JVC HR-S9911U S-VHS Hi-Fi Stereo VCR
Very Good Source for VHS to DVD transfer
Forget comments about magnets on this unit. They're too weak to cause harm; they just hold the smoked-plastic front door in place. I'm no big fan of JVC or SVHS. JVC's picture always struck me as lacking a certain eye-catching punch.  But my pricey 1990's Sony died, and after seeing the junky toys mislabeled as VCRs for $200 and less, and after trying other units at $280 to $750 (and returning them to the store), it seems the HR-S9911U is a quality compromise. Amazon's ad doesn't mention the smooth playback you get from aging VHS/SVHS tapes. My collection of commercial VHS movies is known for color bleeding, video noise, ghosting, frame-by-frame chroma flicker, etc.  Using this JVC for VHS to DVD captures has been an eye-opener. This JVC isn't the very best I've seen, but it's darn nice.  The TBC and noise reduction are very good (but I still need my old $250 Panasonic for EP, something JVC never mastered, and you need an external full-frame TBC for a/v synch on captures). For VHS to DVD transfer you really need a clean playback source. It won't happen with the $60 WalMart or $129 BestBuy special. $500 today won't get what it did 10 years ago, but I picked it up at Amazon/J&R for $359. The JVC on-screen status display isn't that great (except for the setup screens, you're stuck mostly with a smaller LED window). JVC gives you cables, but they're measley and don't do the product justice -- I used GE- and RCA-branded wire, plus some Beldens from [...] (avoid using Monster products with your a/v gear. The impedance mismatch, artifacts, and chromatic damage thru Monster products is really annoying). Use JVC's Picture Control on \\"Edit\\", ignore the other settings. If you want clean output for VHS to DVD transfers, JVC has no competition in this price range. The audio ain't bad, either. You can try Panasonic Pro, but they're half-hearted JVCs in disguise. So bite the bullet and try this model, or bite harder and spend $1500 to get more.