Quality VCR
Written: Apr 22 '02 (Updated Nov 07 '02)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Sound: |
 |
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Picture Quality: |
|
|
| Durability: |
|
|
|
Pros: Great recording, pass thru S-Video connection, Cable Box Control, super fast rewind, auto time-set
Cons: None. This is a great VCR.
The Bottom Line: Excellent VCR. Hard to find. Excellent recording quality, useful input/outputs, i.e. S-Video pass-through. Commercial Skip works well.
|
|
|
| kbuck320's Full Review: Mitsubishi HS-U776 VCR |
I searched far and wide for a quality VCR that had some specific in/outputs, did Super VHS and S-ET recording. The HS-U776 fit the bill. It's a new model from Mitsubishi. Indeed, it is a hard VCR to find, as only a handful of places sell this beauty. I eventually found it on sale for $200.
First off, my requirement was for a S-Video connection "pass-thru" connection. Without a VCR, my cable box was connected to my TV via S-Video. Like most TVs, mine has 3 ways to connect, Coax, Component (for DVD players), and one set of S-Video *grouped with* Composite (RCA) plugs. That's the stickler, that you can't use Composite AND S-Video into my TV. (Unless you stick the cords into the front inputs, which is only a short-term solution.)
Cable boxes usually have coax, most have Composite, and some have S-Video. I can either connect the Cable Box to the TV with S-Video, and VCR with Coax (UGH!) or find a VCR that has "S-Video pass through" like the HS-U776.
That was a big selling point. I can hook my cable box to the S-Video IN on the HS-U776, and hook the TV to the S-Video OUT on the 776 and not need to turn on the VCR to watch TV. Perhaps there are other VCRs out there that do this, but I couldn't find any that mentioned it in their specs.
On to the VCR: Setup is easy and is highly configurable. It comes with a cable box control IR dongle, which has no difficulty controlling my Time Warner cable box. This comes in handy when programming to record, in that, when the time comes, the HS-U776 will send a signal to the cable box to change channels to what you wish to record. And, as previously mentioned, the signal can be through the S-Video hookup, making the recording crystal clear.
Also a nice feature, it will auto-set the time via searching for a PBS station sending a time code. If you connect via a cable box, the VCR will search, one by one, through all channels to find the PBS station (if you haven't specified one.) This can be spooky, though, if you have a short power-failure. The VCR will immediately try to set the clock, while you are watching TV, it'll change channels on you every 5 seconds until it hits a PBS station. This can be stopped by cycling the power on the VCR.
(Update: I've had trouble with getting the VCR to set the time using this function. I imagine that my area doesn't have a PBS station that puts out the time code.)
This is my first SuperVHS/S-ET VCR, and I would say the S-ET recording is really sharp. Much clearer than my 9 year old JVC which gave up the ghost a month ago. The "PerfecTape" function basically test records on a newly inserted blank tape to determine its high/medium/low characteristics and adjust recording levels accordingly. It's mildly cool to watch the VCR analyze a new tape. Takes about 10 seconds.
I admit I haven't bought a S-VHS tape to try out the highest recording potential. Truth is, you can't find these special tapes at just any retailer. Additionally, the tapes cost about $5-7 each, where a regular tape is $1-2, depending on its quality. I will eventually archieve some DV recordings on SVHS, knowing that you can't play a SVHS tape on a non-SVHS player. (The same goes for S-ET recording.)
(Update: I've found I don't want to use S-VHS, even though I have a few tapes now. Truth is, if I record something to tape, I will probably want to take that tape to someone else's house some day to watch on their VCR. Since few people have S-VHS, you can't do that. So, I never record using S-VHS.)
RentalXpress is a silly function that rewinds, ejects, and powers down WHEN the VCR detects 30 seconds of blank tape. So, I suppose, if you watch all the credits at the end of a rented movie, and let your VCR keep running 30 seconds, it will save you the incredible effort of hitting "stop, rewind, eject, power off". -- Also, keep in mind, Rewind is super fast on this model.
Commercial Skip is a great feature, and works by hitting the 1 thru 6 button on the remote, each skipping 30 seconds of tape, e.g., hitting 4 will skip 2 minutes ahead. After you hit a number, be sure to hit "FF" again, which will make the fast forwarding go 2x faster! I don't know why they dodn't just have C-Skip go top speed w/o hitting FF.
Buy the HS-U776 if you can find one!
(Update: I wouldn't change my recommendation, after a year of ownership. It's a great VCR. The picture quality is just plain amazing. I record a show every day on the same tape, and even after a month or two and 30 recordings, the picture quality seems perfect, time after time.)
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 200
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
kbuck320
|
|
Reviews written: 15
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.