs like mine.

Im looking to capture a whole bunch of VHS tapes soon and my current setup is really inadequate. Im using a standard consumer VHS deck and the composite output just isnt cutting it. What Im looking for is a deck that has really good feature to help clean up the picture and get it stable, but also one that has RGB or something equally as un-noisy to transfer to my PC. I have a capture card which has component inputs so if anyone could help me out with this, Id appreciate it much.

[urvieh]

Try to get an s-vhs by Panasonic.

[STC-Fan]

Try what neuron2 told me the other day: get an S-video cable, or a SCART to S-video, or whatever, and hook that up to your capture card / graphics card / other doohickey. That alone should result in a brighter, sharper & less washed-out picture, and only cost a small amount of dosh.

Beyond that, I couldn't really recommend a particular deck - I've been reading a load of VHS deck articles on AVReviews and I'm still not convinced that shelling out more money for a new deck to replace my reasonable old Toshiba V652UK is really worth it, because I'm just not sure the increase in picture quality would be any better.

[Revgen]

My JVC HR-S9911U works great for me. It's S-video though. I'm not currently aware of VHS decks with component out.

[Chainmax]

rfmmars once recommended me the JVC 9900U deck. IIRC, it has TBC, noise reduction and S-Video Out.

[Revgen]

rfmmars once recommended me the JVC 9900U deck. IIRC, it has TBC, noise reduction and S-Video Out.

Yep that's what mine has too. However, the TBC seemingly only works on tapes. Not a big problem since cable feeds are usually stable.

[Dot50Cal]

Ah ok, Ill do some more research then into the JVC 9900U but I cant seem to find it for sale anywhere, does anyone know where I might find one and how much I'd be looking to spend?

Edit: Ah, this one here, correct? http://www.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL026742&pathId=49&page=1&archive=true

[basskozz]

Edit: Ah, this one here, correct? http://www.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL026742&pathId=49&page=1&archive=true
$600 for a VHS player... does this really make that much of a difference in the output?

I am in the same boat, I need to find a new VHS player to help me convert home videos using my Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-USB2. And all my VHS players are really old and it's time for a new one. But I don't think I can justify paying $600 on a old technology (VHS)... is there any other suggestions for less $$$ ?

[setarip_old]

@basskozz

Hi!

If your needs are short term, you might look into renting such equipment...

[basskozz]

What are your thoughts on this VHS player JVC HRS2902U (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000093USD/ref=pd_cp_e_title/104-1425862-8437548?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=172282) ?
It has S-Video out. How does this compare to the $600 one mentioned above?

[smok3]

From my experience tbc build in this semi-pro units can usually make video look washed out (worse) for some reason, there is no need to invest a lot of money into vhs device, its still only vhs if you know what i mean (but thats only my experience, somebody else will flame me...).
The only investment worth is to get a device with hi-fi heads (audio part) imho, but again only if your footage was recorded that way.

especially overpriced jvc decks are pure cr@p imho.

[Ebobtron]

What are your thoughts on this VHS player JVC HRS2902U ?
It has S-Video out. How does this compare to the $600 one mentioned above?

At $99.99 what I paid for mine, well, it seems like I got what I paid for.

I was not very happy with the regular video Q, can't speak about the SVHS modes, as I have no SVHS content laying around.

Not much else to say about the above VCR.

What does broadcast VHS gear cost these days?

You can make VHS stuff stable maybe even better looking but, suck it shall continue to do, no matter how much you spend, unless you wish to do a frame by frame re-master job like Disney does to film. The best examples still look like cleaned up video.

Good luck,

[Don James]

What are your thoughts on this VHS player JVC HRS2902U (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000093USD/ref=pd_cp_e_title/104-1425862-8437548?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=172282) ?
It has S-Video out. How does this compare to the $600 one mentioned above?

I bought an S5902U which is the latest SVHS vcr and it was fine for watching videos on tv, but it had an unstable image for capturing. Jittery and wavy vertical lines. I bought an older JVC high end model, HR-S7600U and it's a much more sophisticated machine. Time Base Corrector and Digital Noise Reduction. The DVDs I've been making using it are better than the source tapes. I paid less for it than the S5902, but it's used of course. The best VCRs I've heard about for capture
are:

JVC HR-S9911U
JVC HR-S9900U
JVC HR-S9800U
JVC HR-S9600U

JVC HR-SV10U

JVC HR-S7900U
JVC HR-S7800U
JVC HR-S7600U

These are all discontinued, you may be able to
find an SV10U new. There is also a SV101U that
is new and on JVC's site, which has the TBC, but
I don't know anything about them. THe ones on
the list are all excellent machines, so I've heard.
I can really only verify the S7600, and it's an amazing
machine.

for those who prefer new:
http://pro.jvc.com/prof/attributes/features.jsp?feature_id=01&tree=&itempath=null&model_id=MDL101505

I've seen them online for less than $300. I paid $150 plus shipping for my used S7600U on ebay

I've also heard the Panasonic AG-1980 and AG-1970
are also excellent machines for capture.