0307HCC16 JVC HD/VCR P

24/4/03

1:54 PM

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HDDVCR

JVC HM-HDS4 N 700 (APPROX) N 5000 N www.jvc.co.uk
An 80GB hard-disk drive nice!

The ideal evolution

JVCS HM-HDS4 HAS CLEARLY BEEN BASED ON ITS PREDECESSOR, THE HDS1. BUT HAS IT LEARNED THE LESSONS OF THOSE PIONEERING EFFORTS, ASKS MARTIN PIPE
Sensibly designed and easy-to-use zapper makes navigation easy
S-VHS/S-VHS ET and hi-fi sound, with MPEG2 digital recording, courtesy of a 40GB hard disk drive (HDD) that could store up to 40 hours of video material and provide chasing playback (pausing live TV or playing a TV programme before it has finished recording). In many ways the result was the ultimate recording device at the time easy to use HDD timeshifting with legacy support for VHS. Now JVC has introduced the HDS1s replacement, which has a HDD with twice the capacity. This machine has a typical price tag of 700, cheaper than the original. But is it still the ultimate recorder?
couple of years ago, JVCs HDS1 combined an analogue VCR, albeit a well specified one with
button. AV inputs are front-mounted; lift up a flap to reveal composite/S-video and stereo audio inputs. Elsewhere, youll find a standard IEEE-1394 minijack for DV input and output. Around the back are AV amp-friendly S-video and phono audio outputs. There are also two Scart sockets, one for your TV and one for your set-top box. One irritation is that JVC hasnt provided an RGB input for the best possible recordings from digital TV (theres no RGB output, either). Although a handful of terrestrial digiboxes have the S-video output that is supported by the HDS4, few Sky digiboxes do, meaning that youll have to make do with an inferior composite feed in many instances. And while you wont notice the drop in quality relative to RGB with regular VHS, you will with S-VHS and the higher-quality hard-disk recording modes. A rather more positive rear-panel feature is a socket for an infra-red sender device. This will change channel on your box (digiboxes are catered for) according to your programmed timer settings. The HDS4s 16-event one-year timer features VideoPlus and PDC.

LAB REPORT

No RGB input or output sorry!

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

A good deal shorter than the HDS1, the new silvery beast looks the business, with its mirrored trim and blue illumination (pity, though, that the latter didnt extend to the clock/counter display, which, in green, somewhat lacks colour coordination). A new and welcome addition is the multi-function jog/shuttle dial, borrowed from recent JVC VCRs. In addition to video manipulation, the control will navigate through menus or change TV channel. The new models front panel lets you
Video jitter: 7ns (excellent) Signal-to-noise ratio: -56.8dB (excellent) Chroma AM/PM: -58.7dB/ -56.8dB (excellent/excellent) Frequency response (DV): -0.8dB (2MHz), -2.7dB (4MHz), -8.0dB (5.8MHz) Frequency response (SP): -0.8dB (2MHz), -2.6dB (4MHz), -8.3dB (5.8MHz) Frequency response (LP): -0.9dB (2MHz), -2.6dB (4MHz), -8.5dB (5.8MHz) Frequency response (EP): -0.3dB (2MHz), -35.7dB (4MHz), 62.6dB (5.8MHz) Frequency response (SEP): 0.6dB (2MHz), -28.9dB (4MHz), -70.9dB (5.8MHz)

SWEET INSTALLATION

Installing the HDS4 is childs play. Plug it in and it embarks on a TV-channel search and store routine that if my experience is anything to go by works
Video jitter: 727ns (fair) Signal-to-noise ratio: -43.4dB (very good) Chroma AM/PM: -46.4dB/45.5dB (very good/very good) Frequency response (VHS): 2.7dB @ 2.0MHz (good); -3.8dB @ 2.5MHz (good) Frequency response (S-VHS): +2.8dB @ 2.0MHz (excellent); +2.9dB @ 2.5MHz (excellent); +1.8dB @ 3.5MHz (excellent)
All the required front inputs are present
play as you record digitally or change HDD recording mode at the touch of a
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J U LY

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Tried&Tested

flawlessly. Once this is done, you can then set up the units other features, such as composite or S-video output, tape tuning or family groups for hard disk content organisation. As far as HDD recording is concerned, you now get five modes: DV, SP, LP, EP and SEP. As the bitrate transfer rate (and the quality) falls the hard disk capacity rises to its 80-hour maximum. Recordings are accessed via a navigator, which brings up a list of contents currently on the HDD. Still-frame index pictures are provided as a memory aid. Given the decks flagship positioning, its odd to note that the VHS deck only caters for SP and LP recording. There is, however, a two-speed picture search feature and JVCs proprietary BEST tape tuning system, which has a index-picture navigation system that takes advantage of the hard disks capacity. This stores recording date, start time and station name details for each of your tapes. As with the HDS1, you cant record from the internal tuner on one medium while recording from an external AV source from the other. Yet I suspect the extra cost of doing this would have been minimal. You can, however, watch a tape while the HDD is recording and vice versa. There are plenty of worthwhile editing facilities, all of which are driven with an attractive and friendly user interface.

Hard-disk recordings can be split and superfluous content (like adverts) deleted. You can also set up a playlist of recorded content (edited or otherwise) and arrange for it to be dubbed to VHS. Up to 100 playlists, each with a maximum of 100 scenes, can be set up. The HDS4 will let you copy VHS to the hard disk, whether for editing or simply the archiving of your favourite VHS material. Thanks to the IEEE-1394 connector, copying from digital camcorders is also possible. Here, the HDS4 acts as an edit controller so that you only copy the essentials from tape to disk. After the contents on the hard drive have been edited, they can be transferred to (S-)VHS or back to DV. Interestingly, audio dubbing of hard disk recordings made in DV mode is also possible. So how about performance? With its 25Mbps bitrate, the DV recording mode offers beautifully detailed pictures with no visible artefacts whatsoever. Keep it for camcorder editing, though; the lack of an RGB input or DTT tuner makes it overkill for anything else. For TV recordings, LP, which works at the same 720 x 576 resolution of the two higher modes, walks a sensible line between picture quality and potential recording time. Sound quality is of the same excellent standard across all
HDD modes, including the lower-bitrate modes, which had suffered badly on the HDS1.

RATINGS

Highs: HDD performance Lows: No RGB recording or playback
Picture Sound Features Overall #### #### ###12 ####12

TIMING OUT

And VCR performance? This is also pretty good, although the HDD section knocks it into a cocked hat. S-VHS is capable of resolving fair levels of detail, but the picture is spoilt by traditional edge fizz. In ET mode, which is only available in SP, noise can be quite intrusive unless the best-quality VHS blanks are used. VHS hi-fi sound is fair, but compander breathing artefacts can be spotted. For those wanting to get into the world of digital recording, without sacrificing VHS support, the HM-HDS4 is a fabulous proposition. If you dont yet want to commit to a DVD recording format, it could be the ideal evolution. Our bet is that once you start using the HDD recorder, your use of VHS will wane dramatically. JVC has one of the best graphical user interfaces in the business, attractive but easy to navigate and use, which makes us eager to see other HDD solutions from the brand. Like Panasonic, JVC has opted to support the DVD-RAM format. The company has also promised HDD/TV combinations as well as stand-alone recorders and HDD/D-VHS models. If you want a taste of the future, look no further I

FEATURES

COMMON
99-channel Nicam tuner; jog/shuttle dial; 16-event/1year timer with VideoPLus/ PDC; cross-dubbing; autoinstall; T-V Link; direct rec; tape/disc navigation; DV editing; satellite control; 8 family groups for recordings

S-VHS/ET; Nicam tuner; VHS hi-fi; BEST tape-tuning; auto audio record levels; LP; VHS index search; OTR; NTSC
80GB capacity; 5 recording modes; chasing playback; 1.5x timesave playback (with audio); instant playback; time skip (30sec/15min jump); playlist; editing; divide/move/delete, preview/ undo edits; slow, still, frame advance/ reverse, resume, repeat, random Connections: Stereo audio out; S-video out; 2x Scart (composite/S-video); aerial in/out; front-panel composite/S-video and stereo audio inputs; IEEE-1394 Dimensions: 435(w) x 98(h) x 357(d)mm; Weight: 6.2kg
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