JVC HR-S3910U Super-VHS VCR
Super Price on Super VHS Technology
This is an excellent VCR to fit into home theater systems...and you can't beat the price...<br />1) It has S-Video out which looks great, and pretty good picture quality even if S-Video is not used.<br />2) Sound quality is great. I upgraded to a Dolby Pro Logic II receiver recently, and VHS tapes that sounded pathetic (essentially mono with the occassion sound effect here and there) on my older VCR and Pro Logic system now have soundtracks that are closer to Dolby 5.1 (though still nowhere near as good).<br />3) You can avoid macrovision and record DVD to VHS. I have component video going from my dvd player to my toshiba widescreen tv, and then S-Video (and stereo audio) going from my DVD-player to the JVC VCR. If i want to make a copy, i just hit play on the DVD, and record on the VCR. If you use SVHS tapes (which arent compatible with regular VCR's, but give substantially better picture quality), this VCR can give you a very good copy of a DVD that is a good movie, but isnt quite worth buying. (Cost of this is about $5 for the tape and rental as opposed to $20 buying it brand new).<br />I was very pleased to figure this out. I am not sure whether DVD player manufacturers choose not to output macrovision through the S-Video Jack, or whether this VCR merely ignores or doesnt recognize macrovision. I have heard that other SVHS VCR's allow you to copy DVD ==> VHS, so my guess would be that it is the S-Video connection and not the player that allows me to do it. But for anyone who is possibly looking into DVD-Recorders that can cost you (a lot of money) and is still in its primitive stages, you might want to look in to this VCR first, as it is (much cheaper) and can give you just a slightly lower quality duplication.