Great picture and sound! Hifi sound. S-video input and outputs.

None found yet.

I have just purchased this unit and will give more detail as time goes by.
Very impressed with clarity of picture using S-video output. Have noticed in previous post some complaints of being noisy and poorly written manual. I have no complaints there. I found manual to be very complete and easy to understand. I also found the drive to be very quiet (almost silent) in all operations.

Good picture quality at svhs as well as making some older well used tapes look better. Massive amount of options and picture control. Time base corrector.Clear pro scan (no bars or lines).Flying erase head?

Hit and miss workmanship. Tape transport mechanism.The svhs et. Flying erase head?

I'll start this out as saying this vcr has a picture that rivals dvd with a standard y/c (svhs) conector with the same color bleed and comparable noise. Although one would be hard pressed to find something to compare the 2 differant formats with. It will also play old tapes better than anything I have seen. The fine tuning you can do with this vcr is massive if not a bit confusing and over done in my opinion, but hey, I'm a tweaker. The clear scan is great as well as having a time base corrector.
My problems with this vcr and others in the same line (ie. the 7000 series,ect.)is it's cheapo tape transport and how it takes in and ejects a tape. Iv'e had problems with previous models in this regard, as far as not taking a tape , not ejecting a tape or ejecting a tape that cocks to one side and ruining the tape. Only suggestion here if you get one that gives you no problem, be VERY carefull how you load a cassette.
My other quibble is the svhs et, which will allow you to tape a regular vhs tape in svhs (I have used nothing but quality tdk tapes and some fujis) the quality is less than if you would just tape in regular vhs. If you have any background in svhs, you know that all you have to do is make a small 3/8" hole in the bottom left hand corner (back side) in the chanell about 3/4" in from the left side to make vhs tape into a svhs tape. I susspect that svhs et is just a bypass on filling that hole. As results are about the same, better color with a lot more noise.
My only other point is one that puzzles me, when taping differant programs at differant times, the flying erase head works if the vcr is still "locked in" to record mode. If you stop and remove the tape and then re-insert for a latter record, COLOR BARS, no seamless in/outs.
With that said I still like this vcr and wuld reccomend it (if you roll the dice and get a good one) as it has a great picture and plenty of tweaking tools......
One last note: The time base corrector works great to stabilize and "lock" pictures while playing back but don't think that it works in record mode. NO WAY, at 400 bucks, NO WAY.....so if your thinking of getting those crystal clear, gen locked copies of your dvd's forget it.

Similar Products Used:

panisonic 4600 series svhs. jvc 7000 series svhs.

Terrific picture quality. This vcr even makes my cable look better when I watch tv through the vcr.

When moving from FF to Play, the picture jumps up and down 1-2 times.

I surveyed a lot of satisfied users of this SVHS vcr before I bought it. Everyone agrees that the picture quality on SVHS tapes at the SP speed is simply wonderful. Tapes have very little noise. When I watch tv through the vcr, the vcr even manages to clean up the noisy cable signal. The audio is also very good.

My two complaints with this unit are: 1) When moving from either FF or Pause to Play, the picture jumps up and down 1-2 times. At first, I thought that this I had a defective unit. The Crutchfield people pulled out a new 9600 and tested it. Lo and behold, it does exactly the same thing. My less-expensive Panasonic moves smoothly from FF or Pause to Play. There is no jitter or jumping of the picture.

2) Commercial Advance is done incorrectly. Instead of being able to see what you are missing as the picture fast-forwards, the screen goes to blue for the duration of the commercial. Not smart.

I tested out the Panasonic 4820 at the same time that I was deciding whether to keep the 9600. I don't know whether I had a bad 4820 but the picture quality on my 53 inch tv was noticibly worse when I watched through the vcr. There was a lot of tuner interference and picture noise. The good news was that the 4820 seamlessly moved from FF to Play.

I finally decided to keep the 9600 strictly because of the picture quality. I figure that I can live with the annoyance caused by the jumping but I don't want to give up the picture quality.

I wish that JVC could figure out how to solve my 2 complaints. Then, this vcr would be perfect. I understand that the 9800, which is the current model, does not have commercial advance and an audio level recording visible on the front panel. I was also told that the 9800 was not quite as good as the 9600, which is why I opted for the 9600.

The remote on the 9600 is not backlit - which is not a problem for me because I use a universal remote. If I planned to use the remote which came with the 9600, it would be a definite drawback.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic SVHS vcrs.

PICTURE!...SOUND!...AWSOME!

POORLY WRITTEN OWNERS MANUAL!

I'm glad to have found this unit, I was going to give up and purchase a HR-S9800U or HR-S9900U. The HR-S9600U has
a "TRUE" JOG-CONTROL on the unit, unlike the 9800/9900 which now have a wierd flimsly 360 spin thingy thats imposible to control.

I LOVE the 9600s MOVIE ADVANCE FEATURE [not on the 9800/9900], which allows you to skip over those stupid movie previews with a touch of a button and end up at the start of the movie!!

I only wish the manual and JVC would have been more informative, I had to figure out on my own that the TV/CH buttons DO MANUAL TRACKING FROM THE REMOTE!

The PICTURE and SOUND that comes out of this unit is sure to please the most critical of movie-goers, "is it live, or it a 9600"!!

I did notice that the 9600 records super clean with the noise reduction set to off, another tip that the manual fails to mention.

I can't praise the 9600 enough for its ablities to perform. If you have the opertunity to buy one, don't hesitate, this is the best it gets for SVHS!

I HIGHLY RECOMEND IT!

Similar Products Used:

HR-S9800U

I've been waiting for this VCR (to come in at The Good Guys) for over 3 months! Where is it? I guess I'm just anxious to get this wonderful machine. I can't wait to buy it! My enthusiasum should be some indication of what promises to be THE BEST VCR EVER MADE! I look foward to using it to make many "movies" (as it has all the advanced editing features needed).
This machine has so many features it's amazing. Much of what make this one the best are all the JVC exclusive's, --DynamicDrum--when fast fowarding or rewinding (at any one of the 10! variable speeds) there are no lines! --ProSlow--DVD quality slow motion! There are many more, but you can find all those at their Web Site.
I will only buy VCRs from JVC, and when you take the plunge and get the HR-S9600 you'll see what I mean. Not only does it have more, usefull features than any "competitor" it also has the very best picture quality I've ever seen from a video tape (VHS or S-VHS). If it is too pricey, but you still want the editing features go for the VHS-only HR-VP770 (MSRP $269.95).
I would give it 10 stars if I could!

Just got this VCR. I decided to get it over the 9500 because of the Jog/Shuttle control is on the front panel and the remote (the 9500 only has it on the remote) It seems that the best picture quality is when you turn off the R3 enhancement and set the picture control control to sharp. The R3 over emphasizes the edges a bit too much and this setting tames it a bit.
The unit seems a bit flimsy but all the newer VCRs are flimsy. The picture quality in S-VHS and ET is excellent for a VCR, near the quality of a LaserDisc player except for color fidelity. On VHS mode, it is the best I've seen but a far cry from ET mode. Audio fidelity seems a bit muted on the high end, losing that "sparkle" from the treble. The remote is easy to use but the manual kind of sucks, too complex and disorganized.

Picture quality on play back of tapes.

Seems to take longer to rewind thhan my JVC 7100.

I purchased the JVC 3500 S-VHS and was disappointed by the amount of video noise. I heard that the 9600's video processing would improve that and decided to take a chance by buying one. I have been very pleased. You can actually see the picture improve during the fi4rst few seconds of hitting play as the unit makes its video corrections. The video noise is MUCH less than with theh 3500 or any other VCR I have had, including the JVC 7100 S-VHS, which is a very good unit.
I use the ET mode on recordings of a less critical nature. It is very good but not quite as good as regular S-VHS using S-VHS tape. There is a slight softness to the pricture in ET mode, at least when using Sony V tapes which I have found work as well or better than other VHS tapes and only cost around $1.25 each.
Overall, I am very pleased with the 9600. I do wish I could have compared it side by side with a 7600 before buying. The 7600 is significantly less expensive. The 7600 has most of the features of the 9600 but has 2 meg of video memory instead of 4 meg. That would seem to affect the amount of video processing it could do.

Similar Products Used:

JVC 7100, JVC 3500

picture quality

no mute button on the remote

With $100 VCR's out there, why would anyone spend $500? With HD and other new video technologies arriving soon, why, I ask you, why?
I can tell you why I did. I was sick of buying cheap stuff, cheap clothes, cheap cars, buying, buying, buying, at Target, at WalMart, at K-Mart. I decided to stop shopping and get things that will last me a lifetime; things that are good; fewer things but good things that make me proud and feel good about myself.
If you do not care about any of that, it's allright with me. But if you do, go and get this VCR. It is that good. And do not forget to feed it s-vhs, $8 tapes. It likes them.

Similar Products Used:

many since '82

picture,ease of use

none

IF YOU USE YOUR VCR LIKE I DO,YOU MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER BUYING THIS ONE.THE PICTURE AND SOUND ARE FIRST RATE.THE REMOTE IS ALSO THE BEST I HAVE HAD.....I DON'T DO ANY EDITING,BUT IF I DID,I'LL BET IT WOULD BE EASY WITH THIS MACHINE.RECORDING IS VERY,VERY GOOD ON STANDARD TAPE.SO GOOD,IN FACT,I HAVE NOT USED ANY S-VHS TAPES YET!
SHOP FOR DISCOUNTS....THEYR'E OUT THERE.I PAID $341...WELL WORTH THE PRICE!!!

Similar Products Used:

JVC,TOSHIBA

Simply excellent picture on any tape thanks to digital TBC
correction

Does not have shuttle edit to show whats actually on the
tape your editing.

I was totaly blown away by the picture this thing produces
even on my old regular VHS tapes made from my old trusty
Sony 676. Almost perfect color saturation, sharp display in
both speeds, much better then the 4600 I traded back in to
get this unit.
The only thing I miss is the shuttle edit like the old Sony
676 has. You pause the tape in record mode and hit the shuttle buttons, what's actually on the tape is played back
on the screen so you can cue up your edit points.
But the quality of recording and play back make up for that
little annoyance. The pause and high speed/slow speed play back are usually perfect also. lots of other neat extras
too. Have not tried any insert editing or like that yet, but it should be fine once I get used to the new controls.
The digital time base correction and 4 meg buffer are worth
the extra bucks, I had the 4600 and hated the noisy pause and picture, traded to this one, happy camper. I should have just got this one in the first place.
It also has adjustable audio level and meters, a feature almost no consumer editing deck has now, very handy.
If you want a first rate display and can afford $500 to $550 this is the one to get.

Similar Products Used:

JVC 4600
Sony slv-676