JVC HMDH40000U D-VHS HDTV Digital Video Recorder Review

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(More customer reviews)The JVC HMDH40000U D-VHS DVR is a great next-generation VCR and high definition media player. Under certain circumstances it's a good archival system for HD broadcasts. Unfortunately, between the recording industry's paranoia and JVC's mistakes those circumstances are rare. But it's now cheap enough so that you're basically paying for a great VCR with a HD option. On that basis, it's worth 4 stars.
While wonderful to watch, HDTV is clearly still in its early adoption stages. One problem with early adoption is that until standards settle down it's very hard to find critical support technology - like storage. Currently, the main option is to buy or rent a cable/satellite-brand specific integrated DVR/HDTV tuner. This also presents severe limitations: the box is useless if you switch providers, there's typically little storage space (typically 8 hours - HD takes about 4x the space of regular broadcasts), you can't burn programs to DVD, and they're wildly expensive. Until Tivo and others finally figure out the technology and come out with standalone HD units sometime in late 2005-2006, your only real alternative is a DVHS recorder.
For neophytes, DVHS is a remarkable update to 30 year old technology - it uses the the same tapes that VHS always did but records digitally. This is wonderful for backwards compatibility as VHS and SVHS tapes play and record perfectly in a DVHS VCR (and if you've got money to burn you can record an outrageously priced DVHS tape with a VHS signal.)

The good news is when it works it's a perfect digital copy of HD content. The bad is that after losing billions on pirated DVDs the recording industry put so many restrictions on digital recording it basically cripples this VCR and the DVHS format. In very simple terms they nerfed things so badly that it's: 1. very hard to record in HD format and 2. even more difficult to copy HD media.
So why bother with the JVC HMDH40000U?
First, you can in fact record HDTV broadcasts, and when it works its spectacular. The problem is that JVC is so paranoid at offending the studios that the only HD input is a Firewire/I-Link digital one - there are NO component video or HDMI inputs. Only a couple manufacturers provide I-Link outputs from HDTV tuners (Hitachi and Mitsubishi, along with a handful of models from others like Samsung and Sharp) which means for many people subscribing to cable or satellite HDTV this is useless. In addition, there are numerous documented cases where an tuner or camcorder has a nominal I-Link connection that's incompatible with this VCR. Even with a compatible I-Link connection, you can still run into periodic crashes with this largely due to poor compatibility with copy protection standards; I have hard reset (unplugged for 30 minutes) this unit more times than I can count to get it working again. But...when it works the results are a perfect copy and while DVHS tapes are outrageously expensive they're still cheap compared to what it would cost for 5 hours of HD stored on a hard drive.
Second, there is a very small (about 100 or so) selection of extremely high resolution (1080i) movies in a format known as D-Theater. Between this and the 25 or so Muse-HiVision laserdiscs that ceased being produced in 2001 and are only playable on obscure Japanese-only equipment which costs 10 times this VCR, this is about the only way you're going to see a movie in more than 480p on your home screen until HD-DVD/Blu-ray comes out in late 2005/early 2006 at initial prices that are 5-10x that of this VCR. Unfortunately it looks like D-Theater is going the way of Muse, but I've seen a couple movies this way and your jaw will simply drop if you find a movie you like in this format. Even when you lose a ton of resolution by letting the JVC downscale a D-Theater movie to 480i to play on your old Trinitron, this brings out details you won't see in a DVD. Most HDTV broadcasts simply don't compare to the detail you'll find on a D-Theater movie.
But the real reason to buy this is that it is what a 2005 VCR should be. It has component video outputs, an optical digital output, multiple SVHS inputs and outputs, and a range of features (like marking chapters on tapes so that you don't have to find scenes by time) that even good VCRs don't. Better yet, playback and recording in regular VHS and SVHS mode (and you can do both) are noticeably better than my 5-year old SVHS model. (And while it doesn't display video except in spurts while fastforwarding in DVHS mode, in VHS and SVHS mode it does it just as well as any standard unit.) As a VCR it's sleek and highly functional.
Unfortunately, there's a good chance that if you're buying this for HDTV recording its not compatible. Check very, very carefully first before buying. But now that JVC appears to be ready to give up on this model as it doesn't have an HDMI output, it's available at prices directly comparable to good SVHS VCRs. As such you get next generation technology for the same price. And if you're lucky, you get a lot more. For laser disc fans I'd compare it to a bargain basement HLD-X9 - the new technology didn't catch on but the upgrades on the old made this well worth it. Just know what you're getting!

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Record high-definition television broadcasts with the JVC HMDH40000U D-VHS digital video recorder. Using special D-VHS tapes with a 50 GB of capacity, you can record up to 3.5 hours of high-quality video and Dolby Digital audio. Features include 5.1-channel Digital Dolby audio, FireWire/iLink connectivity, VCR Plus+ instant timer programming, and playback of D-Theater prerecorded movies.
Thanks to its high read/write speed (28.2 Mbps in HS mode), D-VHS produces up to six times better quality than DVDs. And you'll get powerful home theater sound with the 5.1-channel Dolby Digital audio output (and support for 2-channel linear PCM output). With the JVC HMDH40000U, you can record any type of broadcast, including HD, SD (standard definition), and analog. You can also play your old VHS and S-VHS tape library, as well as record analog video signal to those older formats.
The JVC HMDH40000U has two FireWire/iLink ports so that you can connect to a digital set-top box. If you have a digital camcorder, you can download video footage to a D-VHS tape (using the MPEG-2 video standard) via the second FireWire/iLink port. The Video Navigation System feature enables you to store title, date, and storage information on up to 2,000 tapes.
Other features include:
Time Base Corrector removes jitter from fluctuating video signals
Digital YNR/CNY improves signal-to-noise ratio by 3 dB
Record up to 24 events, up to 1 year in advance
MTS stereo reception
Remote control featuring multibrand compatibility and glow-in-the-dark buttons

Recording modes include:
HS (28.2 Mbps; 210 minutes max with DF-420 cassette)
STD (14.1 Mbps; 420 minutes max with DF-420 cassette)
LS3 (4.7 Mbps; 1,260 minutes max with DF-420 cassette)
LS5 (2.8 Mbps; 2,100 minutes max with DF-420 cassette)
SP (210 minutes max with S-VHS or VHS cassette)
EP (630 minutes max with S-VHS or VHS cassette)

Tech Talk D-VHS: The D-VHS (or Digital VHS) format offers the highest consumer video resolution for recording and playback. It stores digitally encoded video signals and accompanying multichannel audio from high-definition TV (HDTV) to a tape format. You can record up to 3.5 hours of video at either the 1080i or 720p HDTV formats. For audio, D-VHS encodes Dolby Digital at 576 Kbps (compared to DVD's 384 Kbps and 448 Kbps data rates), which can mean higher sound fidelity due to less compression.
HDTV formats: There are two common video formats for HDTV. The 1080i format displays video at 1080 vertical by 1920 horizontal pixels and it is interlaced (which means that a video screen scans the odd-numbered video lines first, then the even-numbered lines). The 720p format displays video at 720 vertical by 1280 horizontal pixels and it is progressive (which means that all video lines are filled at the same time).
What's in the Box JVC HMDH40000U D-VHS player/recorder, remote (LP21036-013), two AA batteries, S-Video cable, RCA audio cable, coaxial cable, head cleaning cassette, and instruction manual.

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Magnavox DV225MG9 Tunerless DVD Player and 4 Head Hi-Fi Stereo VCR Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a great DVD/VCR and works very well. I knew that it did not have a TV tuner, which I figured was no problem, since I have satellite and would have to go through the box anyway. However, since there is no tuner, there isn't a coaxial connector on the back, only RCA. So, if you have an old TV that only has a Coaxial connector, don't buy this unless you also buy a RF Modulator.

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DVD player and Viideo tape recorder without tuner

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Panasonic PV-V4621 4-Head Hi-Fi VCR Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased this VCR since my old one was also Panasonic and worked well over the years. The features of this new VCR are great. However, I am now on my second one after having returned the first. The first one made a great deal of noise from the motor and recorded video playback was grainy. The second unit is much more quiet during operation, but the viewing of recorded video is terrible. There is a very noticeable degradation of the picture upon playback and an "interference" type line wiggling along the bottom. Adjusting the tracking does not solve the problem. I have purchased new tapes, but that has not changed anything. This second unit is going back to the store tomorrow. After reading other reviews, I am wondering if Panasonic produced a bad "batch" of this model VCR. There seems to be too much disparity between reviews where some say the picture is excellent and others say it's terrible. I am still debating whether I will try a third unit of this same model and brand.

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The Panasonic PV-V4621 four-head hi-fi stereo VCR is home theater readywith convenient front audio-video jacks. This sleek, silver VCR offers a host ofconvenient features including the VCR Plus+ Silver program guide with ZIP codesetup, Movie and Commercial Advance, tape-position display, and index andprogram-end search options.
The PV-V4621's four-head design delivers a dramatically crisp, clear picture toyour television. Its pair of RCA audio jacks coupled with its hi-fi design offerenhanced audio output, making this a great VCR to connect to your home theatersystem.
In addition to its superb audio and video output, Panasonic includes VCR Plus+Silver program guide, which lets you program most recordings simply by enteringyour ZIP code, taking much of the hassle out of the process. The PV-V4621'sMovie and Commercial advance zips you past movie previews and commercials. Indexsearch lets you quickly and precisely index and then search for your favoriterecordings using discrete numeric codes, while program-end search takes you tothe end of a program at the touch of a button.
The onscreen tape-position display shows you the tape's current position in therecording process. Other displays include multilingual onscreen displays thatlet you read programming guides and menus in English, Spanish, or French.
Panasonic's PV-V4621 also includes all those features you've come to expect witha VCR--pause, resume play, one-touch recording, auto stop, and more. Anilluminated multibrand universal remote control is also included.
The PV-V4621 is Energy Star compliant and comes with a warranty of a year onparts, 90 days on labor.

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Panasonic PV-VS4821 4-Head S-VHS Hi-Fi VCR Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought and returned this product...The PVVS4821 is made of...thin plastic - mine weighed in at just over four pounds!! It was so light that when you inserted a tape, you had to hold the macine or it would be pushed back from the "force" of inserting the tape!
The writing on the rear panel is not painted, so you can't read what the jacks are for...When you try to push in the S-Video, the whole panel bulges back; again it's the...thin plastic and incredibly skimpy construction.
Note that [this] Panasonic [model was made in] China for this new model...you'd be better getting last year's 4820 instead if you can!
The remote is terrible. Tiny buttons that are almost useless for essentials like volume, channel. And really bad layout has you fumbling all over the remote.
The picture is not as good as previous units because they substituted dynamorphous heads with...vanilla video heads. It doesn't even have 19-micron, so slow speed picture is noisy. Think circa 1984 video head technology.
The good thing about this unit is the commercial advance, which usually works. Too bad that some other manufacturers...don't have this feature. Also, the VCR Gold Plus works well, if you're too lazy...to set up your own machine once. Instead, I'd rather have adequate power-backup so I don''t lose my programming if the power goes off for long.
Anyway, what a disappointment. It's really hard to find a decent VCR these days, but I think that you'd do better with a good Mitsu or Toshiba - asd I've checked SVHS from 4 manufacturers side-by-side. Also tested the rather poor sony slnv81. This Panasonice ranks dead last by a long shot. I'm writing this because I'm peeved at how their poor product wasted my time and lost me shipping...!

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The PV-VS4821 feature Rapid FF and Rewind. A high-performance mechanism will advance or rewind a 120-minute tape in approximately 1 minute, versus an average speed of approximately 2.5 minutes on a conventional VCR. Families who rent a lot of movies are sure to appreciate this convenience feature. The top-of-the-line S-VHS model PV-VS4821 also offers Expansion Technology (ET), which allows users to record an S-VHS signal onto a high-grade VHS tape. Users will still get the high-quality 400 lines of resolution that S-VHS offers, but at a considerable cost savings for blank tapes. Commercial Advance is used to mark the beginning and end of each commercial segment while the VCR is recording. During playback, the system detects the marks and automatically skips over the commercials. Movie Advance zips past the ads and movie trailers at the front of many pre-recorded tapes, and gets the viewer right to the main attraction. Multi-Brand Universal Light Tower Illuminated Shuttle Remote is provided for convenient operation of the VCR Plus most TVs and Cable/DSS boxes.

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