Buyers Guide to Video Recorders (Buyers Guide: Video Recorders)

Member Name: chinieng

Product:	Buyers Guide: Video Recorders
Date:	19/12/01 (1230 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: n/a

Disadvantages: n/a

Explained: Videoplus+ Deluxe, PDC, NICAM, VISS, trickplay, S-VHS, NTSC...

VCRs come with a whole range of features. Here's a breakdown:


-- Format

VHS comes in three varieties. In order of expense they are VHS, S-VHS and D-VHS. VHS is the regular variety for home taping, Super VHS offers superior picture quality as the resolution of the recorded material is higher and it uses a signal that gives better definition. Some require S-VHS tapes and some allow you to make S-VHS recordings on regular (read cheaper) tapes. Some VHS machines offer S-VHS playback. D-VHS is for digital recording (from digital sources) giving extended recording periods and even better picture quality as the signal is RGB rather than composite.


-- Sound

VHS Video recorders are available in mono and NICAM stereo, though the price gap between the two is getting so small that you'd have to be on a very tight budget to plump for the former. A feature rarely used on stereo recorders is the bilingual option. If two languages have been recorded on the tape, you can choose one by playing either the left or right channel. A NICAM recorder will also give you surround sound on your Dolby Prologic Surround TV. You can't get Dolby 5.1 surround on VHS recordings - for this you need DVD. You may find audio outputs a useful feature to have; this allows you to hook up the VCR to the amp in your hi-fi giving you more power and also better stereo separation if your speakers are spaced apart. Audio dubbing lets you record a new soundtrack from an external source over an existing recording.


-- Picture

Trickplay features include slow-motion (great for sports fans), freeze frame (for Basic Instinct moments), and frame advance. If you play a recording that was not made on your machine, the picture may suffer from fuzziness. This is caused by slightly differing tape speeds, and recorders have a tracking control to correct this. With
automatic tracking you don't have to do anything, as this is handled by the recorder. Some recorders have a feature for controlling the sharpness of the picture. On poor recordings, softening the picture can eliminate noise, though at the expense of picture detail. Widescreen support can be found in recorders; your TV will switch into widescreen mode if playing back a widescreen programme. For playback of American or Japanese tapes, your recorder should support NTSC playback.


-- Search and interface

Most recorders now use an OSD (On-Screen Display), instead of the VCR display. This means less buttons on the VCR panel, but the TV must be on and your remote control working to get to most functions. Features to look out for are indexing, sometimes called VISS (VHS Indexing Search System), adskip and tape library. A recorder with an indexing system will mark the tape at the beginning and end of recordings. This makes it easier to locate where a program starts as you can just press a button on the remote to take you to the start of the next program, for example. Adskip will forward through the adverts. Some versions of adskip just forward the tape a little bit. The better ones will take you straight to the end of the commercial break. A tape library system will keep information on your tapes in its memory. Provided you label your tapes correctly, this can make finding programmes in your archive easier. A multi-brand remote can operate your TV as well as your recorder, even if they are different makes.


-- Recording and timer features

VideoPlus+ allows you to make recordings of terrestrial TV channels by simply entering the VideoPlus+ numbers of the programmes that appear in TV listings. VideoPlus+ Deluxe gives you the same but for cable/sky as well. PDC, short for Programme Delivery Control, will automatically adjust your VideoPlus+ timer recordings if the programme is running late. There is information in the broadcast
signal that allows it to do this. In addition to these, the timer settings allow you to manually set the recorder. There is a limit to the number of events that can be set, and the period in which you can set it. For example the recorder might allow for 6 programmes in the next month, or 8 in the next year. I can't envisage setting a video to record a programme starting in a year's time, but there are recorders out there that can do it. OTR, or One-Touch Recording, lets you record immediately by pressing a button on the remote or player. Repeatedly pressing the button changes the amount of time that it will record for. One press will record until the tape runs out, two for 30mins, three for 60mins and so on. Long play (LP) doubles the amount of time that can be recorded on a tape. A recorder may have a favourites facility that stores the programmes that you record frequently so that it will record them daily or weekly. OTPB (One-Touch Play-Back) will take you to the start of the programmes that you last recorded and start playing with just one touch of the OTPB button.


-- Connectivity

To record terrestrial TV from your aerial, an RF (Radio Frequency) input is provided. An RF output is available to connect to the aerial socket in the back of the TV. However, SCART is the preferred method for connecting the recorder to your TV and other equipment such as your set-top box, so make sure it has enough sockets. Front AV input sockets allow you to connect to other equipment that have video and audio outputs such as camcorders without having to mess around with the back of the recorder. As mentioned in the section on sound, stereo audio outputs will allow the video to play sound through your hi-fi's amp and speakers.

Some videos provide STB (Set-Top Box) control. This will allow your recorder to control your compatible cable or Sky box. As an example, if you wanted to record programmes on different cable channels, a recorder wit
h STB-control would change the channels on the digibox to record the correct programmes. Without this feature, you would not be able to record programmes on different cable channels unless you were present to set the channel on the digibox manually.

You may also see NeXTView, TV Link or Q-link as a feature. If your TV and recorder have these features, it allows your TV to share channel information and control each other. It provides labour savers such as the ability to program the video through the TV or to turn the TV on automatically when inserting a video into the recorder.


-- Installation & Warranty

Auto setup is a godsend for technophobes. Turn it on for the first time and it will search, name and order channels automatically.

Most videos come with a year's warranty. The retailer will probably try to sell you an extended warranty, but general consumer advice is against them. See my TV Buyer's Guide for more info.


-- Where to buy

You'll get better value for money on the Net, rather than the High Street. Whilst there are some cheap recorders to be found in the likes of Comet et al, you'll get more features for the same money by shopping at an on-line electronics retailer like Unbeatable.co.uk or EmpireDirect. Don't forget to take into account the cost of delivery. If you're worried about being in during delivery and don't want to pay extra for a timed delivery, get it sent to your work address; recorders are light enough to carry home. One High Street that might compete with the Net is Tottenham Court Road or Oxford Street (try McDonald's Electronics, part of ASK Electronics) in London. ASK have a web site with a poor selection at the time of writing, but a number you can call to check availability before setting out.

http://www.unbeatable.co.uk
http://www.empiredirect.co.uk
http://www.askdirect.co.uk


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-- Opinion written: 19 December, 2001 --

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