The last handheld VHS camcorder: a triumphant bang or a dispirited whimper?

[@iiizeroiii1636]

I can't lie I very do enjoy the footage you showed, it's honestly amazing. would I watch an entire movie shot like that? 100% yes . Great Video man this is channel is awesome!

[@Lfe-l8n]

I use S-Vhs camcorder with Tbc in for digitize some old Vhs-C family movies via S-video to have the better qality as possible. After the capture, i denoise and deinterlace in virtualdub. Resize in 1080p and archive them 👐

[@trinitron384]

the last years of analog tape-based camcorders was such an odd and interesting era. It reminds me a lot of the last years of conventional point-and-shoot film cameras.

[@ConsumerDV]

I wonder whether JVC had planned to retire VHS camcorders beforehand. It would be awesome if they produced a unit loaded with a bright lens, larger sensor, Hi-Fi audio, progressive-scan recording, true widescreen, a beefier TBC, maybe even add a high-speed USB or Firewire port with built-in analog-to-digital converter and a passthrough mode, ending the format with a triumphant bang. They would lose money of course, but it would become a collectible and a middle finger to Sony. Instead they let it go silently, and no big news outlet reported of its departure.

[@trinitron384]

Noticing how Sony treated their camcorders compared to JVC is also interesting to see too. You bring up a good point... JVC genuinely did not seem to care about VHS-C heading to the graveyard, while Sony was still decking out and modernizing their last Hi8 and MiniDV camcorders. The CCD TRV128, being one of the last Hi8 camcorder lineups for Sony still had a modern form factor with USB capabilities, and the DCR HC62 was just about as small as a DVD camcorder with widescreen capabilities. I too wonder why JVC went this route of not caring. @@ConsumerDV

[@ConsumerDV]

I wonder how JVC and Panasonic fought Sony regarding 8-mm video and, later, DV. Initially both JVC and Panasonic supported 8-mm format, Panasonic even produced 8-mm hardware for other brands. The "first in the world" 8-mm camcorder introduced by Kodak in 1984 was made by Panasonic (well, Matsushita). But by the end of the 1980s JVC became increasingly bitter and, as I've heard, threatened its dealers to pull JVC products if they sell 8-mm hardware alongside VHS. JVC, Panasonic and Sony were members of DV consortium. I wonder why a new cassette form-factor was chosen for DV instead of continuing with, say, 8-mm? I've heard that one of the reasons was not to give Sony a lead. DV launched in 1995, Sony ported DV to 8-mm only in 1999. Was there anything in their agreements that prohibited porting DV to VHS hardware? Then again, I suppose it would not work. A 2-hour 8-mm cassette is good for 1 hour of DV video. If this ratio remained for VHS, then a 30-minute cassette would store only 15 minutes of DV, totally unacceptable. But if JVC kept analog recording format and included a rock-solid TBC and an A/D converter, it would be able to produce decent-looking digital footage from SVHS tapes yet still enjoy 30-minute runtime. Regarding further development and the quality of Digital8, I occasionally use a Digital8 camcorder as an A/D converter because it has a very strong TBC - much stronger than a built-in TBC in JVC camcorders.

[@trinitron384]

Interesting, love your input and history on this topic. I feel like VHS was JVC's upper hand against Sony in the long run but while JVC religiously stuck with how VHS was engineered, Sony was innovating tape formats in specific needs cases, like Betacam and DV. JVC introduced S-VHS, and that was about it, disregarding D-VHS (Which would've been a FANTASTIC camcorder format had it not been utilized the way it was marketed!). I think this is what killed any remaining interest in VHS-C as a format in the 2000s, which was seen as a budget camcorder option, and JVC certainly knew. When VHS-C has a max runtime of 60 minutes on SP, how can you compete with 8mm video which has more lines and a max runtime of 2 hours on SP? It was unacceptable... Good thing DV stepped in with a middle ground of a 60-90 minute runtime....lol Interestingly enough, Panasonic seemed to try to compete with Handycams with camcorders like the NV-VZ1 for a short time in the late 90s. @@ConsumerDV

[@ConsumerDV]

I have a NV-RZ17. It looks similar to the NV-VZ1 - same slim format with a smart manual focus control. Here is a video I made with it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pnS0dZR8e8xmh68 Sadly, after I shot it, the camcorder died. It is interesting that 60-min VHS-C cassettes only worked for PAL, for NTSC the longest recording time was 40 minutes, because NTSC VHS tape speed is faster than PAL VHS (E180 = T120). With 8-mm it was different: 120 min for NTSC and only 85 min for PAL. Go figure. I agree that JVC did not manage its VHS asset well enough. The very least JVC could do was to fully switch to SVHS machines in 1987. I appreciate the conversation! Thanks!

[@angelfire2023]

I just got the non-SVHS version of this. Despite it probably not being the best, I still feel it does a pretty decent job at capturing footage. It seems the last VHS camcoder with the last VHS+DVD combo unit for digitizing = a pretty decent combo for EOTL tech.

[@ConsumerDV]

The AXM does not have SVideo output because it is not an SVHS machine, but it does have a TBC, nice! I agree, it does a good job for capturing footage, although on some more challenging tapes the TBC gets confused, see my review of the Panasonic VHS/DVD combo, where I have samples from the SXM37 as well: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpKraGaonad7mM0

[@WaybackRewind]

I have a few of these cameras. I have also seached to find the last one made. So little changes were made that virtually all of them have the same features regardless. Quality holds up better than you would expect to miniDV although it is analog. Thanks for the video.

[@ConsumerDV]

Thanks! I tried to choose shots with shallow DOF, few details and uniform colors to mask VHS deficiencies :)

[@vaderiusa]

Sad that they didn't make a camera with more features to say goodbye to the format that JVC invented, thanks for the video and we look forward to the next one, hopefully in the future I can test a JVC KY-25 camera with VTR BR-S411 or some other model PRO from JVC or the famous Panasonic Supercam, well it seems like a list of indulgences, thanks and good luck!

[@ConsumerDV]

Thanks! This was exactly my thought: to produce the ultimate VHS machine, with Hi-Fi audio, progressive-scan recording, true widescreen, a rock-solid TBC, maybe even with a built-in analog-to-digital converter and a high-speed USB or Firewire port. After all, Sony digitalized its 8-mm format, while JVC did not.

[@vaderiusa]

@@ConsumerDV Totally agree, Sony gave a very decent end to the 8mm format and JVC abandoned it and continued with DV

[@romanticlady8157]

Which camcorder is sample 1 footage from?

[@ConsumerDV]

All samples in this video are shot with the GR-SXM37.

[@romanticlady8157]

@@ConsumerDV Thank you!

[@Bimba1-kb3pj]

Привет. Класное видео, хотел спросить, откуда ты? Я уверен на 100% твой родной язык - русский, слышно по акценту :)

[@ConsumerDV]

Thanks. I don't think it is relevant as long as you understand what I say. Subtitles are also available.