Need help buying the right VHS hardware.

[alcimedes]

At work we have a pile of old VHS tapes. Of the dozens, few if any are every going to make it to DVD. However, our professors would still like to use the videos.

We had looked at converting them to DVD, and there are a variety of options, however I've come across a problem.

No one sells VCR's anymore. At least, not decent ones. Most retailers I stopped by carried maybe two or three VCR's, and none of them are that nice.

Since this is going to be a one time translation from analog to digital format, I'd like to have it be the higheset quality possible. (granted I have some price constraints, but not your typical home user range)

I also wanted to check on the best way to translate old tapes. Some of the videos they have are over 15 years old, and the tracking on them is terrible. I'd like to have a machine that will do a decent job of removing the waviness from these videos. I'd rather not sit there and manually adjust the tracking as the tapes play, so a machine that does it for me is a must.

Any suggestions?

 

[gregz]

ZOIKS!!! That's a tall task!

I'm afraid I don't have the direct answers you need, but in the last few years before VCRs became passe, the video signal from model to model DID have subtle differences based upon whether the manufacturer used a cheap or quality head. I never did see a model with autio tracking, since in many cases the best position was often a matter of least bad on a bad tape. Tracking can be done once the tape begins playing, I've never had to re-adjust tracking once I had it in the best spot.

Your labor intensive problem is further compounded by the fact that as videotapes age, their picture gets darker and darker.

You might be looking at needing a video signal processer in addition to a decent VCR.

I don't know if that helps you, but I hate to see an unanswered question in this forum. I think you've got us all stumped.

-Greg

 

[alcimedes]

Well, at least I'm not a complete moron for not knowing how best to convert these tapes.

I'm going to check around at a few professional imaging shops and see what they would recommend. I know a guy who's dad works there, and I'll see what he recommends. People are doing this professionally, so there has to be some solution.

Anyone else out there have an idea? Even if you could recommend one manufacturer over another that would help. Everyone advertises "4 heads" etc, but no one really gives any quantitative comparisons.

 

[hopjohn]

You might be able to find a good quality player on ebay. Look for a professional grade SVHS unit. By the time you pay for having a bunch of tapes converted over you could easily pay for a pro unit and do it yourself. JVC is the inventor of VHS so I would start there, SONY's are good too.

Here's the kind of thing I'd look for.

Ebay Auction

 

[Mudcat]

You need to look into Pro gear, not home gear. There is still a lot of pro gear being made. Try Sweetwater or B&H Photo for video pro gear. Tell them what you need to do and the age of the tapes. If this is to daunting to do by your self, have you looked into just sending them out to be transfered?