Would purchasing a used S-VHS player be worth it?
 

I've recently been buying a number of titles on vhs that I'm just sick of waiting to finally make their appearance on dvd.

I have a fairly decent 2 or 3 year old Sony HIFI VHS player... but I wonder if purchasing an S-VHS would yield me a better picture when watching my pre-recorded 'store bought' tapes?

And if so, where would I find a cheaper new or used S-VHS player (Panasonic, Sony..etc?)

Thanks,
sightandsound

Stick to DVD, please. :D

Well, I would be happy to if the studios would comply.

The biggest advantage an s-vhs player gives you is the s-video out, which in my opinion does give you a better signal. as far as where to find one, I don't know I bought mine in 98 and got raped for it so I would be no help

You won't get much improvement playing pre-recorded videotapes on a SuperVHS VCR because they aren't recorded in SuperVHS. Connecting using the s-video connection may slightly improve things, but I doubt it. You're still stuck with regular VHS quality to begin with.

Some higher-end SuperVHS VCRs have digital enhancement circuitry to improve worn or poor quality tapes.

Crutchfield is selling a relatively nice JVC SuperVHS VCR for $169.

Which model are you speaking of?

Crutchfield has three models for that price now, but the HR-S4800 is the nicest of them. It even has flying erase heads for seamless editing.

Why would you want to buy stuff like that???
I'm not confronting or anything, but at least be patient for movies not yet on DVD. It'll worth the wait.

eedoon, not to be rude but don't you think I've researched this just a tad?

Do you think any of these titles will be out anytime soon on dvd?

Blowup
LeSamourai
A Tale of Winter
Persona
The Earrings of Madame De

See what I mean? Believe me, I've already sent emails to New Yorker Video, Criterion, MGM...all of 'em and nobody is working on any of these titles (and there are a dozen or so more, just like them).

Why wouldn't I buy the tape? Life is too short not to be able to see these films and own them if their out in some format...

$169 isn't much of an investment to make to have the option of watching the thousands of movies that haven't been released on DVD. I don't watch VHS unless I absolutely have to, but when it comes dwon to it, it's only a format. Content is what matters most to some people, and it's not the end of the world if presentation isn't perfect.

Also, and don't forget this:

You can recond on VHS!

A complete waste of time. Unless your tapes are encoded with an S-VHS signal, and pre-recorded tapes are not, you will see no benefit in purchasing a deck. If your wish to record off of a digital cable or satellite signal - this purchase makes sense. The S-Video output, when playing back studio recorded VHS tapes, will have little visual benefit whatsoever.