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Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason. ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-11/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Mark Tyson Social Links Navigation News Editor Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.
bit_user Playing old VHS tapes might destroy them, if they've been exposed to enough moisture that the suspension holding the magnetic particles "hydrolyzes" (i.e. gets gooey). Not only will it clog up the playback heads of the VCR, but now the tape will be degraded, when you try going back and replaying it. Depending on the level of degradation, such a tape can potentially be restored by experts. IIRC, tapes should ideally be stored at 20% relative humidity and somewhere around 65 degrees. However, if you still have any precious tapes, you should transfer them to a digital format, sooner rather than later. BTW, I'm surprised they were able to source the components for the VHS portion of this device. I wonder if someone discovered a large inventory of them in a warehouse, somewhere. Reply
chaz_music bit_user said: Playing old VHS tapes might destroy them, if they've been exposed to enough moisture that the suspension holding the magnetic particles "hydrolyzes" (i.e. gets gooey). I remember reading about the dangers of open tape system for both video and audio many many years ago. I was researching reel to reel tape systems and read about the problems. I found it interesting that the high frequencies go away first, so don't but old cassette audio / 8 tracks expecting it to sound good with your tweeters. Not sure how that high frequency degradation shows up on video tapes (reduced contrast?). Makes me wonder how they make archival backup tape drives last a long time being exposed to atmosphere and similar degradation processes? Maybe a different tape recipe? Reply
bit_user chaz_music said: I was researching reel to reel tape systems and read about the problems. I found it interesting that the high frequencies go away first … Not sure how that high frequency degradation shows up on video tapes (reduced contrast?). It would look like the image having less horizontal resolution than usual. However, audio and video tapes involve very different frequency ranges, with (according to Wikipedia) the luma information reaching up to 10 MHz. On a reel-to-real system, the signal is baseband, and thus reaches only up to the audible limit. chaz_music said: Makes me wonder how they make archival backup tape drives last a long time being exposed to atmosphere and similar degradation processes? I think typical computer machine room conditions are pretty gentle on tapes. At my previous jobs, where they used tape backup, someone would arrive to collect new tapes for offsite storage, every week. I'm sure they kept tapes in fairly optimal storage conditions. Reply
Sluggotg The screen is tiny. Not something you're going to use with a group. People are too lazy to even put a disk in a Blu Ray player now days. How many people are going to put up with a VHS tape? Don't forget to rewind the tape before you put it away! I started collecting movies in the VHS days. When DVDs first came out, I switched to them. Then to Blu Ray and of course 4k. The picture quality on Blu-Ray and 4k is remarkable. I don't know who the target audience is for this TV/Player. But then again. I do still play old Computer and Video Games. C64 games are crude compared to modern games and I did just get in a few of the new Commodore 64 Ultimates. I love playing Defender/Stargate/Asteroids ect on my original Coin Op Arcaded machine. So maybe there is a large group that really loves VHS tapes still. Like it said in the article. Take a look at RetroTINK upscalers. They have some of the best out there. Then you can watch your VHS tapes on a modern TV. Reply
bit_user Sluggotg said: So maybe there is a large group that really loves VHS tapes still. Maybe some that still have VHS tapes kicking around. More likely, it's aimed at hipster Millennials and Gen Z, who maybe saw VHS tapes on shows like Stranger Things and want to check out what they're like. You know – the same people who caused the recent revival of cassette tapes! Sluggotg said: Like it said in the article. Take a look at RetroTINK upscalers. They have some of the best out there. Then you can watch your VHS tapes on a modern TV. Assuming you have a VHS tape that's in good condition, you should use a VCR with an integrated timebase corrector. Then, connect it using either S-Video or component video (though only some DVD/VHS combo decks ever had component video or HDMI out). VHS suffers from horizontal stability, I think due to degradation of the H-Sync pulses. So, a timebase corrector really helps with aging tapes. VHS encodes luma and chroma separately. So, you don't want to recombine them by using composite-video output, if you can avoid it – particularly on commercial VHS tapes or SVHS tapes. I do fear that good deinterlacers are becoming a lost art. I think the best deinterlacers for VHS or Laserdiscs won't be the ones made for video games, either. For VHS and Laserdisc, you can afford to add a couple frames of latency – and that should significantly improve the resulting quality. It's only once you have a timebase-corrected, noise-reduced, and nicely deinterlaced signal that you should even think about scaling it. Otherwise, it's GIGO (Garbage In -> Garbage Out). Reply
ravewulf bit_user said: BTW, I'm surprised they were able to source the components for the VHS portion of this device. I wonder if someone discovered a large inventory of them in a warehouse, somewhere. According to a reply on one of their posts: "We are completely reverse engineering the VCR ourselves! So it can be produced in 2025" I wonder what sort of quality they'll manage to achieve. It would be good if they could use modern technology to rival some of the best decks, which are aging and in need of repair (like the Panasonic AG-1980 I have that needs recapping and who knows what else). Reply
Shiznizzle In 1999 i can assure you that most people were jumping onto the DVD bandwagon. My first DVD was Saving Private Ryan which had a theatrical release in 98 and to disk the year after. Reply
TerryLaze ravewulf said: It would be good if they could use modern technology to rival some of the best decks, That would be way too expensive for something that is basically not much more than a toy. Reply
bit_user ravewulf said: According to a reply on one of their posts: "We are completely reverse engineering the VCR ourselves! So it can be produced in 2025" Well, if someone builds a better VCR, that sounds like it could be a big win for anyone who still has some VHS tapes lying around. I figured VHS technology pretty much peaked in ~2000 or so, which is when you could buy some consumer VCRs with timebase correctors (TBC) and 3D digital noise filtering. ravewulf said: I wonder what sort of quality they'll manage to achieve. It would be good if they could use modern technology to rival some of the best decks, which are aging and in need of repair (like the Panasonic AG-1980 I have that needs recapping and who knows what else). I have a Panasonic AG-1980! Mine is hardly used, too. Do caps only degrade with use, or is even keeping them in storage bad? I have some old audio equipment that almost definitely has bad caps. I wish I could find a good local repair shop to give it a refresh. I've got to say that its noise filtering wasn't as good as my older JVC deck. The AG-1980 used some kind of IIR that wasn't motion-adaptive. Whatever that JVC machine did, it was not only motion-adaptive but also apparently nonlinear. However, what I grew most obsessed with were Laserdisc players. I came to the format in the early/mid 2000's, at which point it was already becoming a relic. I've read about people trying to build bespoke LD players with newer technologies, though I haven't followed those projects. Reply
ravewulf bit_user said: I have a Panasonic AG-1980! Mine is hardly used, too. Do caps only degrade with use, or is even keeping them in storage bad? I have some old audio equipment that almost definitely has bad caps. I wish I could find a good local repair shop to give it a refresh. I've got to say that its noise filtering wasn't as good as my older JVC deck. The AG-1980 used some kind of IIR that wasn't motion-adaptive. Whatever that JVC machine did, it was not only motion-adaptive but also apparently nonlinear. However, what I grew most obsessed with were Laserdisc players. I came to the format in the early/mid 2000's, at which point it was already becoming a relic. I've read about people trying to build bespoke LD players with newer technologies, though I haven't followed those projects. Nice! Also, yep, caps degrade over time even when not in use. From what I remember (it's been a while), some of the JVCs can give a cleaner signal if you've got tapes that are in good condition, especially commercial tapes, while the AG-1980 is better with worn or problematic tapes. I missed out on Laserdisc but I have a few boxes of TV recordings on VHS – and those tapes were reused who knows how many times. Reply
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/monitors/televisions/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/monitors/televisions/vhs-combo-tvs-debut-with-screen-old-and-new-i-o-and-a-full-videotape-recorder-in-one-binge-watch-like-its-1999-says-retrobox#main
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