VHS-ET (SVHS High Res recording on a regulare VHS tape), Cable / DSS set control, Price (224.00 on ubid.com)

No flying erase head, No tracking on remote

The key to good results with the VHS-ET feature is tape quality and signal. I recomend TDK E-HG or DSP and a digital source. The DSP tape is also great for regular VHS recorings in SP speed.

Keep in mind that SVHS and SVHS-ET increase resolution, not signal quallity. If you start with a weak or poor source signal, the higher resolution of SVHS or SVHS-ET will usually make the overall picture quality look worse than the standard VHS recording.

I have only found one decent SVHS tape easily availible, the TDK brand. The Maxell X-SVHS Black really sucked, I got better results with regular VHS tape in SVHS-ET mode.

SVHS and SVHS-ET recording quality does not degade much in EP speed so you can maintain a good quality recording and still use the full 6 hours of the tape. The SVHS-ET quality in the EP(6hr) speed is as good as or slightly better than a standard VHS recording in the SP(2hr) speed. The best quality will be from a good SVHS tape in either speed, but those tapes are expensive.

I like to record movies, especuiaslly from DSS. This unit gives me versatility with great results, without having to pay for alot of features I do not need.

Tip:
If you already have an SVHS vcr that does not offer the SVHS-ET feature, you can still use regular high quality VHS tapes to record SVHS, Just look at the bottom of an SVHS tape. You will see one extra hole along the side edge that is not present on a regular VHS tape. Use a drill and a 1/8" bit to tape a hole in the same spot on a GOOD VHS tape (TDK E-HG) and you will have a SVHS compatible tape that will produce nearly as good of a recording as a SVHS tape. Obviously, this only works on an SVHS vcr.

Similar Products Used:

Various VHS 4head HI-FI systems