Late '90s? Sony Power Cinema VCR Model SLV-AV100U

[vortalexfan]

Hello everyone, yesterday I picked up a Sony high end VCR from the late 1990s a Power Cinema VCR model SLV-AV100U that I got from a friend who's dad was the original owner of it and he gave it to me as a trade for a 1963 Bogen AP30 Integrated Amplifier that I had gotten going that he was interested in.

it has the original remote and everything (he had to look for the remote because he had the unit in a storage unit and he wasn't sure where the remote was right off the bat.)

The VCR has a built-in 5.1 Surround Sound Receiver, and an AM/FM Stereo Tuner, and various other goodies.

He said that his father paid about $2000 for the unit when it was brand new, and, I would love to know a little more about this unit because I've never seen one of these before.

Did these things ever come with speakers from the factory or did you have to buy the speakers separately?

Thanks for your help.

[Telecolor 3007]

This was intended to be some kind of High-End combine/console?
5.1 ... what a rare V.H.S. V.C.R. machine.
And I guess it's pretty heavy.

[Electronic M]

It most likely was sold with a set of speakers in it's box the same way those DVD player/surround sound amps are/were.

Most VHS movies contain Dolby 5.1 matrixed surround sound in the stereo sound...It worked similarly to SQ Quadraphonic sound records where they matrixed 4 channels into 2 for the record then dematrixed them on playback.

[dishdude]

The manual is still posted on Sony's site. No mention of speakers included.

[vortalexfan]

Originally Posted by dishdude

The manual is still posted on Sony's site. No mention of speakers included.

Hi, yes, I noticed that as well, I saw the manual for this unit over at manual library's website and I saw nothing about speakers being included, but when I looked at the manual online I had already posted this thread.

So it seems you would of just bought some 5.1 Surround sound speakers from wherever you would of bought this VCR from and just used those with this unit.

[old_tv_nut]

I'm confused - don't see any 5.1 channel input. So, was the 5.1 matrix/synthesized from stereo tapes, or were there special tapes that had 5.1 channel sound of some kind?

[Jeffhs]

This VCR is certainly one of a kind, since VCR Plus+ no longer exists. VCR Plus+ was a feature of some VCRs of the 1990s which allowed the user to set a VCR so equipped to record TV programs simply by entering a 3- to 5-digit code (printed in the TV guide section of most newspapers of the time) into the device. I had a Panasonic VCR equipped with VCR Plus+ in the early 1990s; however, unfortunately, a tape jammed in the machine after just a few years, rendering the VCR unusable from that point forward.

The next VCR I bought (a Panasonic 4-head monophonic system) did not have VCR Plus+, as by then the system was no longer in use. However, I still have the remote from my VCR Plus+ VCR. The remote works with my current Panasonic PV-4022 VCR although, of course, the VCR Plus+ button no longer operates.

BTW, I am amazed my present Panasonic VCR still works, although I guess I shouldn't be surprised since I don't use it too much anymore (I bought an LG DVD player several years ago, and now have a large collection of DVDs as well as VHS tapes). I think the other reason my present Panny VCR still works as well as it does is it has few or no drive belts (I think it only has one or, at most, two belts in the entire mechanism). I believe a major failure mode of many if not most older VCRs, aside from worn heads, was worn or broken drive belts, so Panasonic's newer machines probably had fewer failures (at least from worn or broken drive belts) than others.


BTW, I think I may have made a mistake when I said this VCR has VCR Plus+, as I just looked at a picture of the machine and did not see any such feature mentioned on the front panel. However, since this VCR was made in the 1990s, I would be surprised if it did not have VCR Plus, as most Panny (and other) VCRs made in this time frame had that feature. However, as high-end as the VCR being discussed here must have been, it should have had VCR Plus in addition to all the other things it was equipped with (stereo FM radio tuner, et al).


IMO, this must have been the best VCR Panasonic ever made, hands-down. However, If Panny is still in business in the 21st century, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they are making high-end DVD players (not to mention flat-screen televisions) today.

[dishdude]

Originally Posted by old_tv_nut

I'm confused - don't see any 5.1 channel input. So, was the 5.1 matrix/synthesized from stereo tapes, or were there special tapes that had 5.1 channel sound of some kind?

There were VHS tapes that had Dolby Pro Logic encoded in the sound tracks, it was more of a 4.1 since the rears were not separate. This gives a lot more detail.

Like most stuff Dolby, I thought it sucked.

https://hometheaterhifi.com/volume_8...c2-3-2001.html

[old_tv_nut]

Originally Posted by dishdude

There were VHS tapes that had Dolby Pro Logic encoded in the sound tracks, it was more of a 4.1 since the rears were not separate. This gives a lot more detail.

Like most stuff Dolby, I thought it sucked.

https://hometheaterhifi.com/volume_8...c2-3-2001.html

In the 80s, I had a Zenith rear projo that included a similar surround system that depended on encoded two-track material.

A VCR that includes a decoder and speaker outputs seems like a very odd, dead-end product to me.

[dishdude]

Originally Posted by old_tv_nut

In the 80s, I had a Zenith rear projo that included a similar surround system that depended on encoded two-track material.

A VCR that includes a decoder and speaker outputs seems like a very odd, dead-end product to me.

Yeah it's an odd duck especially at the time they launched it. Anyone dropping $2k on this would have wanted separate components and most likely would have been using Laserdisc and DVD that was just being released at the time this was on the market.

[ESigma25]

At least it's not as useless in the modern day as those first D-VHS VCRs that had an entire satellite receiver built in...

[dishdude]

Originally Posted by ESigma25

At least it's not as useless in the modern day as those first D-VHS VCRs that had an entire satellite receiver built in...

Those were amazing! They were the predecessor to the DVR, they recorded the actual Dish Network digital satellite feed so there was no signal loss when you played it back.

[MIPS]

I remember these. They were basically an STR-DE315 component receiver with one of Sony's premium VCR's merged together to save space. Good idea but if one half died it took the other half with it.

[vortalexfan]

Originally Posted by MIPS

I remember these. They were basically an STR-DE315 component receiver with one of Sony's premium VCR's merged together to save space. Good idea but if one half died it took the other half with it.

OK, so a question about this, I'm not sure if I was operating this thing correctly or not, but I was trying to use the AM/FM Tuner portion of this unit to test some Acoustic Research AR-4x speakers that I was electrically restoring, and I couldn't get it to switch out of VCR Mode and into radio mode.

like I said I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong or if maybe the receiver part is dead, but if the receiver part is dead, then how is it that the VCR part still works? Because if what you said is true then the whole unit should be dead if the receiver is dead.

[MIPS]

The controls on my STR-DE515 (which is the premium version of the 315) has cap issues that cause the panel buttons to either stop working or work erratically.