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PHILIPS VR-969 S-VHS VCR
STANDFIRST
The first domestic Super VHS video recorder
with PC connectivity and an analogue clock has finally reached the shops. Rick
Maybury ponders whether the Philips VR-969 has been worth waiting for...
COPY
This somewhat elusive VCR was shown in
prototype form almost two years ago. Philips reckoned it would be on sale by
the middle of 1996, we finally got our hands on a pre-production sample last
Summer but it wasn’t reviewable, due to last minute changes to the software. The
first shipments finally reached the shops a few weeks before Christmas 97.
These things happen, but the wait for the VR-969 was made more frustrating by
the fact that it promises to be the best equipped editing deck for several years.
The VR-969 has several points of interest for
desktop video enthusiasts and video movie-makers in general. Firstly, it is a
Super VHS video recorder, which minimises quality losses when copying or
editing. Second, it has a some excellent edit features, including a flying-erase
head, for seamless inserts. There’s a built-in 10-scene edit controller, which
can control replay on camcorders with Control L and Panasonic 5-Pin edit
terminals. This also works for syncro-edit hook-ups, it can read GSE Rapid Time
Code and get this, it has an RS-232 interface. More on that in a moment. For
good measure there’s audio-dub, manual audio level control and it has
jog/shuttle controls on both the front panel, and the remote handset. Philips
have been very bold with the cosmetics. That analogue clock set into the front
panel isn’t just a pretty face either, it is radio-controlled, so it is
extremely accurate.
Editing and timekeeping are only part of the
story. It’s an accomplished home cinema machine as well. It can replay NTSC
recordings, there’s advanced video processing circuitry, including tape-tuning
and a comb-filter for optimum S-VHS replay. The Super VHS recording system has
sufficient bandwidth to record teletext data. Not just subtitles, but complete
pages, so it’s possible to call up information from recordings of off-air
material. The machine has a built-in teletext decoder and that’s also used for
making timer recordings. It’s even simpler to use than Video Plus+ (which it
also has), all you do is select the program you want to record -- using
a moving cursor -- from teletext TV information pages. Teletext data
also has a hand in the auto-install system, naming channels and setting the
clock, and there’s PDC (programme delivery control) as well, which also uses
teletext type signals to automatically correct timer programming for late
schedule changes and overruns.
EasyLink is a convenience feature for the
future. It’s part of an industry-wide initiative to allow VCRs and TVs, from
different manufacturers, to communicate with one another. Thus far Sony,
Grundig and Panasonic are participating, though since they’ve all decided to
use different names for their systems (NexTViewLink, SmartLink, Megalogic
etc...) it’s going to take a while for the message to get through. At it’s most
basic it enables a VCR to download the contents of the TV’s tuner -- via the
SCART AV lead -- for faster set-up.
There’s also a facility called Direct TV record or ‘Wizzywire’ (actually wysiwyr
or what you see is what you record). In other words, if you want to record
what’s currently showing on TV you need press only one button on the VCR
remote. It may not sound much but the system will come into its own when
multi-channel digital TV gets going; watch this space.
The RS-232 interface is a most welcome
development, it has featured on a couple of semi-pro machines before, but this
is the first outing on a domestic machine. That’s the good news, the bad news
is Philips are not supporting it with any software of their own. In fact when
we followed up on the advice in the instruction manual and called their Help
Desk, to find out more about what the RS-232 port can do, the helpline
assistant claimed to know nothing about it, but promised to find out and call
back. He never did. Later contact with Philips revealed they had no definite
plans and recommend users make their own arrangements. There are a number of
off-the shelf packages, intended for other semi-pro machines with RS-232 ports,
which we’re hoping to try in the near future, but we get the impression that
no-one at Philips UK has actually tried any of them yet...
PERFORMANCE
Operationally the machine is a little idiosyncratic
-- some functions are a little slow to respond and others don’t always do what
you expect them to do -- but you quickly get used to its foibles. The VR-969’s
primary editing role is to create edit masters from raw camcorder footage, shot
on analogue high-band and digital camcorders, therefore everything hinges on
recording quality. Our sample managed to record and resolve a healthy 400-lines
in the S-VHS mode, which is about as good as it gets. Noise levels were low,
not quite the lowest we’ve seen but it’s possible they could improve once the
heads have properly bedded in, and it’s always worth experimenting with
different makes of tape, particularly as this machine has tape tuning
circuitry. Nevertheless, picture quality is fine, colours are accurate and
image stability -- at all playback speeds and still frame -- is very good
indeed. There is a marked reduction in detail on normal VHS recordings, though
resolution is still quite reasonable at a smidgen under 240-lines. Noise levels
and colour fidelity were better than most top-end VHS decks. Insert and
assemble edits were clean, editing accuracy using the on-board controller on
non timecode material was generally to within 12 to 15 frames or around half a
second of specified cut points.
The hi-fi soundtracks had some background
hiss, but it was certainly well within tolerable limits, moreover the frequency
response was flat and largely uncoloured.
SUMMARY
The RS-232 port is a major plus point and so
far unique on a domestic machine but we’re disappointed by the lack of support shown
by Philips for this important facility. Nevertheless, the VR-969 is a highly
specified machine, picture and sound quality are both good, it’s ideal for
editing and computer video applications and off duty it makes a superb home
cinema machine.
BOX COPY 1 -- SPECIFICATION
Performance, PC connectivity and it looks
good too...
How Much?
£800
Dimensions
435 x 110 x 318mm
Weight
5.4kg
Resolution
400-lines (S-VHS), <250-lines (VHS)
Main Features
S-VHS, NICAM, stereo hi-fi sound, Video Plus+
with PDC, teletext programming and recording, auto installation, Syncro Edit
with LANC, Panasonic 5-pin, RS-232 interface, flying erase head, manual audio
level control, NTSC playback EasyLink
Sockets 2 x SCART AV in/out, S-Video in/out
(mini DIN) edit terminals (minijack and mini DIN), composite video and audio
in/out (phono)
Philips
Consumer Electronics, telephone 0181-689 4444
CV RATINGS
Video quality 5
Audio quality 4
Build quality 4
Ease of use 3
Value for money 4
Overall rating 85%
---end---
Ó R. Maybury 1997 0201
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