6 Head VCR????

[steppinthrax]

I was at circuit city just the other day and of course they are still selling the VCR/DVD combos. However I saw a DVD/VCR combo that had a 6-head VCR made by RCA...... I don't own any VHS tapes??? But what's the purpose of the other two heads. Is this an improvement over VHS or is it a tricky way of selling a VCR.

 

[jalaram]

IIRC, 6 heads = 4 heads for video and 2 heads for the audio (i.e. stereo).

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: jalaram
IIRC, 6 heads = 4 heads for video and 2 heads for the audio (i.e. stereo).

No, I think that was what the 4-head players had over previous models: stereo sound. So, back to what the extra 2 heads are for...?

 

[Modelworks]

4 heads are for video, fast forward without all the lines a 2 head would give.
2 heads are for hifi - sound.
----------
6 heads


There are two different sets of audio tracks on vhs tapes that are hifi labled.
One set is along the edges of the tape, like a traditional tape cassette.
Second set is in slices like the video on the tape and has greater dynamic range and clarity.

 

[JAG87]

Originally posted by: destrekor

Originally posted by: jalaram
IIRC, 6 heads = 4 heads for video and 2 heads for the audio (i.e. stereo).

No, I think that was what the 4-head players had over previous models: stereo sound. So, back to what the extra 2 heads are for...?

no sir, 4-head had better picture quality then 2-head, and extra video features such as jerk-free slow motion and still images, but it offered no improvement in audio which remained mono. 6-head introduces true stereo sound together with the picture quality improvements and features of 4-head players.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: JAG87

Originally posted by: destrekor

Originally posted by: jalaram
IIRC, 6 heads = 4 heads for video and 2 heads for the audio (i.e. stereo).

No, I think that was what the 4-head players had over previous models: stereo sound. So, back to what the extra 2 heads are for...?

no sir, 4-head had better picture quality then 2-head, and extra video features such as jerk-free slow motion and still images, but it offered no improvement in audio which remained mono. 6-head introduces true stereo sound together with the picture quality improvements and features of 4-head players.

wow.. so how long ago were 6-head VCR's released? We had a 4-head VCR throughout the 90s, I figured it would have had stereo sound at that point in the game.

 

[Modelworks]

Any vcr that was labled as HIFI is probably a 6 head unit.
before that there were stereo sound vcr using just a 2 head video drum, but tape speed effects sound quality and using the tracks on the edges of the tape for sound like in the cassettes limited the quality. Putting the audio in slices , read by the video drum, improved the quality tons.


On a hifi vcr the sound has to sync up with the heads or it will fall back to the linear audio trakcs. Usually a hifi light comes on or an indictaor on the screen switches to hifi.

 

[steppinthrax]

I have a Panasonic Omnivision that says 4 -head and further says Hi-Fi.

I'm just surprised any company is further doing research and investment in improving the VCR.

 

[Rubycon]

Everything you wanted to know about VCR/VTR tech )but were afraid to ask! 😉

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: steppinthrax
I have a Panasonic Omnivision that says 4 -head and further says Hi-Fi.

I'm just surprised any company is further doing research and investment in improving the VCR.

Then its actually a 6 head vcr.
I think companies are just saying look our vcr has 6 heads !
Because people think 6 heads hifi, has to be better than 4 heads hifi.

 

[ultimatebob]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
4 heads are for video, fast forward without all the lines a 2 head would give.
2 heads are for hifi - sound.
----------
6 heads

There are two different sets of audio tracks on vhs tapes that are hifi labled.
One set is along the edges of the tape, like a traditional tape cassette.
Second set is in slices like the video on the tape and has greater dynamic range and clarity.

That doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. There are a lot of 4 Head "HiFi" VCR's out there, and I vaguely remember some 2 head "Stereo" VCR's. If they really had 6 or 4 heads, why didn't they just say that?

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: ultimatebob

Originally posted by: Modelworks
4 heads are for video, fast forward without all the lines a 2 head would give.
2 heads are for hifi - sound.
----------
6 heads

There are two different sets of audio tracks on vhs tapes that are hifi labled.
One set is along the edges of the tape, like a traditional tape cassette.
Second set is in slices like the video on the tape and has greater dynamic range and clarity.

That doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. There are a lot of 4 Head "HiFi" VCR's out there, and I vaguely remember some 2 head "Stereo" VCR's. If they really had 6 or 4 heads, why didn't they just say that?

Because HiFi is better buzz word.
You can do hifi with just 4 heads but it wasn't done much because most people that wanted hifi sound also wanted 4 heads just for video. Any way you do it though, to get hifi sound off a vhs tape you have to use atleast 2 heads on the drum dedicated to nothing but audio.

 

[steppinthrax]

Originally posted by: Modelworks

Originally posted by: steppinthrax
I have a Panasonic Omnivision that says 4 -head and further says Hi-Fi.

I'm just surprised any company is further doing research and investment in improving the VCR.

Then its actually a 6 head vcr.
I think companies are just saying look our vcr has 6 heads !
Because people think 6 heads hifi, has to be better than 4 heads hifi.

This is what I was thinking company's kind of use word play to make uneducated consumers to believe their product is far superior.

 

[Auric]

In the olden days, I recall combos were generally known for being lower quality than independent devices. I wonder if that has possibly changed and whether such modern combos can make use of higher quality outputs for tape? Even S-Video (seperated-video) was limited to "Super VHS" models which never supplanted regular ones.