Hi-Fi VHS - The "Poor Man's" Reel To Reel?

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The Cassette Comeback Archive

The Cassette Comeback Archive

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 658
@chinnyvision
@chinnyvision 3 жыл бұрын
Until cheap digital recording became available in the mid 2000's, LP Hi-Fi VHS was how many commercial radio stations would archive their output for the mandated 42 days required by the Radio Authority. I still have many of our old tapes and even at LP, providing the machine wasn't hitting its limiter, the quality is actually very good.
@andydelle4509
@andydelle4509 3 жыл бұрын
In the USA commercial TV stations often logged their air feed for proof commercials ran. They initially used reel to reel security video tape recorders but when 6hr VHS came along they jumped on that. far cheaper and reliable than those old security camera recorders.
@jamiey5779
@jamiey5779 3 жыл бұрын
I did read somewhere that LP doesn't reduce audio quality of Hi-Fi VHS audio recordings? SP recordings apparently just use less tape overall.
@chinnyvision
@chinnyvision 3 жыл бұрын
@@jamiey5779 You are far more susceptible to dropout and other tape damage. Nothing quite like the farting noises of some dropout that might not have impacted an SP recording.
@Defensive_Wounds
@Defensive_Wounds 2 жыл бұрын
Albeit a little bit grainy video, the audio is fine. I would normally record in SP mode for 99% of my things. I have over 2000 VHS tapes.
@andrew1479
@andrew1479 3 жыл бұрын
Once Used a HIFI VHS deck to record a Jazz Concert at "The Rhythmic Club" Islington. I basically did this by asking the in house PA engineer to give me an output feed from his desk and then fed this into the line inputs of my HIFI VHS deck. This actually work really well. Very nice recording which I later mastered to DAT and CD back home.
@Patrick_Roach
@Patrick_Roach 3 жыл бұрын
Since I've used VHS quite a bit for two channel analog audio, here's a nugget of information regarding the EP/SLP speed. The bottom line is, the sound quality itself is basically the same. There is little if any difference. However, tracking is fussier. In audio tapes recorded at that speed, a bit of tracking adjustment on other VCRs is normal. At SP it is much more forgiving.
@musmodtos
@musmodtos 3 жыл бұрын
Very true, essentially all VHS speeds will lay down the same amount of audio signal, but tracking, as you've rightly pointed out was a pain between machines outside of SP speed. I run a video transfer business and am blessed to have a stack of professional rack-mount studio S-VHS machines (AG7350/7650/7750) as well as a Betamax SL-HF950 Hifi machine too, and a very late stereo V2000 machine. I also have a very rare DAV unit (a relative of Video 8) which although digital is quite cool to play with and delivers fantastic quality for a 1985 domestic digital tape, 8 Stereo tracks simultaneously too. I'm posting a video up in a few weeks comparing them all for sonic use, the results might be quite interesting.
@endoplasreh
@endoplasreh 3 жыл бұрын
This was a well kept secret that I shared with a lot of people when I was into this format. I used to record music for parties, 4 hours of music on one cassette and let it play. Of course this was days before CD changers. On top of that, the quality was nearly as clean as digital, depending on the source. Back when everyone was striving to get digital quality music on cassette, I was recording everything I had on VHS cassettes. It was a mostly a convenience factor along with high quality audio. I used to call it my poor man's DAT, even though it is an analog recording, but a damn good one. I could not afford a DAT in the late 80s when they slowly started to get released after the RIAA Sony thing resolved. Anyway, I still have several cassettes with music on them and a few HiFi VCRs. I still play them today, even though I have a real DAT. I still think these VCRs are great and way less finicky than a DAT. One thing I did test was the quality difference between SP, EP and SLP. Aside from losing hours of recording time, I did not hear a enough of a significant difference in the quality to record at a higher tape speed. Could just be my subjective opinion though.
@KenjiUmino
@KenjiUmino 3 жыл бұрын
if you share a "secret" with a lot of people - doesn't this defeat the purpose of a "secret"? it certainly isn't a "well kept" secret any more then. :)
@mrnmrn1
@mrnmrn1 3 жыл бұрын
Please don't bin the fried Panasonic VCR. Those NV-70s are great decks, definitely worth a repair. If you are not interested in reparing it or get it gepaired, give it to someone who is interested.
@djsherz
@djsherz 3 жыл бұрын
Agreed. Chances are the electrolytics in the power supply module have dried up - common problem with those machines.
@mrnmrn1
@mrnmrn1 3 жыл бұрын
@@djsherz Unfortunatelly, nowadays these are much more problematic. They are not drying, but leaking and corroding the board. And often not just on the PSU, but on *every* boards. Pinch roller is usually shot, and broken loading motor clutch is a very common failure, and quite PITA to fix in this variant of the G-mechanism, IIRC you have to disassemble the whole cam gear assembly to get access. This one was playing well a day before it blown up, so it is confirmed that mechanically it is OK-ish, so it's a good candidate for a repair-refurb.
@paulb4uk
@paulb4uk 3 жыл бұрын
i would not either common for psu,s to go due to bad caps on panasonics quite a desirable machine i have a few panasonics a 1985 nv730 an nv f55 and a f75 i would not bother with the later mid mount machines there mostly cheaply made junk.
@paulbarnett5056
@paulbarnett5056 3 жыл бұрын
Could also be a fuse
@artempriadko6974
@artempriadko6974 3 жыл бұрын
Incredibly low wow and flutter in VHS, no azimuth settings, no speed issues. HiFi VHS is the best sounding analog format
@musmodtos
@musmodtos 3 жыл бұрын
You're right, it's essentially a non-issue as the control-track takes care of the micro-adjustments during playback, video-tape by nature had to be very finely timed for it work. I'm putting up a video myself in the New Year comparing various 'novel' analogue recording methods compared to compact cassette. I have a Panasonic AG-7750 sitting next to me which is about to record a test on to a brand new archival grade S-VHS cassette.
@ET3Roberts
@ET3Roberts 3 жыл бұрын
@@musmodtos I always have to turn my amp down about a 1/3 from the DVD audio level when watching a VHS tape. The THX sound on a VHS tapes still gets me fired up.
@KenjiUmino
@KenjiUmino 3 жыл бұрын
@@ET3Roberts i assume you have to turn your amp down because most VHS movie's audio tracks are a bit more compressed (and thus "louder") than their DVD counterparts - this did bleed over to VHS at some point shortly before VHS became obsolete. i guess at that time they just didn't bother to apply another mixing pass for the different media releases at least that is what i observed. while we had the loudness war in the music world and everything got compressed and loudened way too much, the exact opposite happened in home video. since the late 90's or so, the difference between soft and loud parts in movies is almost too much for casual movie watching at home IMO. i always have to engage DRC on my surround reciever when i want to watch a movie at night (or during the day even) because i usually wanna be able to understand what people are saying so i turn that thing up to where "normal talking" in movies is equally loud to "normal talking" in real life ... and then the talking is over and the next scene involves explosions and collapsing buildings ... and suddenly my sound system in the living room (including a 15" sub) rattles the plates in the kitchen.
@lauratiso
@lauratiso 3 жыл бұрын
There's no wow and flutter at all, since NICAM is a digital audio encoding :)
@musmodtos
@musmodtos 3 жыл бұрын
@@lauratiso Very true but NICAM was a transmission format, it wasn't used for recording on tapes, that was always done at FM Stereo in the case of VHS Hifi. NICAM wasn't encoded on to the tape.
@smartrain1
@smartrain1 2 жыл бұрын
What you did not mention was that VHS HiFi started the whole home cinema craze. Prerecorded cassettes came out with HiFi tracks so films had superb audio. Dolby noticed this and as many releases on VHS had the surround info embedded in the two HiFi tracks, they brought out a 'Dolby surround' chip, later followed by a Dolby prologic' one, for amp manufacturers to incorporate into units, creating the first AV amps. I was a teenager at the time and took advantage of this development, and boy, was it fun!
@cubdukat
@cubdukat Ай бұрын
Actually, Beta Hi-Fi had that distinction. If i remember right, VHS Hi-Fi came about six months to a year after Beta Hi-fi's debut. VHS HiFi did put that kind of audio quality into a lot more peoples' hands than Beta did, just by way of VHS' domination of the market, and between those two formats and Laserdisc, audio manufacturers decided that maybe they'd better take advantage of that. Interestingly enough, the foundation of Dolby surround had actually been around for ages; about the only thing Dolby really added to it was the Dolby part, the noise reduction. The technology was based on the old matrixed quad formats like SQ and QS (I believe it was QS, so they wouldn't have to pay royalties to CBS for SQ), so in a pinch, anyone who had an old quad receiver that could do SQ or QS could have surround sound too. I had an old Hitachi quad receiver that I used for just that. Paid virtually nothing for it because the owner just wanted to be rid of it; they all but gave it to me. Their mistake, my gain :)
@lizichell2
@lizichell2 3 жыл бұрын
Watch ebay prices skyrocket due to the techmoan effect
@stevesstuff1450
@stevesstuff1450 3 жыл бұрын
They have been for a while now.... the prices shown here were from unfinished Ebay auctions; these decks go for a fair bit more, and have done for some time - between £50 - £100 quite often! Good value for a HiFi recorder, but still expensive for 'just' a VHS deck!!
@MatrixAlphaCWX
@MatrixAlphaCWX 3 жыл бұрын
They are climbing. I grabbed 3 yesterday on ebay before they went over 20$ Haha. Mine are all Sony Combo Dvd/VHS Recorders.
@MrSlipstreem
@MrSlipstreem 3 күн бұрын
I doubt it. Those of us who were there at the time know just how badly implemented this was on many video recorders. It could often be beaten by a reasonably high end cassette deck.
@TheStuffMade
@TheStuffMade 3 жыл бұрын
Brings back memories, used to have a couple of VHS HIFI tapes with music for parties, I think it was up to 8 hours in LP mode and it was still pretty good quality.
@alicesaber8339
@alicesaber8339 4 ай бұрын
DVHS in LS3 MODE can record 24hours of DVD quality
@TigerBoyRS
@TigerBoyRS 2 жыл бұрын
VHS Hi-Fi is the ultimate analog audio format, accessible to all. No calibration needed, no bias adjustments, no noise reduction debates, no azimuth blues and absolutely no wow&flutter... Just high quality analog 20-20KHz bliss, and that's Hi-Fi! For vinyl recordings archive, home studio rehearsals, long play streaming selectas, or even as mixtapes masters. VHS-Hi-Fi is so good and soooo cheap today... Really sounds astonishing, great dinamics (>90db). An experience that any real tape head must enjoy. Cheers 🇵🇹
@hafibeat834
@hafibeat834 Жыл бұрын
Sorry, the "ultimate" analog format would be Open Reel Tape with 15 ips. No professional used this format outside the video-world for a very good reason: The modulation that converts the audio-signal to HF - pls. see my comment above...
@chrisharding5447
@chrisharding5447 Жыл бұрын
Beware of long term corrosion degradation due to moisture, though...
@sc0or
@sc0or 11 ай бұрын
90dB is a myth. People shared real measurements. For 0dB input signal, THD is at about -70dB level. for -20dB input signal, THD stays at the same level. This is unavoidable due to a decoder IC (which is not high-end in any vhs recorder). They don't call it "noise", but in fact this isn't a sound either. Of course it's far from MC/R2R tape THD, but those highly integrated ICs can have additional side effects (like dynamics, tonal integrity, etc)
@LapisandHamtarolover
@LapisandHamtarolover 2 ай бұрын
​@@chrisharding5447and heat.
@MrSlipstreem
@MrSlipstreem 3 күн бұрын
Calibration most definitely was needed if accurate playback was to be guaranteed on anyone else's machine, but it wasn't available. The overall frequency response also varied wildly between different machine implementations, so there was no guarantee of anything even remotely approaching a flat frequency response from 20Hz to 20kHz.
@ejunkempire2459
@ejunkempire2459 3 жыл бұрын
I’ve used VHS for audio since the 90’s and just now it’s starting to come up on the internet.
@sgtcreasegrease
@sgtcreasegrease 2 жыл бұрын
I'm here because I saw an interview with DJ Stretch Armstrong talking about how he would use hifi vhs to record broadcasts of the Stretch and Bobbito radio show on wkcr. Used to mess around with it a bit in the 00s. Recorded my cassettes onto vhs to free up cassettes. Now as a producer I'm interested in doing it as a mastering technique.
@RayleighCriterion
@RayleighCriterion 2 жыл бұрын
I used my Mitsubishi Hi-Fi VHS to record the top 102 songs of the year from the radio on a six hour tape with indexing. If I remember correctly the SNR was better than most CD players of the day.
@hafibeat834
@hafibeat834 Жыл бұрын
No, it was far far away from 16 Bit PCM... It was not even better than a good cassette-deck with Dolby.
@danieldaniels7571
@danieldaniels7571 Жыл бұрын
​@@hafibeat834 it was substantially better than any cassette deck
@RyanSchweitzer77
@RyanSchweitzer77 2 жыл бұрын
The first album that the band Primus released in 1989, "Suck on This", was a live album that was recorded on-location (at the Berkeley Square club in Berkeley, CA) to a Tascam Portastudio 388 (8 tracks on 1/4" open-reel tape), and mixed down to 2-channel stereo on--you guessed it--Hi-Fi VHS, with the LP and CD releases mastered from it. The album sounds pretty good overall.
@morbidmanmusic
@morbidmanmusic Жыл бұрын
I had that tascam. It was a huge step down Fromm my 80-8 but still an awesome piece.
@harperoliver2670
@harperoliver2670 Жыл бұрын
Strange, didn’t think I’d find a fellow Primus fan here
@chrisharding5447
@chrisharding5447 Жыл бұрын
That's pretty cool!! Musos who are screaming to get outta the garage can be very clever, utilising the small amount of pooled equipment in ways that can have outstanding results. U hrd oysterhead? Claypool and Stewart Copeland, I don't remember other member, apologies..!!
@MajorMacca
@MajorMacca 2 жыл бұрын
Years ago the only way I could get a recording of the long version of Deep Forest's "While The Earth Sleeps" (with Peter Gabriel) was from the end credits of the film it was made for - Strange Days (Ralph Feinnes and Angela Basset) so I recorded it from the VHS over to my tape deck and was blown away at how clear and good the source was. Was pretty much CD quality to my untrained ears...
@marcelvanhouten
@marcelvanhouten 2 жыл бұрын
For those interested: make sure you get a recorder with RCA in- and outputs (for line in and out), then it's very easy to incorporate in a normal hifi-setup, or to connect to a mixer. And no need to worry about any noise reduction! Looking back to living in Amsterdam in the 90s, I used a SONY SLV-E80 to record nighttime radio shows (mostly ambient house), relistened and indeed: re-recorded on regular compact cassette. The manual stated 80 Db signal-to-noise ratio, which was hard to match on a cassette deck. But... a midclass SONY cassettedeck cost a third of that videorecorder... Now I have recently bought a SONY SLV-E90 (which adds useless editing options, but also a display-upgrade and manual setting of recording levels) and I will indeed use it to record record playing sessions (I'm not saying I DJ :-) ) in a local restaurant. Used to do it with cassettes, but had to keep my eye on those, as the sessions are 6 hours long. On long play I will only need one tape! Prices in The Netherlands for a Hi-Fi unit are 30-50 euros, and upwards for higher spec JVC/Panasonic/Sony. So, in short: I didn't care about the all-talk video, I can totally relate!
@Andersljungberg
@Andersljungberg 11 ай бұрын
VHS-hi FI had a built-in noise reduction system. Which should not be confused with a Salora's VHS that had Dalby but it also didn't have the tone head on the video drum. And didn't sound as good
@Andersljungberg
@Andersljungberg 11 ай бұрын
Bruce Springsteen's first album was well recorded on cassette tape. or any of the first albums. They probably use noise reduction for cassette tapes without noise reduction having too high a noise level. Especially if you are going to use the cassette tape to create a commercial item like a Vinyl record
@mrnmrn1
@mrnmrn1 3 жыл бұрын
VHS HiFi has some dynamic compression issues, but otherwise sounds good. It also can have audible buzz, caused both by crosstalk from the video sync, and from the head switching of the HiFi audio heads. Non of these issues were very audible in this experiment, although the very beginning showed a bit of the dynamic compression issue.
@mitduschzentrale
@mitduschzentrale 3 жыл бұрын
Hifi Head Switching def. was a problem, especially with piano music.
@danieldaniels7571
@danieldaniels7571 3 жыл бұрын
The dynamic range compression is coming from he decks automatic level recording. Decks with manual recording levels and VU meters didn’t do that.
@mrnmrn1
@mrnmrn1 3 жыл бұрын
@@danieldaniels7571 Yes, most of it is caused by the ALC, but I think some kind of limiter is built into the manual level control models as well, to prevent overmodulation. But maybe, if you are very gentle with the rec level, that limiter might not kick in. I should test it, I have three NV-F70s (one genuine Panasonic, and two Blaupunkt rebadged RTV-810s), but all of them are very broken currently.
@danieldaniels7571
@danieldaniels7571 3 жыл бұрын
@@mrnmrn1 I’ve never had that problem recording with a deck that has VU meters, but always made a point not to go more than a tiny bit into the red. The noise floor is so low on VHS HiFi that there’s no need to push the levels.
@flyingkillerrobots877
@flyingkillerrobots877 3 жыл бұрын
I used to use Hi-Fi VHS for all my cassette 4 track , two channel master mixdowns from my Fostex X-15 and later a Tascam. Thanks, Tony!
@zeusapollo8688
@zeusapollo8688 3 жыл бұрын
Always thought a four track based on vhs tape would be good. Wider track/faster speed. A moot point in the digital world
@TheChrisheath7
@TheChrisheath7 3 жыл бұрын
That is odd. I used to do exactly the same thing in the early 90s - bounce 4 tks down from Tascam to stereo on the Hifi VHS, then copy back up and add a couple more parts. Then I got a minidisc machine which did the job equally well.
@TheChrisheath7
@TheChrisheath7 3 жыл бұрын
Fantastic frequency response and dynamic range. S/N ratio was like 90dB or something similarly insane.
@flyingkillerrobots877
@flyingkillerrobots877 3 жыл бұрын
@@TheChrisheath7 Yeah - all that went out the window when I got a Zoom digital multitrack with built in CD burner/drum machine/amp mods in 2000. Great little machine - made in Japan. These days, I'm using an iPad through a Focusrite iTrack dock (Focusrite preamps/Line/Midi /etc). for tracking. Much more convenient, lol.
@DZobe-nz7dl
@DZobe-nz7dl 2 жыл бұрын
I know right...you'd think since vhs is much wider in width than cassette they would've made a 4,8 or even 16 track machine. If they can fit 8 tracks on cassette, I own 2, then it should have been easy. Imagine a 16 track portable analog recorder. Also the tape is rarely exposed to air in vhs but cassettes easily get dirty and gunked up. Someone missed the boat so let's build one
@MacedoinaChoirs
@MacedoinaChoirs Жыл бұрын
A lot of us did this back in the day. We would record up to six hours of music on these then let play during at cookout or Church gatherings. All you needed was a VHS HiFi system and you were ready to go. I still have three VHS tapes with 18 hours of Music on them. This was my original "External Drive" for Music storage.
@LatitudeSky
@LatitudeSky 3 жыл бұрын
Back in the old days, I used VHS hifi for copying CD audio. Had audio cassette decks but they couldn't match CD quality. But VHS hifi could come very close. And the VCRs and tapes were cheap, compared to DAT which nobody I knew could afford. It worked resonably well for home use. The main problem was having to play the CD into the VCR in real time. It took hours to record and hours to play it back. Nowadays, the problem is that I don't have a working VCR any more. Last time I moved, nearly all my VHS video and the VHS audio went to the landfill. Sad times.
@gazjones4763
@gazjones4763 3 жыл бұрын
I got my first dat recorder in 1999 for free. My college lecturer said that things been sat there for 8 years and never used. Just fucking take it. No way could i have afforded one otherwise.
@Oldgamingfart
@Oldgamingfart 3 жыл бұрын
Yes, the early Hi-Fi VHS machines even had a Simulcast or 'Radio Record' mode that would let you feed-in stereo audio from a tuner, and then overlay it with the recorded picture (for example, Last Night Of The Proms with audio from Radio 3, or Top Of The Pops with audio from Radio 1). This was in the few years before the dawn of NICAM Digital Stereo, so recordings would usually be in mono. PS: Your NV-F70 probably has a dodgy low value start-up cap in the primary of the power supply (a common fault), or a shorted zener protection diode caused, again, by leaky capacitors drifting in value. Usually quite an easy fix in the right hands..
@crankjazz
@crankjazz 3 жыл бұрын
I used to use VHS tapes to record from the radio too.
@scottpeterson7500
@scottpeterson7500 3 жыл бұрын
Me too😎🍺🍕
@ahah1785
@ahah1785 3 жыл бұрын
My VHs tapes from 1991 play today just as good as they ever did in 1991...
@scottpoerschke8807
@scottpoerschke8807 Жыл бұрын
Still crappy
@DoodiePunk
@DoodiePunk 9 ай бұрын
Having a 240 minute tape using EP mode, we could have 16 hours of continuous play!
@johnmarchington3146
@johnmarchington3146 Жыл бұрын
As I've mentioned elsewhere, I used a Panasonic Hi-Fi VHS machine to record orchestral concerts from FM radio and I thought the sound quality was outstanding.
@kevinh96
@kevinh96 3 жыл бұрын
The reason a HIFI VHS tape still worked in a Ferguson top loader non HIFI VCR was not because FM is analogue, it was because even the last generation of VHS recorders still recorded a mono linear audio track (some did linear stereo too) along the edge of the tape, completely separate to the embedded HIFI audio. That older Ferguson had absolutely no way to read the embedded HIFI audio tracks, it just didn't know they were even there.
@ObiWanBillKenobi
@ObiWanBillKenobi 9 ай бұрын
I remember once in the days of VHS that our families favorite radio station was having all day telethon charity fundraiser, so I recorded a continuous six hours of it by connecting the output of the radio to the sound input of the VCR set to SLP.
@dhpbear2
@dhpbear2 3 жыл бұрын
Back around 1985, I used VHS-HiFi to record my dad's and friends' CDs. I used SLP (6-hour) mode. I played those tapes MANY times with NO degradation!
@artempriadko6974
@artempriadko6974 3 жыл бұрын
I am using HiFi VHS to record rare LPs my friends giving me to listen
@camhyde9701
@camhyde9701 2 жыл бұрын
I experimented with VHS HiFi audio recording back in the day... it does work very well.. although for some strange reason we tended to use open reel / high end cassette decks ... I also have a Sony PCM recorder like yours and its a lot more portable.. it would be interesting to AB between a live recording between a Sony PCM and one of these
@richretrotech9426
@richretrotech9426 3 жыл бұрын
Used to run a mobile disco in the 80’s. We used a service called video pool that produced vhs tapes of all the current music on a monthly basis. Used 2x hifi videos and tv’s. Sound quality through the pa was brilliant.
@S7EVE_P
@S7EVE_P 3 жыл бұрын
I still love VHS. There's nothing quite like a 1980s episode of Inspector Morse on VHS, seeing all the old cars and quiet streets. There's just something about the lack of colour and gloss I like too. Never recorded audio with one but will have to have a go now
@carlfuggiasco7495
@carlfuggiasco7495 3 жыл бұрын
This idea was mentioned in Stereophile 20 years ago. I have over a hundred VHS HIFI tapes that are music only. It is a great medium to record music!
@carlfuggiasco7495
@carlfuggiasco7495 3 жыл бұрын
They actually record when at the fastest speed .....close to that of a hirez RR deck.
@chrisharding5447
@chrisharding5447 Жыл бұрын
Adamo we made that I still have the master VHS still sounds amazing. All recorded live, everything bleeding through everything else, but man, it feels like it's a practice in front of you. Desk recordings at gigs dint always work as the output has bn made for the f.o.h. mix So sometimes the output is all vocals or drums, or no guitar. I have many of them, but when you luck out on a good live mix, it's AWESOME!!!
@tarstarkusz
@tarstarkusz 3 жыл бұрын
The evolution of VHS was pretty amazing. The first one my family owned was a toploader bought around 1981 and the earliest ones even had giant chunk-chunk tuners in them. They weighed like 50 pounds and there were thousands of parts in them. The last ones were so light that pushing in the tape would make them slide across your entertainment center and they were better in every way to the first ones. They went from a thousand 1975 dollars to 49 1998 dollars. I have a mitsubishi from the early 2000s that has auto-biasing and SVHS plus q-svhs that does outstanding high-res video on the cheapest oldest tapes I have. It was only like 150 dollars. The audio quality is outstanding too.
@danieldaniels7571
@danieldaniels7571 3 жыл бұрын
You should check out DVHS. It does digital HD at 1080i
@Xantylon74
@Xantylon74 Жыл бұрын
I did often record music on my HiFi VHS. The were better than most of the casette decks back in the days. Also because of tape size an speed on a VHS mashine. Much less tape hiss, you did not need Dolby. The old mono tracks on VHS were really bad, but the Hifi tracks were a whole other level.
@buppie2000
@buppie2000 3 жыл бұрын
Oh yeah, I did this all the time. The tape speed on a casette is 1 7/8 ips. With the helical scan of the VHS, the tape writing speed was something like 19 FEET per second. The sound was pretty amazing.
@MyDenney
@MyDenney 2 жыл бұрын
I love vhs hi fi audio recording. The sound is superb. It’s unfortunate that VCR’s stopped putting audio controls and VU meters on the units. Without them how do you know your input recorded volume? To low? to high? How do you record without volume controls?
@into.cassette
@into.cassette Жыл бұрын
This was my problem, too. My workaround: record 1 test run with short clips of each track, copy/pasted 9x, in incrementally increasing volume levels. (Loop the loudest part of each track, crop, normalize, copy/paste 9x, set clip volumes ascending from -9dB to -1dB.) This gave me a sample set of 9 versions to choose from, while allowing me to save space on tape. (I only wanted to use one 120-min tape and didn't want to re-record the whole thing 9x, making it more “used” with each recording.) Listening back, I took notes on which was my favorite track, then re-recorded the full length track [at the “best” gain level] back to tape. This way, I was able to limit myself to 1 VHS re-recording on a NOS TDK T-120 from 1980 via Sony SLV-775 HF. If you're interested, the album is called VHS Volume 2 and drops 12/23/2022. I'm @into.cassette. Cheers!
@danieldaniels7571
@danieldaniels7571 Жыл бұрын
A VCR with manual audio recording levels and VU meters is essential to recording good audio tapes. The high-end decks had them until the very end.
@Hugh_Hunt
@Hugh_Hunt 7 ай бұрын
A secondary unit with VU will give you a great reference point (cassette deck will work). The record level is pretty close to 'line' anyway. But yea, set everything up and record a minute or two and have a listen.
@steveg5122
@steveg5122 3 жыл бұрын
VHS tapes have 20hz-20khz of audio range, a Reel to Reel at 7.5 ips is 30hz-24khz on my Akai GX220D. VHS Hi-FI was really really good.
@tedbragg74
@tedbragg74 Жыл бұрын
I recall making 6-8hr music vhs tapes on our Samsung deck. Awesome sound - the vhs format added a lot of warmth to CD sound, and rolled off the harsh highs. Recently discovered that re-encoding audio to 24kbps HE-AAC+v2 sounds identical to vhs hifi
@fungo6631
@fungo6631 11 ай бұрын
You must be either using a great encoder or you're half deaf.
@robstein67
@robstein67 Жыл бұрын
I thought I was the only one who used the hifi "videos" for sound only back in the day.... Nice video and a tri down memory lane !!
@fresita_jugosa
@fresita_jugosa 2 жыл бұрын
There were actual professional studio equipment that recorded in vhs tapes, so it's not as crazy as it may seem
@hafibeat834
@hafibeat834 Жыл бұрын
These professional VHS-Recorders used 16 or even 20 Bit PCM-Decoding. No comparition to "Hifi-VHS".
@fresita_jugosa
@fresita_jugosa Жыл бұрын
@@hafibeat834 it's not that simple. There were several standards used before DAT came and blew everything up. There were fully new formats like those used by AKAI Adam, Tascam and others, based on Hi 8mm tapes with completely different helicoil scanning and encoding that the one used for hometaping, and there were also professional VHS recorders that used the VHS Hifi tracks and encoding of the home camcorders. I can tell because I've personally used them. This "format" war was a craze from the first half of the 90s, very entertaining indeed.
@hafibeat834
@hafibeat834 Жыл бұрын
@@fresita_jugosa Yeah, whatever. I used several (almost all) formats since the late 80ties too. But actually it's that simple: HIFI-Video is not a reliable format compared too open reel for it's HF-Modulation and wanky construction. And with 16Bit PCM - as the Sony open reels, the PCM-Decoders for VCR from Sony, and the DAT-Decks from the mid-eighties, every analog-format became fully obsolete. The format "craze" was long solved in the nineties, as nobody who could affort a (consumer) DAT-Deck used analog two-tracks anymore.
@fresita_jugosa
@fresita_jugosa Жыл бұрын
@@hafibeat834 Yeah, whatever
@AussieTVMusic
@AussieTVMusic 2 жыл бұрын
I used to put all my records on vhs and use it for parties. You'd get 3hrs of music non stop.
@starlight4649
@starlight4649 3 жыл бұрын
I dug up my grandpa's old ep vcr and recorded about 4 hours of my music onto a blank. I didn't expect much, but I was blown away to hear the audio quality of that tape. 240 minutes of hifi sound on a single-sided tape that I didn't need to flip. I just put in the tape, listened to all 4 hours, and it auto rewound and ejected. Pushing that tape in to play once a day might become a bit of a habit of mine
@nsw9154
@nsw9154 3 жыл бұрын
i still have a JVC Hi-Fi VHS that i bought in about 1985 stored up in the spare bedroom with all my old PC and audio gear i might just get it out and give it a try and i still have the remote and i took the Batteries out lol
@praizzzeGod
@praizzzeGod 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks man, I saw your video just hours before I was set to buy a reel to reel recorder and you saved me $250 !!!
@andydelle4509
@andydelle4509 3 жыл бұрын
Yes VHS and Betamax HiFi are analog but it's not the same clean simple process used in say a reel to reel or cassette recorder. Remember these consumer video formats ran at 1ips or less linear tape speed. You can't get HiFi sound via direct analog recording at that tape speed. So they they took the audio signal and modulated it to an FM frequency of around 1mhz. That was then recorded with the rotating video heads which equate to several hundred ips tape speed. But there were two major problems: 1) Because the audio FM had to share spectrum space with the video FM and color information, the deviation was limited. Low deviation with FM means more noise. So they fixed that by companding aka DBX process. The bad result was gain pumping. 2) The tape is only half wrapped around the video head disc. So to maintain constant tape contact they use two heads and switch back and forth between them. This happens 30 times a second (25 time in PAL). The head switch produces a DC offset in the FM carrier which is audible. It's very low but once you hear it, you will always hear it. In video this switch can be hidden between frames. Analog audio has no "frames" and is a linear signal. PCM audio recorded on VHS and Betamax did not have these uses because first, they didn't record video when in PCM mode and digital audio can be stored and written to tape in faster than real time thus getting around the head switch problem. In reality a good high end cassette deck of the mid 1980s would outperform Beta and VHS HiFi. True, the cassette didn't have the dynamic range or frequency response of the Beta/VHS HiFi, but it also did/t have the artifacts which many audiophiles found to be a non starter for Beta/VHS HiFi as a high end audio recorder.
@pancudowny
@pancudowny 3 жыл бұрын
Tip: Use NiMh rechargeable batteries in your remotes, like I do... It saves me money, and is less likely to make a mess if forgotten.
@RyanSchweitzer77
@RyanSchweitzer77 2 жыл бұрын
Right on--I do the same myself for my remote's batteries. NiMh cells are practically leakproof (due to their composition, I'd reckon) and you can give 'em a recharge when dead--no need to keep using up alkaline cells. :)
@jamestdawson
@jamestdawson 3 жыл бұрын
Back in the 90's Panasonic made a 7750 Super VHS editing deck that was around. $5k, $8K in today's dollars. Two types of audio, one hi-fi with 90db of dynamic range and Dolby noise reduction which could be engaged. They sell for around $400 now, are built like tanks and I recall the audio being exceptional. And the had XLR inputs and outputs. Add an inexpensive mixer and some mic's and it would be a nice tool for recording bands live. I don't know where you could find SVHS tapes, though.
@anthonyperkins7556
@anthonyperkins7556 3 жыл бұрын
I always recorded on VHS HiFi Stereo, Opus Radio from the Astra Satellite (beautiful classical music), Radio Luxembourg International via the Astra Satellite (which basically was Radio Luxembourg all day without the night time fade of 1440 kHz and whistling distorted reception of 49.26 metres Shortwave which got right around the world), Sky Radio for its high quality CD music and jingles / ad breaks, Quality Europe FM for the Tesug Satellite Surgery every Saturday afternoon, SWF3 for the English language music, Radio 10 Gold, Eclipse FM, Radio Nova Ireland in mono via Lifestyle on channel 5, Asda FM, Supergold, World Radio Network for the weekly broadcast of Radio Netherlands Media Network programme Thursdays, Radio Sweden Mediascan programme, Radio Vlaandren International for Radioworld, plus TV ident jingles too. I had flawless clear sound recordings because the Astra Satellite receiver I used was a decent quality Nokia Sat 1700 equipped with genuine (not soundalike) Wegener Panda 🐼 1 noise reduction fitted unlike the crappy Amstrads and other brands of satellite receiver with their useless non Panda 🐼 like noise reduction circuitry. Non genuine Panda like noise reduction circuitry fitted to other brands of Astra Satellite receiver often sounded slightly hissy or very hissy indeed. Wegener Panda 🐼 1 noise reduction compressed the analogue mono / multilingual / stereo sound before satellite transmission and the receiver circuitry would expand it restoring dynamic range without the hiss and noise, but if you didn't have genuine Panda 1 noise reduction fitted to your Astra Satellite receiver, you still got a fair amount of hiss and noise on the sound which made for unpleasant listening.
@borderblaster
@borderblaster 2 жыл бұрын
Hi Anthony, wondering if you still have these radio recordings from satellite? I'd be particularly interested in Radio Nova and Luxembourg. Great stations.
@anthonyperkins7556
@anthonyperkins7556 2 жыл бұрын
@@borderblaster Don't have the VHS cassettes anymore
@bekbob
@bekbob 3 жыл бұрын
Back in the late 80s and early 90s, I used my Toshiba VHS hi-fi to record audio. I had my Amiga 500 plugged into the video input and I'd make video titles with Deluxe Paint to go over the audio. This made it easy to find a song in fast visual search mode. My Toshiba hi-fi was from the mid 80s and was a beautiful unit with level controls and LED VU meters. I wish I still had it.
@michaeldibb
@michaeldibb 3 жыл бұрын
One thing to note was I need a TV picture input in order to record the audio from the radio etc. In other words I couldn't just connect the audio to my tuner and expect it to record to VHS HiFi.
@elosocano
@elosocano 2 жыл бұрын
I had a Zenith that was made to record in VHS HiFi without the need for a video input. Excellent audio and used it until the processor went.
@RayleighCriterion
@RayleighCriterion 2 жыл бұрын
My Mitsubishi Hi-Fi VCR didn't care, I would record 6 hours of audio off the radio.
@Evan2
@Evan2 Жыл бұрын
I have a couple JVC VCRs that seem to record and play happily with no video input.
@mbvideoselection
@mbvideoselection Жыл бұрын
I used a Sony SLV-E700 and it didn't need a video signal to record Hi-Fi audio either. The problems came however when in more recent years I went for JVC and Panasonic decks with TBC. Those decks can't cope with audio only signals (even with TBC switched off). So I kept some non-TBC models to play back audio only tapes. The best being the Sony SLV-F900 which has digital everything except TBC and gives the most stable playback of absolutely anything thrown at it, video or audio only.
@kevinstaib715
@kevinstaib715 3 жыл бұрын
I first heard about this from Anadialog, and picked up a deck and tapes. It was so good and got hooked. No hiss and great dynamics, just have to allow time for the hifi signal to kick in. I've tried regular and hifi tapes, and I don't hear any difference. Maybe the hifi tapes are more durable. I use a preamp with volume control to adjust the recording level, as it seems what level I put in is what is recorded. I haven't tried the SP vs LP either because no remote, but have read it doesn't affect it much. I can put multiple albums of an artist on a tape and then listen for hours. And it is easy to move from one system to another. I still love my compact cassettes as the sound and experience is what appeals to me. I basically just love playing with all the different formats of music, from digital to analog to see what you can get out of them. Truly a fun hobby!
@CassetteComeback
@CassetteComeback 3 жыл бұрын
Yeah. If this was expensive, then I don't know if I'd be this enthusiastic, but they're literally giving these things away at the moment and they're brilliant for analogue recording.
@kevinstaib715
@kevinstaib715 3 жыл бұрын
Yeah, I get most of my gear through thrift stores. Don't have the budget otherwise, but its fun to hunt and see what can find. Well at least did before the pandemic. Not so easy right now. But will again when things are better.
@Dummatzen
@Dummatzen Жыл бұрын
In the 90's when I played in a band. We used a Panasonic VHS as a master tape for our live gigs. We played electronic music and as we needed playback for most of the music live we used the VHS and it was brilliant!
@GoldSrc_
@GoldSrc_ 2 жыл бұрын
Tape speed doesn't matter on VHS Hi-Fi, the relative tape-head speed is way higher than any other analog audio recorder could dream of, SP or the slowest EP it's all the same.
@JoshGarsideMeyers
@JoshGarsideMeyers 2 жыл бұрын
Doesn't that only apply to the video head since it is spinning, but not the audio head since it is stationary like any audio tape recorder?
@leandro842
@leandro842 2 жыл бұрын
@@JoshGarsideMeyers no... the stationary head attend to ordinarie audio track. In this case we're talking about Hi-Fi wich uses the video track as well, in other words, helicoidal scan.
@thinlizzysupporter
@thinlizzysupporter 3 жыл бұрын
I used a hi-fi vcr as part of my home recording set-up in the late 80’s/early 90’s alongside Tascam & Yamaha 4 track cassette recorders. Great way of keeping partial mixes available that you could go back to, loss of quality over a couple of generations was far better than could be achieved on cassette tapes. I still have my Aiwa hi-fi vcr just in case the need ever arises !
@anthonyperkins7556
@anthonyperkins7556 3 жыл бұрын
Some radio stations used VHS HiFi recording to record and playback non stop music through the night when there were no programmes scheduled, and the recordings sounded good too.
3 жыл бұрын
In the mid 80s, we had a CD rental shop downtown. I owned a Panasonic NV-70s including full service documents. So, the project was, modifiing the FM sound to meet the highest standards. For this, I switched off the video signal and boosted the FM sound signal slightly. This modification got rid of the noise from the head switching, which is the only disadvantage with VHS HiFi. After this, I copied a large amount of CDs onto E240 tapes in LP. In the end, I had some 100 cassettes full with music. I documented it by hand into a notebook. At this time, I hoped, that there will be a chance one time to convert it to digital media. Well, I had to wait 'til 2003. By that time, batch converting to MP3 was possible via the Messer software, which divided the tracks. So each morning, after work and at bedtime I put in another tape. This took me several months. In the end, it ruined the old panasonic NV-70. So, for the last few tapes, I had to get another VCR. So, in the beginning, I started dumping it to CDs, later DVDs and then portable HDDs. And now, the whole stuff fits onto a SD card inside my smartphone. Minor drawback, still no ID tags since this has to be done manually. Instead, I scanned the pages of the old notebook and saved it next to the mp3s. :))))) Later, I dumped most of my videos to DVD just before the tapes deteriorated. Pew...
@bloqk16
@bloqk16 3 жыл бұрын
I was advised by a video dealer sales rep about using VHS HiFi as an audio format for recording long-form radio music shows, such as song countdown specials; where the recording length could be adjusted from two to six hours in length. When it came to audio quality, the VHS HiFi format didn't have the issues of tape hiss (during playback) that's been the bane with audio cassettes since day-one.
@thomasseb
@thomasseb Жыл бұрын
I did this in the 90’s on my JVC VCR. Even on long play it sounded excellent! I remember thinking why aren’t people doing this?!
@izzzzzzzzzzzie
@izzzzzzzzzzzie Жыл бұрын
I knew a guy who dubbed his cassette tapes onto Hi-Fi tracks to improve the sound.
@audioexpo14
@audioexpo14 3 жыл бұрын
When I was giving up my turntable in the early 90s I transferred a bunch of albums to HIfi VHS. Sounded great.
@richarddavey9547
@richarddavey9547 3 жыл бұрын
The dead Panasonic Will be aged Capacitors, definitely worth repairing. Great video as usual 👍👍
@thisisnev
@thisisnev 3 жыл бұрын
Agreed - having manual level controls will be a boon for master-quality recording.
@mrnmrn1
@mrnmrn1 3 жыл бұрын
Nowadays, unfortunatelly there're much more going wrong with them. Some of them has leaky capacitors all over the boards, not just in the PSU. Pinch rollers are usually shot, either stone hard and/or cracked. Loading motor clutches also breaking in them. The part is still available, but quite PITA to replace in these earlier G mech decks. You have to remove the loading motor, and IIRC it means removing the cam gear assembly as well. If you misalign something there just by one single cog teeth, you are screwed. So yeah, definitely worth the repair, if you or a buddy of you can do it. But if you want a paid reapir on these, that will be expensive, because it's a lot of work. If you will be able to even find someone who will do it at any price.
@SteveHartmanVideos
@SteveHartmanVideos Жыл бұрын
I discovered hi-fi audio back in the day and started to record mixtapes to be played back at home on my fathers vhs hifi… he had high end equipment, and it sounded as good as a cd with no background hiss
@derekporter7658
@derekporter7658 3 жыл бұрын
Now I never knew this actually was a format type!! Every day is a school day!!
@Ashivlogzz
@Ashivlogzz 3 жыл бұрын
A 90s kid would know
@derekporter7658
@derekporter7658 3 жыл бұрын
@@Ashivlogzz Child of the very early 70's. That format passed me by!
@xaverlustig3581
@xaverlustig3581 3 жыл бұрын
@@derekporter7658 What format passed you by, you mean VHS or the fact that you could use it for audio-only?
@derekporter7658
@derekporter7658 3 жыл бұрын
@@xaverlustig3581 I knew vhs existed as a video recording format, but not an audio only format. Hope that explains my post.
@SteveHartmanVideos
@SteveHartmanVideos Жыл бұрын
The reason, I think, that the audio sounds between so similar between LP and SP is because the record head for hi-fi audio is on the helical scan head, which is still moving at the same rate across the tape in a diagonal pattern as the tape moves along. SP was overkill.
@Netm8kr
@Netm8kr 3 жыл бұрын
I've been "quietly" building up my HIFI VHS setup for a little while now. Very few peeps talk about this in my circles. Yet, I'm a HUGE cassette tape,VHS, and MD fan. And this video just gave me inspiration to refocus on this project. Now is the time to actively test it on my end. Thx for the in depth video, and acknowledging that this IS STILL a thing. Peace...Netm8kr
@CHP8469
@CHP8469 3 жыл бұрын
I my self was shocked when i recorded a few vinyl records and Cds on VHS especially when you use the High Grade TDK and Maxell high grade Tapes. I was blown away with the sound detail captured as clean as my source using a Sony HiFi VCR.
@UXXV
@UXXV 3 жыл бұрын
Used to do this to record my DJ mixes then play back from the Hi Fi VHS to cassette for high quality dubs :D
@HyperBiker
@HyperBiker 3 жыл бұрын
I used to record Radio ONE Essential Mix on Saturday nights on to my JVC D-VHS deck (which I still have) and then edit down to cassette (and later to MiniDisc). I thought I was the only person in the world who was doing that. None of my mates understood what I was going on about at the time. I was never sure I was getting the best quality of recording doing it this way but it was the only way to record a two hour Essential Mix without having to stay up until late to pause out the chatting between tunes etc. This has confirmed my suspicions. Thanks.
@hankfanhankfan7815
@hankfanhankfan7815 2 жыл бұрын
I was doing this 20 years ago. Our local radio station had a 4 hour country music oldies show on Saturday morning, so I'd dutifully tape it every week.
@Skarlet_Overdrive
@Skarlet_Overdrive 2 жыл бұрын
That Panasonic deck is probably one of the best Vintage VCRs you could get
@watershed44
@watershed44 3 жыл бұрын
@Cassette Comeback I definitely remember different VHS tape formulations back during the 1980s and early 90s. If you exposed the tape itself you could see the different color shades of dark brown or dark grey, and more or less polished tape surfaces as well. They would even advertise that fact on the labels, sorry it's been so long I can't recall the technical aspects of what those specs were.
@iixorb
@iixorb Жыл бұрын
This video has just reminded me that for a year or so before introducing a MiniDisc recorder into my home studio, I had a transition period where I’d moved away from ‘mastering’ on a Fostex X26, to a stereo video recorder (Nicam?) - which had far superior recording quality over that old 4-track. I’d totally forgotten about that and now I want to find my mid 90s ‘techno’ on those video tapes!! I’d completely forgotten this 😂.
@RustyTonesJr
@RustyTonesJr Жыл бұрын
I had a Stereo Hifi Zenith Camcorder in the 80's. The sound was incredible. Especially live music.
@leostechnikkanal
@leostechnikkanal 3 жыл бұрын
I have that NV-70 VCR too and mine did the same when I plugged it in once. I'm pretty sure that that fault is because of bad electrolytic capacitors in the power supply.
@CassetteComeback
@CassetteComeback 3 жыл бұрын
That seems to be the consensus. It's 30 years old so...
@leostechnikkanal
@leostechnikkanal 3 жыл бұрын
The main problem with this VCR is that there (at least on mine) are very little ventilation holes, which makes the PSU really hot, and thus the capacitors dry out. If you have the skill to repair it, I would do so, but since I dont have the skill, mine is sitting in storage.
@stevengagnon4777
@stevengagnon4777 Жыл бұрын
Yes to sound quality of this format is excellent. I had hoped that a smaller tape format for stereo audio would have been developed based on this technology. It could have been the best format available,
@danieldaniels7571
@danieldaniels7571 Жыл бұрын
DAT used similar technology but recorded digital audio with a rotating head on a much smaller tape.
@indecent0079
@indecent0079 3 жыл бұрын
Great job. Inspired me to pop my tape into my 86 Yamaha hifi VHS deck. Still sounds great. I recorded Cock Sparrer onto a JVC tape from a CD.. now this is fun because I plugged a PS1 into the VCR. So you can use the controller to change the video while recording both AV signal and make cool patterns to accompany the music. Try it it’s fun! Then you can play your artwork at parties for background 🤙🏻
@aspectcarl
@aspectcarl 3 жыл бұрын
Great video 👌 Excellent job, you inspired me to get my Panny NV-HS850 s-vhs machine out and run it up. I bought it originally just for video editing as I had some original Pro svhs videos and I was into amateur video recording. But as it happened dv came along shortly after I bought it so I never used it for editing, in fact I put probably less than half a dozen tapes as we had a Sony slv 474 for every day use. I'm going to have some fun tying in with mini disc, cd and my old reel to reel. New subscriber too 👍
@shaneweightman
@shaneweightman 3 жыл бұрын
I’m living in the past , I have 3 video decks , one built into a small tv , and about 200 tapes that I’ve been watching on and off for 35 yrs, also have a hi fi with audio tapes , and lots of mini discs and 3 mini disc players ,, and of course cd and players , cheers Shane uk 🇬🇧
@zordmaker
@zordmaker 3 жыл бұрын
Not poor at all. HiFi VCR runs loops around any RTR for long play performance hands down. We used HiFi VCR as the mainstay of radio broadcast transfers and logging throughout the '90s.
@writerpatrick
@writerpatrick 3 жыл бұрын
I use to have a teacher who used VHS for music recordings. Although this was at a time when cassettes were common. I also recall at the time people using (landline) phones to transfer music, where someone would play the music over the phone and the other person would tape record it.
@weatherman10
@weatherman10 3 жыл бұрын
I got a Philips VR6870 in 1988 and used it to tape John Peel shows while working the night shift so I could create cassette mixtapes. Followed by a 6 head Grundig GV 540 in the 90s. The British Library archived many years of complete John Peel shows on VHS and will on request digitise these for listening to in the Listening Room.
@Musicradio77Network
@Musicradio77Network 3 жыл бұрын
Cool! I have tons of VHS tapes in collection. I started collecting VHS tapes back in the early 1990’s beginning with the Disney with the “Black Diamond” and “Masterpiece” editions. I have them all and still collectables to this day. I also buy blank VHS tapes to record what was on TV like movies, episodes of a TV show, TV specials including the holiday stuff, vintage cartoons, and so much more. VHS was a much better format than Betamax in which Sony first introduced in 1975, VHS came a year later in Japan in 1976, and in the US by 1977 when both Panasonic and RCA started to come along. This VHS tape itself was a cheap slim cartridge, but in the old days, it was bulky with different reel designs from various brands.
@CassetteComeback
@CassetteComeback 3 жыл бұрын
I have this strange desire now to record a brand new movie on to VHS and create a dummy cover for it...I've got too much time on my hands...
@chrisharding5447
@chrisharding5447 Жыл бұрын
I used to record all our gigs just by lining out to my vhs hi-fi from the desk. Still got them all, some mixes were great, I sometimes lined in a video camera but it was usually just hanging from the desk area..
@Nonjuror
@Nonjuror 3 жыл бұрын
dammit man, now I need to add VHS to my mastering chain. cheers for the flac demo, sold me on it!
@Netm8kr
@Netm8kr 3 жыл бұрын
Yeah fam... Now the secret is "ALIVE" again. Those LoFi tracks will sound GREAT. Trust...
@danielkerryann
@danielkerryann 3 жыл бұрын
I used to make compilations for parties on VHS... even in LP is sounded good and 6 hours worth of tunes! :-)
@sting64az
@sting64az 3 жыл бұрын
Awesome as you say for parties...If people are drinking no one gonna notice a glitch in the music all gonna be booging down...
@danielkerryann
@danielkerryann 3 жыл бұрын
@@sting64az and no one could work out where the music was coming from so couldn’t mess about and change it!!
@sting64az
@sting64az 3 жыл бұрын
@@danielkerryann I think Tony's presentation was good and I haven't seen many others really talk about recording analog music using these relic VHS machines...I myself done recordings way back in the mid 90's when I bought a Stereo VHS machine....Don't ask me now what I paid for it lol...But electronics of this sort was still pricey...I done some awesome recordings with good results..The dynamic range was a tad off but still pleasant music nevertheless...
@Oklawolf
@Oklawolf 3 жыл бұрын
Back in 1992, I took my first real paycheck and bought a JVC HR-S4700U SVHS machine specifically with the idea of recording audio with it. It worked out brilliantly... for two months. After that, it wouldn't record anything onto any tape without dropouts galore. No tech I brought it to could fix it, until I finally gained enough experience myself as a tech to dig into it. Long story short, the Hi-Fi section was out of alignment and I had it working in five minutes. But this was two months before I ended up going to DVD and retiring the machine, which no longer works and I couldn't get it going again this year. Good news, though... I just restored one just like it plus the next model up using parts from my machine. Both of those are flawless thanks to my old one!
@dashtesla
@dashtesla 3 жыл бұрын
You also have the SVHS standard, not sure how much difference the better tape/heads would potentially make to the HiFi audio and if they're basically the same standard audio-wise.
@matthew.datcher
@matthew.datcher 3 жыл бұрын
This takes me back. When I started recording shows in the late 90s, I used an old pair of Panasonic AG series HiFi VCRs. At the time I was told that HiFi VCRs were the poor man's DAT. I quickly upgraded to digital in the mid-2000s. But, I still have all of the original video cassettes. I packed one of the VCRs in with the cassettes just in case I ever needed to recover the data.
@chrisnicol1644
@chrisnicol1644 2 жыл бұрын
Hell... years ago I used VHS tapes as 8-track recording tapes... It's a shame it didn't last...
@tsarbomba1
@tsarbomba1 3 жыл бұрын
Best machine to use is an S-VHS. Much more robust tape... used to do it all the time back in the day.
@steveoszman8746
@steveoszman8746 3 жыл бұрын
Ideas are good and I left a box of VHS tape on the curb yesterday. Live and learn thank you for the lesson.
@hegedusuk
@hegedusuk 3 жыл бұрын
The original low quality audio signal was recorded in a linear format like an audio tape, using a regular head (not a helical head). The first VCRs recorded audio like this, along with a corresponding drop in quality when recording in LP mode due to the decreased tape speed. When “Hifi VHS” was developed, the “hifi VHS” signal was recorded by an extra pair of heads helically in spare space next to the video tracks. All Hifi VHS recorders also recorded the old linear audio signal for compatibility with older players. So when you play a VHS Hifi tape in an old Ferguson top-loader, it’ll play the lower quality linear audio track and just ignore the FM recorded hifi track.
@CassetteComeback
@CassetteComeback 3 жыл бұрын
Cheers
@Halterung01
@Halterung01 3 жыл бұрын
The only thing imperfecting the VHS HiFi standard's quality is the noise that can occur during the procedure of the helically scanning heads switching around (thousands of times per second). Then again this issue is caused by design and until the late 80s it was compensated for in recording. At that point it was truly great! Many high end VCRs allowed disabling the automatic level control and gave you manual level controls like a cassette deck
@barcrocker4802
@barcrocker4802 3 жыл бұрын
Yes indeed, I have had much success using Hi Fi VHS throughout the 90s - my Sony SLV 494 (with VU meters) served me well when I recorded + mixed music for the entire 6 hours of my wedding reception in '99. Had a dozen or more of 6 hour mixes recorded on TDK HiFi VHS cassettes whose audio quality was superb. The non-profit radio station where I volunteered also used 4 HiFi VCRs to log all of their broadcasts as required by the CRTC in Canada. Nice video Tony!
@filipbarski6990
@filipbarski6990 3 жыл бұрын
8:30 old vcr’s can play the audio recorded on a hifi deck because there is a separate mono audio track recorded on the edge of the tape that was supported on newer machines for the sake of backwards compatibility. I think they didn’t go with PCM beceause it wouldn’t be much of an improvement judging by the specs
@Oklawolf
@Oklawolf 3 жыл бұрын
To add to this, some pre-recorded VHS tapes have that linear audio in stereo. Sounds awful in LP, and not too many consumer VCRs have the ability to play back or record linear stereo, but at least it was something for those who couldn't afford the good AFM Hi-Fi decks. My parents had one of those.
@keithwiebe1787
@keithwiebe1787 3 жыл бұрын
The reality is that the HIFI soundtrack could sound good but it suffered from occasional pops and try recording a tympani type sound and you'll hear the upper frequencies pumping noise which was horrendous. Not noticed on recording pop music but with live sound with low frequencies it was not good. PCM was clean all the way.
@danieldaniels7571
@danieldaniels7571 3 жыл бұрын
@@Oklawolf those decks really never caught on
@cablecable2343
@cablecable2343 10 ай бұрын
In the late 80's, for about a full year before I got my first DAT machine, I mixed down my cassette 8-track Tascam songs to VHS-HiFi. The quality was very close to reel to reel- between the DBX noise reduction on the Tascam 8-track cassette and the nearly noiseless VHS-HiFi, noise was never an issue, even before digital multitracks (like the Alesis ADAT) and digital DAT machines. The quality was DEFINITELY warmer, with a pleasant lo-fi quality to the recordings. Listen to "I am a Scientist" by Guided By Voices- they recorded this song in a similar way.
@Charonupthekuiper
@Charonupthekuiper 3 жыл бұрын
My first VHS of any description was a JVC. A beast of a player but was plagued by tracking issues from day 1. Recording several records and CDs on one tape was ideal for general listening because you could leave it to run for hours on end. The specs are impressive, and the format designers knew the original linear sound needed a big improvement to make the most of film soundtracks.
@erwintimmerman6466
@erwintimmerman6466 3 жыл бұрын
One other major advantage of HiFi vhs, is that you can use it as a backup format if you’re also recording digitally. With digital recorders, there can be glitches during recording, or if the power fails and the file wasn’t finalized, the complete recording can be inaccessible. With a 4 hour tape on LP you have 8 hours, so you can just set it up and hit rec the moment you arrive at a venue, and let it run til the end of the evening with time to spare. It will record the rehearsal (always nice for some kind of blooper reel), and you won’t miss the first 2 songs because the engineer forgot to start the recording in time. If the power fails, everything you’ve recorded until then will still be on the tape.
@captkidd
@captkidd 3 жыл бұрын
I used to borrow CDs from the library, and record them to VHS tapes, bespoke labelled and shelved neatly. The sound quality was unbeatable, prior to buying my first CD ReWriter for my PC. I VERY MUCH AGREE that VHS sounds brilliant for stereo audio. 👍
@cubdukat
@cubdukat 3 жыл бұрын
If it weren't for the head chatter problems, I'd still be using VHS Hi-Fi for backing up all my old mix tapes.
@mbvideoselection
@mbvideoselection 3 жыл бұрын
Ironically head chatter is less of a problem on LP recordings (which all my audio only recordings were) and have proved perfectly compatible with other decks, but SP recordings, not as much.
@bundijunei7185
@bundijunei7185 3 жыл бұрын
@@mbvideoselection iii88
@cubdukat
@cubdukat 4 ай бұрын
@@mbvideoselection Unfortunately my deck only had SP and EP (aka SLP).
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