80's VCR that is Holy Grail ??

[Snade]

Hey Guys, I'm really enjoying my early 80's Trinitron in our basement family room. I've got it hooked up to my comcast cable (no box) and I get all the local stations (that's fine). Beautiful picture with warm colors.

I'd like to hook it up to an 80's VCR and watch some of my old VHS tapes of favorite shows.

The local thrift has about 10 VCRs right now. What is the best brand or model VCR to look for at the thrifts. Did VCRs go back to the early 80's ?

I've got a 90's panasonic VCR, but I'd like to look for a perfect match for the old Trinitron.

You guys are getting me hooked on vintage TV, thanks.

Merry Christmas, Snade

[Duffinator]

Sony and Panasonic made some of the better players. I still have a Panasonic top loader, a very early model from the early 80's (maybe late 70's), and it weights about 50 lbs. It has a wired remote and still works fine.

[Celt]

Panasonic made some professional use VHS decks with stereo Dolby linear tracks as well as Hi-Fi. Some of the best models had back lit VU meters with manual recording levels. Extremely well made.

[radiotvnut]

I always liked the Panasonic made VCR's through about '87. The Magnavox, Philco, Sylvania, GE, and some of the RCA's were actually re-branded Panasonic machines. We had a mid '80's Magnavox basic 2 head model with 14 position tuner that lasted for years.

[Celt]

Panasonic's transports were made better too. A lot more metal and less bailing wire and such. I had a Magnavox and mom had a GE that were both made by Panasonic. Both lasted well over a decade with heavy use.

[andy]

A high end Panasonic is hard to beat. Look for an 85-86 model (or early 87).

JVC also made some great VCRs in the 80's. JVC didn't cut the quality as early as Panasonic. I wouldn't touch a Panasonic made after mid 1987, but JVC kept the quality up until 88 or so. You can even find S-VHS JVCs that have a good quality transport (HR-S5000U, HR-S7000U, HR-S8000U, and HR-S10000U are all great VCRs). Zenith VCRs were made by JVC and might be more common in your area. For JVC, you can go from 1984-1988 and get a good quality transport.

I would avoid RCA/Hitachi, and NEC because they had some reliability problems and way too many belts. The same advice goes double for Sharp, and Mitsubishi. Also, don't even think about a Korean brand (Goldstar, Samsung). They have a high tech reputation now, but they were bargain brands in the 80's.

Sony was great, but Beta only.

You should know that no 80's VCR will be plug and play. They will need cleaning, and some new rubber parts. Any 80's Panasonic will need to have the power supply re-capped.

[Dave A]

Some VHS decks (toploaders as I remember) also came with a camera connector on the front. I had one with the 10-pin RCA variety. Great fun to connect my old RCA CC-002 color camera and record the worst color ever from a vidicon. Sony may have done it also.

Dave A

[AU20K]

If you can find a good Mitsubishi stereo hifi 4 head vcr, that is what I recommend. I bought a model HS423UR in mid 80's, I still use it a lot and it has not even had a hickup. Works and looks like new.

[Lady Ayeka]

the mitsubishi HS-U70, -U80 and the JVC HR-S8000U are most definately THE holy grails of VCRs.

[zenith2134]

Not holy grail, but I once owned a 1985 Sharp VHS vcr which was built for the ages. It eventually got worn out heads, but had seen tons of use by the time that happened. I got it second hand from a family who watched lots of VHS movies (on their 1980 25" system 3 BTW), plus I put lots of hours on it as a child.

I'm not into vhs as much as I once was, but given the sad state of modern decks I'd snag an 80's sharp again.

[Geoff Bourquin]

I still have the Quasar (AKA Panasonic) top loader I bought USED in 1984. I don't think I've even re-capped the power supply yet (but I really should). I also have the Zenith VR2000 I got USED in 1987 (someone had cleaned the heads with Qtips, so I did put heads in it when I got it). It also recieved a couple caps in the IF circuit. It developed an awful audio buzz. Then there's my Sony SL-2500 Beta.
; Timer IC quit, but I don't care...I only play my old beta stuff with it these days. Then there's the JVC HR-S6800U super VHS. Full recap on the power supply, but otherwise a workhorse. Then I have a couple early 90s Sony VHS decks. Fairly trouble free, but a little too new in my opinion.

Short answer: Mid 80s Panasonic. Good quality, usually easy to fix when they do need something.

[Arkay]

This might not be much use to you, as I've never seen another and you'd probably have to source from Japan to get one, but if you really want a super-nice VCR, the JVC X1 Limited is an amazing VCR. I have no doubt it was that brand's "ultimate statement piece", and it is the best VCR deck I've ever found (or heard of).

It has umpteen functional controls like any top-end studio deck would have. In fact, that's what it is inside: it has broadcast-studio quality heads, etc... and all the functions of a top-end studio deck, but all re-packaged in a beautiful champagne-gold brushed-aluminum case with lacquered wooden end panels and high-end looking controls. It practically radiates "expensive luxurious quality" to look at. When not in use, most of the controls remain hidden behind (and are also located in(!) a flip-down panel that covers much of the front, giving it a clean, elegant look when "at rest".

I spent over a year looking for one "ultimate keeper" VCR deck, one that would combine ultimate quality with good looks and durability,and this one is it. It brings out everything that is on the tape, and the sound quality can be nearly as good as a high-end R2R tape deck. Because of the inherent limitations of the format, the picture will not be as good as, say, a hi-def DVD, but I've never seen better pictures from VCR tapes than I get from this thing. It also has more controls over the recording and playback processes than I have ever seen in a deck, except the biggest studio ones. I seriously doubt there is a better VCR model in existence, and I've seen similar Japanese-market ones from other makers like Sony -- they are no better. In fact, I don't know which came first, but if I didn't have this JVC, my second choice would be the very similar-looking Sony. The JVC is slightly better in a few respects, but they are very close and you wouldn't be disappointed with the Sony, either. I believe the Sony is more common, as I've seen several of them, but the only X1 Limited I've ever seen is the one I own.

The biggest drawback to it IMO is that all the controls are labeled in Japanese, and you really have to know what they all are, to use it correctly. There are so many controls --and they are so complicated-- that you have to get it all translated (unless you read/speak Japanese!) and study if for a while, to be able to use it even just for normal playing/recording. I couldn't even figure out how to get the normal basic functions to work correctly until I got the controls all translated by a Japanese friend. It is to an ordinary VCR what the Nakamichi Dragon is to a Walkman.

The second biggest drawback is that I'm not sure who could repair this thing if/when it ever breaks down. It is way more complicated than any normal home-use VCR deck. You'd need an experienced studio technician to do much more than open her up, I fear, and parts might be difficult to find. [Fortunately for me, the one I have still works fine as-is.]

The third drawback is that it is physically pretty big. Its size is at least on a par with the biggest high-end LaserDisc players (Pioneer Elites), maybe a smidge bigger.

But despite the complications and language drawbacks and the size, if you want one VCR that will do everything you'll ever possibly want one to do, and do it all superbly well, try to get the JVC X1 Limited. It just doesn't get any better, IMO.

[waltchan]

Best Panasonic VCR ever made in history (and no one cannot argue) is the NV-H70PX (AG-1810 identical but with smaller/lighter linear power supply). It's made in 1986 and has a linear (no switching) power supply, 4-head Hi-Fi, mid-80s chassis, etc. It's the last VHS VCR ever made by Panasonic with a linear power supply. Unfortunately, you will never find one on eBay. Last one showed up on January 2005, and that's the one I have.

Identical model of the NV-H70PX is Canon VR-720HF, and it shows up on eBay quite often. But owning a Canon-brand VCR is not always exciting.

If you want the highest-longevity life Panasonic VCR, Panasonic AG-2100 is your answer. It's a 2-head video cassette player (no record) with a large linear power supply with only two belts, and it's way overbuilt, heavy, and simple-designed.

[mr_fixer]

The best vcr i had was a Pioneer, the thing i liked the best was it had a flying erase head. which meant you could go from play to record within 1 frame with no static between cuts, It could produce broadcast grade edits even though it was a consumer product. That VCR got killed when a pole transformer blew up during a ice storm in 98'.

[Lady Ayeka]

Originally Posted by mr_fixer

The best vcr i had was a Pioneer, the thing i liked the best was it had a flying erase head. which meant you could go from play to record within 1 frame with no static between cuts, It could produce broadcast grade edits even though it was a consumer product. That VCR got killed when a pole transformer blew up during a ice storm in 98'.

damn, that's too bad. it was the VH-930SD S-VHS, right? i tell you, that sucker is darned near unobtainium. even pictures of it are!!
PIONEER VH-930SD S-VHS VCR (1989)