JVC HM-DH40000U VHS / S-VHS playback VCR
Out of stock |
Similar in VCRs
- VCR Type: VHS / S-VHS playback
- Audio: PCM Digital Audio (DV) / Hi-Fi VHS Stereo
- Overview
-
Reviews
-
Compare Prices
User ReviewRead All Reviews »
High Definition Recording on a Familiar Tape
Pros
Spectacular digital experience. Backward compatible with S-VHS and VHS tapes and standard TV's.
Cons
Requires a separate ATSC tuner to record HDTV broadcasts.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Get one, don't wait for HD-DVD, this machine is a lot of fun.
The VHS format is old, technologically speaking. "In early 1976, less than a year after Beta arrived, the VHS format was launched in Japan."
Here is another quote from "Total Rewind"
"VHS, or Video Home System, was unashamedly aimed at the domestic user. The most obvious difference between VHS and Betamax was the longer running time, two hours as opposed to Betamax's one. At this stage of the story, recording time was the major battleground, since it was the most obvious difference for the normal user."
Today, the need for recording time has been overtaken by the desire for QUALITY. As consumers, we want a machine that delivers quality entertainment and quality craftsmanship. I don't know about you, but as a longtime fan of VHS, I'm sick of seeing VCR's for $30 at Wal-Mart. HDTV as a technology sets a higher standard for quality, since it delivers a stellar performance and can reveal mediocrity with flying colors (or smearing colors).
So JVC arrives on the scene with the HM-DH40000U, a VCR intended to answer the need to archive HDTV programming, and simultaneously allow playback of tapes recorded as early as 1976. When playing back your old SVHS and VHS tapes, this machine digitizes the picture and cleans it up, which means your old tapes look better. A studio copy of Back to the Future on VHS looked amazingly crisp compared to its playback on my older analog only JVC HR-S4500U.
If you are intrigued by this technology, you must realize that this VCR has already been replaced by the HM-DT100, which has an HDMI output and a built in ATSC tuner. This VCR will NOT record HDTV signals without a separate Cable or Satellite tuner with a compatible IEEE (Firewire) output.
As a videophile, and an owner of Laserdisc, RCA CED Videodisc and a DVD Recorder, I can assure you that obtaining an HM-DH40000U for playing back D-Theatre tapes (available on Ebay), recording standard definition Satellite TV with DVD quality, and playing back your old VHS and S-VHS tapes is a worthwhile effort.
In conclusion: D-VHS supports all of the old and all of the new! And watching a D-Theatre prerecorded movie in 1080i High Definition with 5.1 Dolby Digital Sound is amazing! If you don't yet own an HDTV, this VCR delivers stunning 480i resolution and down converts 1080i tapes to 480i to play on a regular TV.
Here is another quote from "Total Rewind"
"VHS, or Video Home System, was unashamedly aimed at the domestic user. The most obvious difference between VHS and Betamax was the longer running time, two hours as opposed to Betamax's one. At this stage of the story, recording time was the major battleground, since it was the most obvious difference for the normal user."
Today, the need for recording time has been overtaken by the desire for QUALITY. As consumers, we want a machine that delivers quality entertainment and quality craftsmanship. I don't know about you, but as a longtime fan of VHS, I'm sick of seeing VCR's for $30 at Wal-Mart. HDTV as a technology sets a higher standard for quality, since it delivers a stellar performance and can reveal mediocrity with flying colors (or smearing colors).
So JVC arrives on the scene with the HM-DH40000U, a VCR intended to answer the need to archive HDTV programming, and simultaneously allow playback of tapes recorded as early as 1976. When playing back your old SVHS and VHS tapes, this machine digitizes the picture and cleans it up, which means your old tapes look better. A studio copy of Back to the Future on VHS looked amazingly crisp compared to its playback on my older analog only JVC HR-S4500U.
If you are intrigued by this technology, you must realize that this VCR has already been replaced by the HM-DT100, which has an HDMI output and a built in ATSC tuner. This VCR will NOT record HDTV signals without a separate Cable or Satellite tuner with a compatible IEEE (Firewire) output.
As a videophile, and an owner of Laserdisc, RCA CED Videodisc and a DVD Recorder, I can assure you that obtaining an HM-DH40000U for playing back D-Theatre tapes (available on Ebay), recording standard definition Satellite TV with DVD quality, and playing back your old VHS and S-VHS tapes is a worthwhile effort.
In conclusion: D-VHS supports all of the old and all of the new! And watching a D-Theatre prerecorded movie in 1080i High Definition with 5.1 Dolby Digital Sound is amazing! If you don't yet own an HDTV, this VCR delivers stunning 480i resolution and down converts 1080i tapes to 480i to play on a regular TV.
