RCA VR911HF VHS VCR

I got hold of this item through close-out. It also looks like RCA has dropped D-VHS from their regular line-up as you cannot find this product in RCA's catalog anymore.

Two reasons I got this RCA unit -- first, it is a rare D-VHS format; and second, it's low, low price.

Note this is a very niche product! This RCA D-VHS does not have A->D/D->A converter built into the VCR. As such, you cannot make a "digital" recording of whatever you throw at it. Rather, this is suppose to be paired with digital satellite system with proper digital I/O connection. Without such setup, this D-VHS deck will only work as a regular VHS VCR.

This deck has regular battery of audio/video in/out (no S-video, as this has no S-VHS capability whatsoever) and one which I believe is unlabeled 1394 I/O connector. It comes with cute remote which has illumination function which lights up the keys (it takes 4 AAA batteries, so it better does some tricks).

VR911HF's VHS performance is underwhelming. I can see some time-base error affecting the picture stability. Hi-Fi track is good.

As for D-VHS, this deck only supports standard mode (14Mbps) which gives you 5 hours per T-120 tape. The manual does not say if it supports high-quality or extended-time modes. Since I don't have any pre-recorded samples of such tapes, I'd probably never know.

I also had the chance of opening and do a quick look-over inside of VCR. This is somewhat of a flimsy-made VCR -- which is the norm these days with cut-throat price on VHS VCRs. In fact, one of three screws that holds the top together was stripped probably during manufacturing.

Anyway, this is supposed to be a refurbished unit. And from quick scan reveals a spring that is installed that looks bit out of place. This spring pulls on the "felt" brake on the take-up reel. The spring has been sort of jury-rigged so it's connecting from the middle (as opposed to proper end-to-end connection). Since the spring is connected at the middle, the unused part has to be bent and the extra length going somewhere else -- and that somewhere else happens to be the space where cassette would occupy. I didn't like that look much, so I've clipped the spring to proper length. This VCR also got the mandatory self-cleaning mechanism which I don't like in theory, so I've also taken that out. Overall, the VCR seems to have clean design and construction. (Note! This is just eye-balling the VCR!!)

This particular RCA D-VHS deck isn't for everyone. If you have digital satellite system, then this may be for you. And at cost of $150 it can't be beat. For using it as a regular VHS deck it is bit expensive. But having this made in Japan may justify the cost.

If you're looking for "digital" VCRs that would make digital recordings of regular TV programs, then you'll have to look elsewhere like JVC's D-VHS (about $1000) or several handful DV decks, or even one D8 deck from Sony. This RCA deck is not setup for typical VCR consumers as it has no codec/converter built in. Bottom line? A niche product with very attractive price -- if you happened to have use for it.