Phil Collins - Seriously Live

[dishdude]

I can see the appreciation for vinyl, but magnetic tape really was a lousy medium for video and audio.

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by dishdude

I can see the appreciation for vinyl, but magnetic tape really was a lousy medium for video and audio.

Reel to reel could be excellent (so could cassette but you had to have a high quality player and a well mastered tape that wasn't abused), better than vinyl if regular playback was desired as it wouldn't wear nearly as much. For the analog era tape was about the best you could get for video... Especially if you wanted to record.

[ChrisW6ATV]

For an entirely analog, moderately-priced consumer format, Super VHS Hi-Fi can be pretty impressive relative to the limits of NTSC itself.

[John Adams]

Originally Posted by ChrisW6ATV

For an entirely analog, moderately-priced consumer format, Super VHS Hi-Fi can be pretty impressive relative to the limits of NTSC itself.

Back in the 80’s, JVC made a prosumer Svhs with TBC. (Time base correction generator). Supposed to be able to edit a tape from one deck to a second with virtually no loss. I remember reading somewhere that a few very low budget UHF stations were using them, versus the much more expensive Sony studio equipment. Seems like it started at $599. I still the one model under it that I paid $499 for.

[ARC Tech-109]

No just an opinion. I suppose the muffled cassette quality audio appeals to some giving it that "warm" tone quality they crave but it all comes down to ones opinion. Some decks may do better than others on the linear tracks but it's not something I'd use for prime broadcast.

[DVtyro]

Since this thread already discusses muffled sound... I have a question, two of them:

* is it possible to have Hi-Fi sound at LP and EP speeds? I don't see any technical restrictions for it, as it is recorded by heads on the drum.
* are there known commercial VHS releases at LP or EP speed with Hi-Fi audio? I have several pre-recorded tapes in LP and EP, but none of them says Hi-Fi.

[ARC Tech-109]

Never seen a commercial release on LP or EP speeds due to incompatibility with some of the oldest decks but they might be out there.
No degrading of the FM HiFi at the lower speeds other than dropouts and tracking errors. I've used 8hr VHS HiFi for extended music runs before mp3s... dark days of Windows 3.11

[Electronic M]

VHS and S-VHS Hi-Fi both work fine at SP and EP speeds they're slightly more prone to noise and dropouts as is the video.

I have a release of Three Amigos that was put out in EP I forget if it was Hi-Fi or not (I'll have to dig it out now).

I've recorded tons of 8 hour and even 9 hour EP VHS and S-VHS Hi-Fi time shifts off of cable over the years.

I remember back around 2007 copying the A-Z weekend of a local FM station... Mostly on audio cassette, but when I needed to sleep I piped my stereo tuner audio and the video on my N64 into my Hi-Fi VCR and popped in an 8-Hour VHS tape. (Also used Reel to Reel for a ~4 hour waking stretch)
Of the 3 the VHS Hi-Fi sounded the best.

[ARC Tech-109]

I used an 8hr tape as a pgm feed while doing an STL move, worked well enough for prime FM bcst.

[Hawkwind]

VHS is for blind people...

https://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/24113...Live-in-Berlin

[Dude111]

Ah man!!

[ARC Tech-109]

Yea that would defiantly beat the VHS HiFI and linear tracks considering both were probably mastered from a Type-C or D2 format feeder depending on when the concert was actually captured.

[KentTeffeteller]

Originally Posted by Dude111

I was listening to my Phil Collins Concert I have on VHS again earlier

Oh my its goregous!! -- The original analogue concert audio is on the linear track and it sounds incredibly beautiful!!!

I cant believe they left the analogue soundtrack there... Probably figured no one would hear it anyway (Most VCRs are HIFI -- Im glad Mine isnt)

The HIFI track is digital trash of the concert which I dont wanna hear.....

Phil Collins has an excellent concert and all his 80s music is in glorious analogue!! (I havent ever heard most of those songs so nice)

For 1990 its amazing they left it there!! (The video is composite analogue so the analogue audio is there already but they could have taken it off and put the digi crap there (They probably figured no one listens to the linear track)

IT SOUNDS SO MUCH BETTER THAN DIGITAL TRASH!!!!!!

VHS HiFi is analog, it is not digital. And is superior to linear audio tracks, especially when there's two channels crammed into the space of one. And some analog is better than others. Not all digital is junk. Not all analog is superior. Depends on a case by case basis.

[redk9258]

Originally Posted by KentTeffeteller

VHS HiFi is analog, it is not digital. And is superior to linear audio tracks, especially when there's two channels crammed into the space of one. And some analog is better than others. Not all digital is junk. Not all analog is superior. Depends on a case by case basis.

100% correct! Digital, done right, sounds pretty transparent. If digital sounds bad, it's bad mastering or a bad recording. I suspect people who swear by analog like the distortion and maybe noise / hiss. These might be so low that you don't realize it's there. I suspect if you took an analog recording and digitized it to red book standards (not brickwalled), then played both back at the same time with matched levels, the person probably would not be able to tell the difference.

[Dude111]

Originally Posted by KentTeffeteller

VHS HiFi is analog, it is not digital..

Yes but it is DIGITALLY SOURCED!!!!! (Like a DIGILOG cassette)

To ME it isnt as nice,I like the warmer analogue sounds on the linear side...... (Thats just me though)