Re: S-VHS cassette recorders

On 1/6/2025 1:09 AM, Jeff Layman wrote:

On 05/01/2025 22:02, Don Y wrote:

On 1/5/2025 12:48 PM, Jeff Layman wrote:

Might be interesting to see what's around at boot fairs - VHS tapes are often
almost given away.

>
You may find that what's ON the tape is not what the label indicates!  :>
>
We stopped accepting VCR tapes as donations because, often, folks would
overwrite the original content -- often with "home videos" of "dubious"
intent...

 Well, "Dirty Harry" might be referring to another Harry...! :-)))

<frown>  We had some folks complain that tapes that SEEMED to be
"hollywood movies" were, in fact, anything *but*!  And as the
only way to know if a tape has anything "inappropriate" on it
is to watch the entire tape, it is much easier to just throw them
away.
But, anything new/shrink-wrapped was acceptable.

I'm still using a JVC HR-S9911U for "tape-to-digital" transfers.
     <https://support.jvc.com/consumer/product.jsp?modelId=MODL026935>
No value for OTA broadcasts.  I don't think you can even set the *time*
on it, nowadays!

 I see that the manual for that machine is dated mid-2002. I had a look and noticed that it had s-video but not SCART sockets. Was it usual for cassette video recorders sold in the US to not have SCART sockets? It seems a bit

SCART never caught on, here.  Composite video with separate ("stereo")
audio on 3 phono plugs was the "hi end" way for home video interconnect.
Early game consoles (and computers!) used RF modulators.
Professional kit uses "other" interfaces as they have to be able to
deliver timecode information, sync video sources, etc.

strange as both the JVC recorders I bought had them. Perhaps there was a greater cost saving to be had by designing them out than having a single case which included them. Whatever, it still shows how good JVC machines are as you're still using yours even though it's approaching 25 years old!

I think a lot of the longevity for consumer kit (though this would
actually be classified as "prosumer" -- a step between consumer and
professional) lies in how well it is handled.  Consumer kit is largely
treated as disposable and it's use patterns seem to facilitate that!  :<