Digital Video Recorders

Rating : Best Price :$999.99 Availability : N/A

JVC HMDH40000U D-VHS HDTV Digital Video Recorder Specifications

Record high-definition television broadcasts with the JVC HMDH40000U D-VHS digital video recorder. Using special D-VHS tapes with a 50 GB of capacity, you can record up to 3.5 hours of high-quality video and Dolby Digital audio. Features include 5.1-channel Digital Dolby audio, FireWire/iLink connectivity, VCR Plus+ instant timer programming, and playback of D-Theater prerecorded movies.

Thanks to its high read/write speed (28.2 Mbps in HS mode), D-VHS produces up to six times better quality than DVDs. And you’ll get powerful home theater sound with the 5.1-channel Dolby Digital audio output (and support for 2-channel linear PCM output). With the JVC HMDH40000U, you can record any type of broadcast, including HD, SD (standard definition), and analog. You can also play your old VHS and S-VHS tape library, as well as record analog video signal to those older formats.

The JVC HMDH40000U has two FireWire/iLink ports so that you can connect to a digital set-top box. If you have a digital camcorder, you can download video footage to a D-VHS tape (using the MPEG-2 video standard) via the second FireWire/iLink port. The Video Navigation System feature enables you to store title, date, and storage information on up to 2,000 tapes.

Other features include:

• Time Base Corrector removes jitter from fluctuating video signals
• Digital YNR/CNY improves signal-to-noise ratio by 3 dB
• Record up to 24 events, up to 1 year in advance
• MTS stereo reception
• Remote control featuring multibrand compatibility and glow-in-the-dark buttons

Recording modes include:

• HS (28.2 Mbps; 210 minutes max with DF-420 cassette)
• STD (14.1 Mbps; 420 minutes max with DF-420 cassette)
• LS3 (4.7 Mbps; 1,260 minutes max with DF-420 cassette)
• LS5 (2.8 Mbps; 2,100 minutes max with DF-420 cassette)
• SP (210 minutes max with S-VHS or VHS cassette)
• EP (630 minutes max with S-VHS or VHS cassette)

Tech Talk
D-VHS: The D-VHS (or Digital VHS) format offers the highest consumer video resolution for recording and playback. It stores digitally encoded video signals and accompanying multichannel audio from high-definition TV (HDTV) to a tape format. You can record up to 3.5 hours of video at either the 1080i or 720p HDTV formats. For audio, D-VHS encodes Dolby Digital at 576 Kbps (compared to DVD’s 384 Kbps and 448 Kbps data rates), which can mean higher sound fidelity due to less compression.

HDTV formats: There are two common video formats for HDTV. The 1080i format displays video at 1080 vertical by 1920 horizontal pixels and it is interlaced (which means that a video screen scans the odd-numbered video lines first, then the even-numbered lines). The 720p format displays video at 720 vertical by 1280 horizontal pixels and it is progressive (which means that all video lines are filled at the same time).

What’s in the Box
JVC HMDH40000U D-VHS player/recorder, remote (LP21036-013), two AA batteries, S-Video cable, RCA audio cable, coaxial cable, head cleaning cassette, and instruction manual.

JVC HMDH40000U D-VHS HDTV Digital Video Recorder Overviews

JVC is one of the world’s leading developers and manufacturers of sophisticated audio, video and related software products. Building upon a wealth of technologies the company is moving decisively to offer appropriate solutions for the multimedia age. To remain at the forefront of the audiovisual industry in the 21st century, JVC is marshalling its resources to create the ultimate in appealing, cost-competitive products.

[if Who knew you could record HDTV on Super VHS tapes?* JVC performed a minor miracle when they designed this machine. This unit can:

- play all your VHS and S-VHS library
- record upto 4 hours HDTV from a Firewire/I.Link set-top box
- record upto 8 hours standard definition
- record upto 40 hours compressed video (near-DVD quality)
- and when the tape is full, you just switch to another tape! No need to worry about running-out of space on your machine, as is true with DVRs. The capacity is UNLIMITED.

The quality coming out of this machine is truly beautiful... never have I seen such crystal-clear recording from my previous VCRs.

* (To use S-VHS tapes you need to drill a second hole in the cassette; easy procedure. High-quality VHS tapes work too, if you are willing to accept the occasional pixelated image.)
]

Customer Review

Who knew you could record HDTV on Super VHS tapes?* JVC performed a minor miracle when they designed this machine. This unit can:

- play all your VHS and S-VHS library
- record upto 4 hours HDTV from a Firewire/I.Link set-top box
- record upto 8 hours standard definition
- record upto 40 hours compressed video (near-DVD quality)
- and when the tape is full, you just switch to another tape! No need to worry about running-out of space on your machine, as is true with DVRs. The capacity is UNLIMITED.

The quality coming out of this machine is truly beautiful… never have I seen such crystal-clear recording from my previous VCRs.

* (To use S-VHS tapes you need to drill a second hole in the cassette; easy procedure. High-quality VHS tapes work too, if you are willing to accept the occasional pixelated image.)

DO NOT BUY THIS UNIT – Traci Valdez – U.S.A
WARRNING…. Do not buy this unit. I have ahd to send it back to JVC three times and they still won’t send me a new one. The VCR tapes won’t come out when you push eject. JVC service people won’t refund shipping charges even when the unit is broken. I am out over 100.00 in shipping too. Don’t buy anything JVC. BAD SERVICE.

D-VHS An Orphaned Technology – Michael A. Israel – United States
On the one hand, the JVC D-VHS units are actually state of the art. I own two different units and they do a great job. On the other hand, they are pretty much obsolete and you will likely be much happier with an HD DVR.

If your plan is to record OTA HD programming then do realize that your HD tuner must have firewire output. The only way to feed HD signal into this VCR is via firewire. If you want to build up a library of pre-recorded D-Theater titles, forget about it.

Buying one of these now is sort of like buying the latest in 8-track players. JVC, along with the studios, appear to have abandoned the D-Theater format. The quality of the D-Theater tapes is spectacular, better than CD and even higher bitrate that broadcast HD. Unfortunately, the last titles released were “Master & Commander” and “Passion of the Christ”. Those will probably be the last ones ever. Even blank D-VHS tapes are becoming harder to find.

Most of the better D-Theater movies are no longer available. This will leave you shopping at that big auction site. You will find mostly stuff not worth owning. You will also find that some rare titles such a Bourne Identity and Alien are selling for prices that defy any sort of logic. Look at what you can purchase these on DVD for and multiply by 10 or 20 and you will get the idea. You would really have to be insanely obsessed with seeing these pics in HD to purchase them at that price. Of course, with BlueRay or other HD DVD right around the corner, those tapes will soon be worth less than a buck on the same auction site.

Not a good VHS VCR at all – M. Whitney –
I have to disagree with some other reviews I’ve read. I’ve owned this VCR for about a year now and very rarely, if ever, use it. First, there’s the almost impossible task of getting HD content into the thing. Second, as a regular old everyday-use VCR, it sucks. It’s very slow to start playing a tape, it’s tracking is terrible, and it doesn’t even show a picture when you fast forward. My Mitsubishi VCR is far superior for everyday VCR use. Although with TiVo and Netflix, I really don’t use VCRs much anymore! I miss the awsome VCRs they made in the early ’90s…with frame advance, jog shuttles, etc. I thought this would be the best VCR they make these days, and if it is, I think it’s safe to say the days of the VCR are drawing to a close.

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