Toshiba W403 4-Head Mono VCR
No HiFi Sound in Record or Play Modes
This VCR will not record in HiFi sound or play back tapes recorded in HiFi. Only HiFi VCRs have that capability. This VCR only has linear capability. This VCR will only play and record in monaural sound. The linear track on this unit has no stereo capability. If you are going to be recording in the SP mode and playback the sound just through your TV that is not a big factor. You will not notice the difference of the signal-to-noise ratio between HiFi and linear sound that much. HiFi sound has an excellent signal-to-noise ratio and has a greater dynamic range than linear sound. If you do a lot of recording in the SLP mode the linear signal-to-noise ratio is terrible. You are going to hear a lot of tape hiss. If you play linear sound in the EP mode back through a system you are going to hear increased noise over the recorded sound. On a HiFi VCR the signal-to-noise ratio between LP and SLP speeds in negligible and hardly noticeable to the ear. On all HiFi VCRs the sound is excellent in any speed. That's the bottom line. This unit has four video heads so you will get excellent results in the pause, still and frame advance features. I am not sure if the recording heads are 19 micron on this unit. 19 micron recording heads give you a better picture in the SLP mode. You should check that out for yourself. If sound is not a big factor for you, this is a good unit.