Not reviewing this, but I have run into a problem with recording and play back with the audio with the VCR. Recently, this has started. The last 3-4 weeks. It records fine, the picture. But the audio after recording and playing back on two VCRs (the JVC HR-S3800U and a VCR part of a DVD/VCR player/recorder combo) is noticably lower than before, and is limited to a certain level of volume. Which is not quite satisfactory, and just isn't ideal at all. This wasn't a problem until about a month ago.

Is something set wrong? Is the audio heads/power of the VCR starting to fade? Are the audio plugs (which are plugged in the back) fading?

If I replace it with another VCR, will that fix the problem?

I do use a surround sound system from Sony. But that has never conflicted with recordings in the past.

Picture quality when using S-VHS-ET, value for dollar!

Strange method to set timer, Plug and play irrelevant with DSS, cable mouse should have been in box, Remote is form of torture device for non-techies.

Well...Glad I didn't read the reviews before I bought my JVC. It has been a dependable workhorse for me for the past 18 months. I replaced an RCA D-VHS deck with the 3800 and while the 3800 is certainly NOT D-VHS caliber, it was not nearly as costly either. I believe that the 3800 has been the better value proposition as the RCA (VR-911HF) did not last much past its second year of service. This unit delivers quality recording and playback using S-VHS-ET in EP mode with Sony Premium grade tape, which I use for everyday (I tape about 10 hours of sports programming from Directv each week). Despite what I have read from others in these posts, the ET mode is easy to use, and beats the daylights out using standard VHS under any circumstances. Special events are taped on Fuji AV Master and Maxell Hi-Fi using S-VHS-ET, and results are wonderful. While I have not tried using S-VHS tapes yet, I am confident I will get excellent results based on what I have seen thus far. From reading the posts in this forum combined with my experiences, I believe this deck is best suited for those who have an S-Video connection to and from the deck (satellite, digital cable, etc.). I understand this is a significant issue for those of us who only have one S-video connection into their TV, but that will boost your picture quality and that is how my deck is installed currently. Folks who are using over the air antennas or standard cable will probably not enjoy this deck as the grainiess that was discussed in previous posts was evident when I have had to use rabbit ears (rainstorms!!) and had less than average picture. I DO agree with just about everyone in one area: It feels really cheap. but it is still holding up well. My thoughts are that for $119 you get what you pay for and if you want it to remain stationary, Velcro-rubber feet-other creative solutions would work. Surprisingly, this unit seems to play my older tapes better than the unit which it replaced in standard VHS mode. Seems the video calibration is responsible for that. Whatever the cause it has breathed new life into my old recordings! Finally, the issue of some video tapes performing better than others. MOST VCR's are like that! To my knowledge the only company that directly addresses that issue is Mitsubishi with their Perfectape system. The bottom line: Exactly what I was looki

Similar Products Used:

Sony SLV-2100 Beta, Sony SL-HF 550 Beta Sony 575 VHS Hi-Fi, RCA VR-911HF, Philips VR960 owned personally, extensive experience with Panasonic, JVC, Sony Hitachi, Samsung, Aiwa, and Go Video VCR lines

Excellent Picture in SP. S-Video input/output. Price.

Comes with cable eye coupon(free) ??? This should be included. Remote.

With so little VCR's out there that have S-Video, this was the ticket. Being my Sanyo 31" TV can take S-Video & AV inputs, but not both at the same time, this was what I was in the market for. I switched to S-Video about a mouth ago, and was so surprised at how much clearer my picture became, that I had to upgrade all my non S-Video devices. The only device that wasn't S-Video was my VCR, so I needed one to put at the end of the chain. I use an RCA S-Video switching box that all the devices(DVD, SAT, CAMERA, etc.) go into, and I use the output to go into my VCR which in turns outputs to my TV. Works like a charm. Still can't record DVD, but why would you want to do that any ways.

I think the recordings are excellent when compared to my regular VHS VCR's. The lines are sharp, and the sound was clear. I can see the difference, on my TV whichs supports 600 lines of resolution. Pausing at SP however, dosn't get a nice still screen, might be the tape, might be the tracking? The universal remote requires you to press, and hold to control other devices, but that a minor glitch since every remote I've ever bought is far from being universal in my house. Maybe I can find one I can program with my computer, and upload it to the remote ??? That would be nice.

Similar Products Used:

Sharps, Toshiba, RCA.

Quiet transport mechanism, auto time and channel setup work well when connected to off air antenna.

Cheap build, plastic rear makes it hard to read lettering, very light weight. SVHS and SVHS ET doesn't seem to deliver the picture quality that was expected. No flying eraser head for clean tape starts.

The first 3800U had to be returned because it would not load a tape unless you forced it in. The exchanged unit works fine loading tapes. My main gripe with this SVHS VCR is that the SVHS or SVHS ET feature doesn't seem to produce a picture that is any better than my Sony SLV-900 non-SVHS VCR. I have the 3800U connected via S-Video to my Yamaha receiver which then is connected using S-Video to my Sony 53HS10 RPTV. When viewing off the air broadcasts using SVHS-ET the picture quality doesn't seem as crisp as the Sony doing a side by side comparison. The picture is warmer than the Sony. With a Maxell XRS SVHS there is some minor improvements in picture quality but not that anyone whould really notice. I expected much more from SVHS. SVHS tapes are still expensive compared to good quality VHS and are harder to find locally. The best price I found on the Internet was about $10 for a T160 Maxell SVHS.

I'm not sure if I will keep it but since I could always use two VCRs in my HT configuration I may do so.

The price I paid for this VCR is good compared to what they were a few years ago.

Similar Products Used:

Sony and Panasonic VHS VCRs.

Price, S-VHS-ET

Seems to be quite sensitive to tape quality and/or brand, regardless of mode. (VHS, SVHS, SVHS-ET, SP, EP) Also, to use the "universal" remote on the TV, you have to hold down the "TV" button while pressing the appropriate control, so it's a two-hand operation.

This deck is the first I've used with SVHS-ET. The sharpness seems to be improved over regular VHS. However, the brand of tape makes far more difference in picture quality than on either of my old Panasonic VCR's - and I DON'T mean just when using the SVHS-ET. Standard VHS, especially in EP mode, looks very different on different tapes. Color saturation and depth vary greatly, and in some cases, you can see a very slight "roughness" along the edges when viewed on a 36" direct view TV. (By the way, I only use name brand tape like TDK, Maxell, etc.) This deck seems to like Maxell.

Had one peculiar event; I taped a show in S-VHS-ET format, at EP (six hour speed). Under NO circumstances will this tape play back at normal speed! The machine will play this only at SP (two hour) speed. So the picture always looks like 3X fast forward, but the timbre of the dialog seems to be standard, though with bits missing. Strange. Haven't been able to duplicate this again, but I'm keeping this tape for reference. (My older S-VHS deck doesn't like the SVHS-ET format, and puts a lot of streaking in the picture, but that plays at 3x speed, too!)

Purchased this at Best Buy for $199, but Circuit City had a sale the following week, so Best Buy credited me "110%" of the difference. So it's less than half the price of the Panasonic decks I've used.

Not perfect, but a good deck for the price. I'll see if it lasts as long as my others.

Similar Products Used:

Ancient (c. 1981) Panasonic standard VHS, two more recent (early/mid 90's) models of Panasonic S-VHS HiFi.

Features and unit are above average.

Above

I rate this poorly because of three glaring problems:
First, the remote is poor in layout and egronomics
Second, the recording menu is confusing and cumbersome
Finally, the vaunted SVHS on VHS feature DOES NOT WORK unless you push a special button. Thus advance programming a show in this enhanced mode is useless!

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I would have returned but the price was excellent

Picture Quality, S-VHS, Ability to record in S-VHS mode onto regular VHS tape, plenty of handy features, price

none

This is a really nice unit especially for someone with DSS or Digital Cable. I have recorded all my movies on EP speed with excellent results although not being quite as good as the original, they still have very high resolution with the usual but barely noticeable video noise associated with VCR's. I'm sure this would improve by using the SP speed, but I would rather have more movies and use less tape since a collection can get huge taking up a lot of room in addition to costing 3 times as much.(EP gives 6 hours of record time while SP only gives 2 hours, a problem when taping a long movie. Longer tapes are available e.g. T-160, but are hard to find in SVHS and the cost is such that you might as well get the original store copy or DVD instead).

For a little more money than a standard Hi-Fi VCR ($100-130) and a lot less than a Progressive Scan or D-VHS VCR ($450-750), this is a quality piece that will make a difference you can really see!

Similar Products Used:

Mitsubishi VCR(non-SVHS), Sony BetaMax

Cheap for a SVHS VCR

Picture quality does match SVHS quality claims

I'm returning this VCR for a refund. I find the picture quality on SVHS tape and regular tape (SVHS ET) not very good even though I connected it to my TV with S-Video cables. There is too much video noise in the recordings. Definitely not broadcast quality as some claim for SVHS VCRs. I may try the Panasonic 4820 next.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Panasonic VHS VCRs

true s-vhs quality provide you record in SP and use BASF
specific tapes

since it only works well with $4 BASF tapes. you can forget about using the et mode with usefull results on your old tape collection.

at first people can be disappointed to find that
recordings made from the tuner have alot of video noise. they see s-vhs on the logo and expect a 60% better picture.
but to some degree you get what you pay for. at $150
you get a stripped s-vhs.
vhs was developed 25yrs ago in 1976 and alot of compromises are made to this format for backward compatibility.in order to look sharp a high end svhs relies on sophisticated computer circuity to improve the picture in playback mode.
the circuits needed are 3d-yc, digipure r3, computer noise reduction for extra 3db video s/n and tbc (time base corrector). the 3800 has none of these.
the only way i have been able to get a decent svhs picture out of this model is to use BASF T-200 video take in "SP" mode with the front panel set to shv-et and the picture control set to AUTO. it's werid but not even $15 fuji s-vhs specific tape look as good. i suspect the basf anomoly is due the superior low noise of chrome formulation in combination with the unusally thin tape of a t-200 spool. btw: all other BASF tapes look terrible.
with knowledge of the bast tweak nobody should consider a regular vhs anymore no matter how poor. jvc should be
recommend basf as perfered tape in their manual. i tried $8 jvc brand svhs tapes and they looked noticeably worse

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hr-s7600u

plays tapes

everything else

S-VHS ET is a scam.

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jvc 7600