December 22, 2002
A lot has been said about the various modes of recording and different tape stock for VHS recording. This might not be the most scientific method of analysis but I think it does show a difference in the different modes.
Test Setup:
Pinnacle DV 500+ (720x480)(NTSC)
JVC HR-S3800U - SVHS (ET) Video Recorder (NTSC)
Horizontal Resolution Diagram 640x480
Tapes:
VHS: RCA Video Tape - T-120 SKU 79000 10002
SVHS: TDK XP Super Pro ST-120 SKU 20356 32440
The deck is connected via a S-Video cable.
The third format is simply a VHS Tape with the hole punched to make the deck think it is a SVHS tape. I refer to this as a Quasi-S tape.
Plain VHS tape (including the ET mode):
Quasi S Tape:
SVHS Tape:
Now, a comparison of the SP modes of the three:
A closer view:
Analysis: There is a distinct difference in the quality of all three tapes. SVHS shows the least amount of noise and the highest resolution. The Quasi (Fake) SVHS mode shows the same resolution but more noise than the SVHS. Finally, the VHS tape shows the least amount of resolution.
The defined resolution for SVHS and VHS mode:
SVHS 420 horizontal lines
VHS 240 horizontal lines
Comments? Feel free to write me at mike@massafterdark.com.
VHS™ is a registered trademark of the Japan Victor Corporation.