Is S-VHS a "Dead" Format?

Some years ago I bought a new VHS player, and persuaded myself to buy one of the “S-VHS” models - very high-end, very expensive, and, of course, it required specially formated S-VHS tapes to be truly appreciated. The salesman assured me that pre-recorded commercial S-VHS tapes would soon be in plentiful supply (the manufacturer of the machine advertised only a dozen or so movies). However, no more movies were forthcoming, and I’ve been unable to locate a single supplier in my area who stocks commercial pre-recorded S-VHS tapes. Now, with the advent of DVD, it seems almost moot (although not to me, since I don’t own a DVD player yet). Does anyone know of a source for pre-recorded commercial S-VHS tapes, or have they gone the way of the Betamax?

I was under the impression that S-VHS is an output from the VCR that gives you a higher quality picture if your TV has S-VHS inputs. S-VHS is better than AVs which are better than coaxial.

So if your TV has S-VHS inputs and you connect the VCR S-VHS outs to the TV S-VHS ins, you’ll get a better quality picture on any output from the VCR.

No, Mojo, that’s S-Video…

Haven’t heard too much about S-VHS, but I believe it’s a higher quality VHS tape. Seems to me DVD is the way to go.

Mojo, thanks. The “S” hookup does refer to the TV hook-up, as you described, but also, as in my case, to the S-VHS VCR. This VCR actually records “differently” on a different kind of tape (S-VHS tapes, naturally) which cost more and can’t be played (or at least clearly) on regular VCR’s. I’m not sure whether the S-VHS came first or the S-Connections, but, as far as I can tell, they are two separate items. The unit is a Mitsubishi, and records like a dream – I just wish I could find some movies to play on it. Oh, what the hell, it’s probably time for a DVD.

The best “Dead” format is vinyl. Truckin’ just isn’t the same without a few crackles and pops.

KalEl?

You mean, you, Superman, got suckered?!
Say it aint so!


“Winners never quit and quitters never win, but those who never win and never quit are idiots.”

As far as I know, there never were any videos commercially available for S-VHS. I think it was originally designed just for recording. Which makes sense when you think that a Laserdisc has much cleaner playback and sound than any kind of VHS.
But, even now that DVD is on the scene, DVD recorders are so expensive you can still get good use out of the recording capabilities of your S-VHS machine.


“One more anal-probing, gyro, pyro, levitating, eco-plasm, alien anti-matter story and I’m gonna take out my gun and shoot somebody.”
– Fox Mulder

The only S-VHS players I’ve ever seen were while I was working Master Control for a PBS station. We used them to record things off of satellite feeds for the newsroom, not for playback (which sort of supports what Necros said). All out out output was done via Betamax machines of some type or another (I forget). And no, it’s not that our machines were amazingly obsolete - you can still get the superior Beta technology if you’re in the right settings.


“I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”

It just occured to me that I left a very obvious question unanswered: “What did the newsroom do with the S-VHS tapes if you used Beta for output?”

As far as I know, they transferred them to Beta along with the rest of the pre-recorded stuff. The idea was to get the highest level of clarity during the recording so it didn’t deteriorate more during the transfer to another format.


“I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”

I know, I know - I look good in the tights and all, but I can’t shop worth a damn, apparently.

Thanks to everyone who answered - I think I will continue to use my S-VHS for recording off the air, and crack open the wallet for a DVD player.

No, it is not a dead format.

VHS is limited to 240 lines of vertical resolution. IIRC S-VHS is about 400 lines. Great for archiving and backing up.

Never, never, never, ever, never buy a player/recorder for a new medium based on a promise that they’ll be in vast supply RSN*. Technology moves so fast that there might well be something newer and easier before that format ever gets adopted widely. Plus, there’s no telling who will win the format war until it’s over (do you also have a DIVX player next to the S-VHS, 8-Track, and Betamax? hehe). With DVD’s, the better format won. Not so with VHS. It’s all a matter of whose propaganda machine is more efficient.

*RSN=“Real Soon Now”, as in the following conversation:
boss (to programmer): “when will that project be ready?”
programmer (not looking up from his game of Quake III): “Real soon now, boss.”


If you say it, mean it. If you mean it, do it.
If you do it, live it. If you live it, say it.

Joe Cool

I’d guess that certainly, as far as watching pre-records goes, yeah, it’s dead. I’ve never heard of S-VHS pre-records, and I haven’t seen the S-VHS blank tapes for sale anywhere.

JVC has recently been advertising VHS decks which are supposedly capable of making S-VHS recordings (or at least enhanced resolution recordings) on standard VHS tapes. That sounds like a hint that the powers that be are not very keen on further support for the original S-VHS and its special tapes.

I recently bought my second S-VHS unit. It’s the Panasonic AG-1980 which has dropped in price to about $950. It’s an editing VCR. I can do assembly edits with it. Some of my laser disks have a second audio track which is the director discussing the film. I can now record these putting the regular audio on the S-VHS stereo tracks and put the director’s discussion on the old linear track. The AG-1980 has a switch to select either or both audio tracks during playback.
S-VHS can record a cable signal perfectly and now I can edit out the commercials. I have built a small library of S-VHS movies this way.

Tower records still sells blank S-VHS tapes, but they are cheaper on the internet.

I own a couple of the pre-recorded S-VHS tapes. If you really want some, sign on the EBAY and search for S-VHS and SVHS. They show up several times a month.

So I would certainly say that S-VHS is not dead as a format yet. But digital VCR’s and HDTV will probably make it less viable as time goes on.

Old formats never die, they just fade away.

Just a thought, but someone looking for the benefits of S-VHS recording might consider Hi8 or Digital 8mm. It has about the same bandwidth as S-VHS, two hour normal mode recording, a much smaller package and is still an extremely popular camera format. I’m not aware of any consumer grade decks by any other maker than Sony but I get by fine using my camera as an auxiliary VCR. OTOH I told my folks to buy a Beta VCR.

FWIW there were once 8mm prerecorded tapes available but the places that sold and rented them were bulldozed along with the Beta Barn to make way for the VHS Hut.

I hope it’s not dead. I’ve got 20 of the machines in a recording bay behind me. Except the rest of the industry uses Betacam.