Customer Reviews

JVC HRS5902U 4-Head Hi-Fi VCR, Black

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Okay! I admit I was a bit condescending on my previous comment, but it's only because the review I was critiquing was illogical and the rating unfair. I'll be good this time and try to be less of a smart aleck.

The original review to which I posted a rebuttal was flawed. He bought an excellent, high-end VCR for the wrong reasons. Then he complained when it did not perform better than technologically-possible in his system and gave it a one-star rating. He has now compounded the error in his logic by trying to throw PRICE into the equation. Did I realize that this machine costs 3 times as much as the cost of a standard VCR? Yep, I just purchased an el-cheapo machine for about fifty bucks two weeks ago. But I didn't need the capabilities of this sweet device.

First, a quick technology overview: There are a number of factors that make up how clear and detailed a video image is going to look, but resolution appears to have the most effect so I'll concentrate on that.

The US television standard is called NTSC. NTSC stands for National Television System Committee, or as those of us in the industry call it: Never Twice the Same Color. (NTSC stinks, but this is not the place for that discussion.) Of the 525 NTSC scan lines, only 485 lines are used in the image.

Standard VHS VCRs can record and display only about 220 lines of resolution - less than half what your TV is capable of displaying. Your standard TV broadcast (either off the air or cable) will get up to 330 lines on a good day. A DVD player can output 540 lines.

The S-VHS VCRs can record and playback about 400 lines of resolution, or nearly twice what a standard VHS machine can display. But there is problem: it can only display as much data as was originally recorded. If you're playing back an old VHS recording with 220 lines of resolution, that's all you're going to see. If one records programs off the air ON THIS MACHINE, they will look a bit better when played back on this machine -- as good as your TV broadcast signal happens to be that day (up to 330 lines) -- but still not as good as a DVD.

So why would someone pay the big bucks and buy an S-VHS VCR? Because if you have an S-VHS camcorder, this puppy is going to SHINE. You can record and playback the full 400 lines of resolution - even on a standard NTSC TV set. Also, the S-VHS technology allows for much better tape dubbing. Ever try to copy a standard VHS tape? The result appears to have about 100 lines of resolution and the colors bloom so badly it is unbearable to watch. S-VHS machines do not have this problem. Plus, this particular machine has a flying-erase head, which allows you to make beautiful edits. You can take the six hours of video recorded at your family reunion and produce a one-hour tape of the highlights with seamless edits, then add your own narration with the audio over-dubbing capability of the JVC. After that, you can make near-perfect copies to give to all your family members. You CANNOT do that with a standard el-cheapo VHS VCR. No way! No how!

So... If I owned an S-VHS camcorder, would I be willing to pay 3-times as much for this lovely VCR? You betcha!!!

To give my own analogy, the previous writer said that there is no reason to buy a Porsche Carrera because it rides just as poorly as his Chevy pickup truck down the rut-filled dirt road he lives on yet costs three times as much as the Chevy and isn't as fast as a Lear Jet. Substitute the JVC S-VHS VCR for the Porsche Carrera, a standard VCR for the Chevy pickup truck, an old VHS tape recorded off the air for the rut-filled dirt road, and a DVD player for the Lear Jet and you'll see my point. He's comparing apples-to-oranges-to-pears.

And why, you ask, would I waste my time responding to this these ill-conceived reviews? (It's quite obvious from the feedback so far that most people found my critiques much more "helpful" than his criticisms.) It's because I use the reviews and ratings here quite often to determine which item I am going to purchase. If I can help him (or others who read this) to THINK about what they write (state how well the item really operates, etc.) and then give fair reviews, we all profit and this customer review system becomes more valuable.

Thanks for reading this far.

Ever since I bought my Samsung 50" DLP HDTV a few months ago I've been on a quest to upgrade my DVD player and now my VCR player as well. To be brief, if you have an HDTV, and you intend to still keep using VHS cassettes, then you must have this VCR.
Only recently I learned that an S-VHS (Super VHS) VCR gives you a resolution of 400 lines, as opposed to your standard VCR which gives you 230 lines of resolution. Obviously, for a standard TV you might not notice much difference. But for an HDTV, the difference is amazing! Here's a summary of my experience with this VCR:
Pros:
1) Super Video Quality. I tried recording a TV program on a standard VHS cassette (in fact the cassette is very old, recorded over many, many times). Remember, this VCR allows you to get the S-VHS quality even when recording on a standard VHS cassette - you don't have to buy an expensive S-VHS cassette (although it should give a little better quality). When I played back the recorded program, it was unbelievable! The picture was clearer than what was broadcast on TV - now that's impressive!
2) I mentioned it above, but it really is an additional bonus - the fact that you can record S-VHS quality on a standard VHS cassette. You do have to change the default setup to enable this 'ET' mode (that's what JVC calls it).
3) The '24Hr Jog Dial' - I really like this feature. With this you can setup to record a TV program within the next 24 hours. You don't have to turn on your TV. All you do is set the start time, the end time, and the channel using the jog dial on the VCR. Very neat feature.

Cons:
1) When playing a tape, the display on the VCR will NOT show the counter. In fact, the display NEVER shows a tape counter at all! If you want to see the tape counter, you have use the OSD (On Screen Display) and then you can see the counter on the TV - that's annoying!
2) Auto clock doesn't work with cable - They actually warn you about this when you try to set the Auto clock. When I first got the VCR, I left it in for a few hours before finally giving up. I had to set the time manually. By contrast, my Sony VCR can set the time in less than 5 minutes using its auto clock.
3) No memory backup - if you have any programs scheduled to be recorded, even a 1 second power glitch will make you lose everything! For a VCR this expensive, they could have added a simple battery backup!

On a side note, I thought it important to mention that when playing tapes that are NOT recorded with S-VHS (like my older Disney movies), the output is not at 400 line resolution, it's at 230 lines. But the picture quality is as good as you'd get with any other high quality VCR. In other words, to avail of the S-VHS quality, you must have a tape (movie, etc.) already recorded in S-VHS to get the full benefit.

Side note no. 2 - Also remember that when you record in S-VHS mode on a cassette with this VCR, you may not be able to display it on another VCR that does not support S-VHS. I have that problem with my other Sony VCR - it cannot display S-VHS recordings (looks very fuzzy). But that's a fault of the Sony VCR of course, not this JVC one.

So, in summarizing, there definitely are some annoying facts about this VCR. But you may forgive and forget when you see the picture quality it's capable of producing - near DVD quality! I would recommend buying this VCR - but only if picture quality is absolutely essential.

Many TV newsrooms use super VHS, in their cameras, or for editing & dubbing in the studio... quickly, on the fly.

Flaw, bug, & software free, fool-proof analog video almost as good as DVD, with S-video & multiple inputs & outputs that would make any videophile drool. The more sophisticated a machine becomes, the more sophisticated a user will have to be happy with it. Great pic, great sound, & fantastic for quick editing on the fly... maybe to later be burned on a DVD.

The tuner gets a better pic, than my sony wega's tuner. If you get a bad channel 9, one of you're RF cords may be broken inside, at the end, or it not connected properly. Don't blame JVC. I own this & 3 other JVC s-vhs machines. The tuner is better than any equipment I'm seen... even on channel 9. But really, if you don't have a cable box or satellite, don't buy this machine, it's capable of much more than your system is capable of. If you don't know what a s-video connector is for & why you need it, these machines are too good for what you're capable of. AMF if you don't notice a startling difference in the picture quality compared to ordinary VHS, you're TV or how you got it hooked up isn't good enough.

But these machines also play back ordinary VHS tapes with better quality than ANY other machine. There are pic/filter settings to clean up extra crummy tapes too.

This particular machine I purchased as a back-up & extra. I was expecting it to be the quality of some of their cheapest s-vhs machines. To my surprise the machine works very well & the pic is excellent for s-vhs at this price range.

One minor problem noted. The oscillator that generates the voltage for the fluorecent display generates interference to my Akai DVD burner it's setting on, & my other JCV s-vhs machine I have stacked ontop of it (on top of that I have my Directv TVO box). So with 4 units stacked together some interference came from this machine's fluorecent circuits. I found if I slid it 1" back from the burner, & the other machine ontop of it 1" back, all the interference disappeared. But now they aren't flush with each other. Someday I'll try stacking them differently. Beside them I have a JVC DVD player, Terapin VCD/CD burner, & another JVC s-vhs deck stacked together. Between the 2 stacks is 2 5" LCD monitors (for dubbing/cueing).

Anywho, it's not unusual to have stacked machines interfere with each other. But it's the first time it ever happened with a JVC unit. Some TVs will even interfere with some machines set on top of them. It's not a defect but rather an occasional coincedence that one machine is emitting a certain frequency close to a frequency that another machine is particularly sensitive to. Moving the units a little or the wires behind them usually will clear it up.

Update: I've read S-VHS tapes are harder to come by in another review. These machines use ordinary VHS tapes, you don't need super-vhs tapes for them, but they should be good tapes. My best pix on the come from ordinary t-120 & t-160 memorex tapes I buy in 10-packs real cheap. DVD burners & blank DVDs are getting cheap but the lasers & drives wear out after your 100th to 500th disk. 10 years after your fifth DVD burner has bit the dust your super-vhs machine will still be going strong. I know from experience, I'm a tech, I work on stuff like this all the time. My first 10 year old super-vhs machine is still running like new after extremely heavy use & conditions. It's been banged around overstacked, & used in hot environments that would kill most electronic equipment. It's never been opened or repaired. The newer cheaper s-vhs models only had minor negligible problems, & are still many times better than any ordinary vhs machine.

BTW, I don't work for JVC.

I've learned a few more things since I wrote my last review. The following are corrections to my previous review:
1) Memory backup - Apparently there is some sort of memory backup, even though the manual clearly states there isn't. Quite by accident I unplugged the VCR and then plugged it back in. I was sure I'd have to re-program the timer to record my favorite programs, but I was pleasantly surprised - the VCR remembered all my previous programs! In experimenting further, I disconnected power for almost 5 minutes and the programs still remained in memory afterwards! I didn't test further than that.
2) Auto clock - I figured out why the auto clock won't work for cable. When the unit is without power for a while (I think the manual says 10 minutes), it defaults all the settings. The default settings for the tuner preset is 'air' not 'cable'. That's why they advise cable users to set the clock manually. However, the first thing you should do after a long power failure is to set the tuner to 'cable' and have it scan all channels. You should now be able to power off the VCR and auto clock should work (for me it took about 30 mins though, but it got it eventually!).

So this is good news. If there's a power failure for a short time (say 5 mins), the auto clock should eventually set the clock and your programs set for timer recordings should still be there!

I think the JVC now deserves a 4.5 star rating and so I'm giving this review a 5 (my other was a 4).

This high-end VCR has many advanced features,such as jog and shuttle on the remote, flying erase heads, S-VHS, etc. It produces a fine picture, and has very good tracking with old tapes.
The annoyances, particularly for editing:
(1) Unlike even simple VCR's that I have had in the past, this machine has no tape counter on the VCR's display. The counter is available only on screen, in "Play" mode only at regular speed, and in "Fast Forward" without picture.
(2) The speed controls are different from any other VCR's:
(i) Pushing the Pause button a second time does not put it back into Play, but into Frame Advance.
(ii) The shuttle feature is also nonstandard: it goes from Slow Forward directly to Slow Reverse, rather than through Pause.

The VHS VCR is a dying breed. However, the VCR can record broadcast shows with "copy protection signals" that a DVD recorder cannot, so there will be a place for VCR's in the years ro come. Unfortunately, the only VCRs available at mass retailers like WalMart and Best Buy are low-end models lacking features like VCR Plus. JVC invented the VHS format, so they will likely be the one company to see the format to its end. It's an excellent VCR but it is not without its little niggling annoyances.

Some quirks are annoying, like the recording speed resetting to SP when it is turned off then on again, and the universal remote makes you hold down the function button (TV/Cable box) while you press the button for whatever you want it to do (volume control, mute, etc), otherwise it'll operate the VCR instead. Quite a few times, I've activated the index search on a tape while trying to adjust the TV volume. Also, there is no power outage memory. Still, these are mostly minor issues.

The HR-S5902U is a loaded editing VCR with a number of high-end features like VCR Plus, jog/shuttle control, and flying erase head. It's one of the few high-end VCRs on Amazon that isn't a pro model, and one of the few S-VHS models. Excellent picture quality, even on old VHS tapes. I haven't tried S-VHS yet. The remote, aside from the aforementioned issue, is well designed. You have to press Record and Play together on the remote (or Record and Pause together to put it on recording-standby mode), but you need only hit Record on the VCR itself. I assume this is so that you don't accidentially hit Record on the remote and potentially tape over something important.

A little note on tape availability. You'll be hard pressed to find the S-VHS blank tapes you need to fully take advantage of S-VHS when recording off TV. It has S-VHS ET that allows you to tape at S-VHS resolution ion a VHS Tape. However, this works best with high-grade VHS tapes which are also very hard to come by.

The JVC does perform very well. Unfortunately, it doesn't look and feel that high-end. The entire housing is plastic and the machine is very lightweight, just like all standalone VCR's nowadays. It comes with the same 90 day labor/1 year parts warranty that all those low-end VCRs come with, but so far, no problems involving repairs.

I just had to write this. An earlier review of this VCR gave it one star because the picture wasn't as good as one would get with a DVD.

Well, DUH!!! It doesn't matter what kind of plug is in the back of the machine - composite out, S-Video, or component out - VHS is still VHS. It will never match the resolution of DVDs. And that goes for ALL VCRs. Betas are a bit better than VHS, but even they can't match the resolution of DVDs. There are professional video tape machines that come close, but no consumer video cassette machine has that much resolution. Never has; never will.

Therefore, it is not fair to give this product one star just because you do not understand the technology. This appears to be a fine machine otherwise.

As Bugs Bunny once said, "What a maroon!"

I would have given it 5 stars but there are two things about it that I did not like. I have an older RCA TV and had a fantastic RCA VCR that I used as a tuner for years. The two worked great together as the clock on the VCR displayed time while the TV showed the channel as well as when you shut the VCR off it would stay in the mode it was in last. I could not find an RCA VCR worth a hoot especially in black so I bought this. I could not find a code on the JVC remote that would change its program to operate the TV (none of the codes for RCA or any other brand worked). When you turn it off it goes from the VCR to the TV mode so if you do not turn on the VCR first (if you are using it as a tuner like I am) and hit the VCR/TV button to switch back to VCR mode you get a blast of snow and static from your TV till you switch it. In VCR mode it displays the channel not the time, I have not been able to figure out how to get them to swap. Other than that the set up was easy and automatic even off of broadcast TV. The quality of the playback is great. I have not recorded anything yet. Reading the manual is a plus before using it.

I have been a loyal JVC customer for the past twenty years and have never been disappointed by their products. This versatile VCR is no exception. With its multi head recording and playback ability plus its user friendly remote and operations, the JVC is a welcome addition to my home theater system. For those who are looking for longevity, simplicity and solid quality, I would recommend this component.

JVC has always manufactured the best S-VHS recorders. You get 400 lines of resolution when you record on S-VHS tape in the SP mode. This unit does have S-VHS ET capability but I still prefer to record on S-VHS tapes for best results. This is an exceptional unit. If you record off cable or Satellite TV the playback picture quality looks outstanding. For the price you get a lot of good features. Years ago these were very expensive units. I can't say enough about this S-VHS recorder.