A Reader Gets Serious
by Srikanth T. Narayanan <kamraj@sprint.ca>
I tried your suggestion of mixing to Hi-Fi VHS. Here are my results:
Experiment tools:
- 4 head Hi-Fi Stereo VHS VCR
- good quality brand new "hi-fi" VHS tape ($6 canadian)
- 12 year old standard VHS tape with pre-recorded TV programs
- Cr02 compact cassette tape
- CD with classical guitar
Experiment -- Dubbed from the the CD onto 5 different recording modes
- New VHS tape in SP mode
- New VHS tape in SLP mode
- Old VHS tape in SP mode
- Old VHS tape in SLP mode
- Cassette tape
and then compared them with the CD player as my standard
Ratings:
- New VHS tape in SP mode
- New VHS tape in SLP mode
- Old VHS tape in SP mode
- Cassette tape
- Old VHS tape in SLP mode
Descriptions:
1) New VHS in SP mode records at CD quality. Maybe just a bit under.
The signal to noise ratio is almost that of a CD player. Tape noise was
pretty much inaudible with the volume up and my ear right next to the
tweeters.
2) New VHS in SLP mode. Still sounds great but the overall timbre suffers
compared to SP mode.
3) Old VHS w/pre-recorded stuff in SP mode. Sounds pretty good with some
problems at the start and finish, but still very good sound.
4) Cr02 cassette. Sounds good from a distance but is very lacking up
close. The tape hiss is very loud and the sound definition does not approach
the VHS recordings or the CD at all.
5) Old VHS w/pre-recorded stuff in SLP mode. Lots of problems at the
start of the recording as the VCR was erasing old data and writting new
data. A big difference between SP and SLP mode for this tape. The middle
still sounded a bit better than a standard cassette but noticeable worse
than the CD.
note: I did all these formats to be scientific and thorough. I wanted
to hear the differences for myself.
After we press REC, a VCR takes one or two seconds before it starts to
record at its best quality. To be safe with your precious music, after
you press REC and see the numbers moving, give the VCR 3-10 seconds to
record before you actually begin inputting your stuff (whats 10
seconds of VHS tape mean without your music on it?)
After I press STOP on my VCR (Toshiba), about 15 seconds of snow and
white noise is left on the tape regardless of what was previously on it.
I now suggest leaving some space after your music stops before you press
STOP (let the tape roll for 20 or more seconds, there is plenty of room
on a VHS tape). Before your next recording, rewind the tape to at least
5 seconds before the previous STOP and then begin to RECord from there.
Just last night we did a mix-down in a professional studio from Hi-8mm
digital multitrack tapes to a DAT, to a Hi-Fi VCR and to a compact cassette.
We know the story about compact cassettes. It will be a week before I
hear the CD from DAT transfer, but the Hi-Fi VHS recording sounded very
good in comparison to the digital multitrack. Very good. The recording
engineer and I were both quite impressed with the sound quality of a medium
that now begins to sell for $200 Canadian (before tax).
- Use SP mode
- Use the better quality tapes marked "Hi-Fi" or the like
(around $5-$7 Canadian at a store like Wal-Mart)
- At the very beginning of a tape, begin recording right away, but let
the VCR record for at least 20 seconds before you begin playing (just
for safety and for peace of mind)
- Let the VCR record for at least 3 seconds before you begin playing
(I'd say 15, based on previous experience, and I use 30 seconds
between songs myself -- Dragon)
- Let the VCR record for 20 or more seconds after you stop playing (...see?
-- Dragon)
- Rewind the tape to before your previous STOP to begin recording your
next song
- Keep the auto-tracking ON
Results
Pretty much CD/DAT quality recording.
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