VCR. New or Older? Help!

Video Asylum

TVs, VCRs, DVD players, Home Theater systems and more.

I have studied manuals and roamed the archives but I am in a quandry. Should I get a new VCR, or should I troll the resellers for a used hi-end machine from years ago such as JVC, Sony, Panasonic, Akai, Mitsubishi?
The new machines seem light, full of plastic and glittery finish. The older hi-end units are heavier and more substantial. But what does this mean? This was posted on this forum some time ago:
>Posted by petew ( i ) on July 18, 2001 at 18:42:06
SNIP...
>But you sir, are a sensible man, and know that for under $200 you can get a HI-FI, multi-head VCR that is far superior to the best machines of only a few years ago.
Ahhh ... the confusion enters here. There are convincing arguments on both sides?
WHAT I NEED/DON'T NEED
* Don't need features
* Don't need a tuner
* Do need Hi-Fi stereo (ie at least 4 heads)
* S-VHS seems like a worthwhile thing â€” yes/no?
* Do need RCA out
I don't mind coping with an older machine and refurbishing IF the obvious advantage is in better signal and better engineering.
This has been discussed before, but ANY suggestions would update the arguments and help me a lot â€” Thanks
PS: Yes we have a cheap DVD machine (Toshiba SD-260J) but here in Japan the rentals are still full of analogue. Besides, I want to use the VCR for recording vinyl on T-120 cassettes.

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Amplified Parts

Topic - VCR. New or Older? Help! - strieb 21:58:44 12/19/04 (9)

Zenith VR3200 - DWPC 21:03:37 12/27/04 (1)

Re: Zenith VR3200 - strieb 04:09:25 12/28/04 (0)

Personally.... - grantv 06:47:02 12/20/04 (6)

I'm listening... but which one? - strieb 09:27:30 12/20/04 (5)

Mission Accomplished - strieb 06:33:23 12/22/04 (0)

Re: I've been out of the running for awhile - strieb 16:43:33 12/20/04 (2)

Might be losing me now, but.... - grantv 06:39:49 12/21/04 (1)

You asked ... so ... - strieb 08:48:41 12/21/04 (0)

I've been out of the running for a while. - grantv 12:08:27 12/20/04 (0)

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