JVC SR-VS30U

Denis Basic · July 21st, 2002, 01:24 AM

I have been thinking about purchasing the JVC's SR-VS30U or SR-VS20U dual Mini DV/S-VHS deck. (prices rage from $1,100.00 to 1,300.00 and more)
Both of the decks seem to be good, for one can use them as editing decks, mini DV players and dubbing machines. They seem to be very functional. What are your experiences with the decks? Pros and Cons? Any other recommendations?
Thanks,

Jeff Donald · July 21st, 2002, 06:01 AM

Are you still thinking of getting a Mac and using FCP3? If so, I suggest getting a VTR from their list of qualified devices. http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/qualification.html I have read posts of capture problems with the SR20. If your still looking at Mac i'd look at Sony and Panasonic decks. I don't think either make a dual deck however.

Kurt Heim · July 21st, 2002, 08:21 AM

We use the SR-VS10U and the SR-VS20U with a PowerMac G4 and FCP 3.0. The SR-VS10U has worked great for the last 2 years with only one time that it had to be sent back to JVC for warranty repairs. We were getting digital artifacts like the heads were dirty so we tried running a head cleaner through it but didn't work. JVC replaced a few items and tuned everything back to factory specs and has worked great since. The SR-VS20U on the other hand has been a nightmare with our NLE system. We have seen those capture problems like the other reply listed. It acts like it has a problem reading the timecode. We did have one other problem regarding tracking on the SVHS/VHS side of the deck, so we had the place we purchased it at exchange it for a new one. I have been considering the new SR-VS30U also, since I would like to sell the SR-VS20U and get the SR-VS30U. If anybody is interested in the SR-VS20U, let me know. I haven't used it since they shipped the new one so it is brand new!

Hope this helps!

Denis Basic · July 21st, 2002, 04:13 PM

Thanks for your comments, guys.

Jeff, I am still working on my Big Mac plan and will let you know about the final outcomes in the other thread, I hope, sometimes very soon. :-) As to the Sony and Panasonic editing decks, they seem to be amazing; however, for the time being, outside of my budget. I have to make myself as functional as possible with the money I have. Thus, with a dual deck I will get a rewinder for my XL-1s (which started eating tapes), an editing deck, and a tool to produce VHS-es. I need the latter feature to be able to show my projects to some parties that insist on the VHS format. Thanks a lot for your comment about 20U. You confirmed the rumors I have heard before.

Digital, thanks a lot for sharing your experiences with 20U and 10U. You again reconfirmed the problems with 20U. I also heard that 10U was great. Besides, I read that 30U has improved the time code and some other features.

I hope that somebody who already owes JVC SR-VS30U will join our discussion and tell us more about her/his experiences with this deck.

Later,

November 2nd, 2002, 02:26 PM

I too have the pixelation problem. Any recording that I have made from my TRV 20 camera that I try to play back on the VS30U plays back great...as long as I do not have the firewire plugged in and powered up.

As soon as I do, the deck plays back choppy and pixelated until the "use cleaning cassette" message pops up. I have reproduced this error in 2 different machines, and I know of 4 others that have the same problem.

If anybody else has this problem please let me know. JVC claims they have never heard of this before.

Sincerely,
Bill

Lorinda Norton · June 26th, 2003, 02:26 PM

Hello all,

Wish I had found this thread before I purchased the 30U last Friday. I had a problem from the start with XP telling me it lacked the necessary software to install correctly. I got it to "work" anyway, but see artifacts and glitches in the captured images (using IEEE). We use two editing PC's--the problem occurs on both, with different tapes shot with two different XL1s cameras.

Right now the deck is back where I bought it. The shop owner tells me he's hooked it up to his and a different client's PCs (also using XP) and it works "beautifully." Both his telephone calls to the JVC rep and my e-mails have gone unanswered. I'm pretty teed off about now.

My questions to anyone who bought this deck: did it come with a cd for installation? And are there any answers to this problem (other than the unfeasible one that comes to my mind)?

Thanks.

Denis Basic · June 28th, 2003, 04:39 PM

Hi Lorinda, hi all,

Well, let me tell you that I had the same problem with the JVC 30U from the very beginning. I had many glitches, as you call them, to be clear a lot of noise inserted in the picture and sound transferred to the computer.

I had the same problem though I do not use a PC, but a Mac (1 Dual GHz, FCP3 and OSX). My Mac recognizes the 30U deck without any problems and without any additional software. However, as said, the transferred signal already after the first tape was a nightmare.

Maybe a week or two after the purchase the device was sent back to JVC. It was fixed. They had to replace the head of the mini DV deck. However, soon after the repair I started having the same problem again though not as often. Well, I also have not used the deck as much ever since. But, recently, when I tried to use it, I had again a few little glitches, which could be alarming. The audio signal is cut here and there. From my experience the problem starts that way.

The advice, which I got from my merchant, was to use JVC mini DV tapes only. (The advice sounds like rubbish.) On the other side, my XL1s does not like JVC tapes. In any case, I do not think that an editing deck should be that picky about the tapes and if it is, then it is not good.

All together, insist that they exchange the JVC 30U deck for a totally different brand. I would think of Panasonic decks. I do not know what is available right now. However, from my experience, it seems to me that you will always have problems with the JVC 30U, and from that what I have read, nobody ever complained about Panasonic decks. (The Panasonic decks used to be very expensive – that was their “bad” side.)

Good luck

Denis

Lorinda Norton · June 28th, 2003, 08:33 PM

Denis,

I've heard better news. The guy who sold it to me reluctantly agreed to take it back; I may have to do just that.

From advice given me on another thread I ordered the ADS Pyro firewire card today, just to see if what three sources said is true. My card was a cheepie, and folks are putting the blame there. I'm skeptical, but we'll see. I'll let you know what I find if you want.

Looked at the Panasonic AG-DV2000, but don't exactly have 1680.00 at my disposal at the moment--that's almost twice what I gave for this other "unit."

Thanks for the feedback!!

Lorinda Norton · July 2nd, 2003, 11:06 PM

We tried the Pyro firewire card in both PC's and captured with the JVC deck, and got the same poor results as before. Took out the network card on one PC, cleaned the heads on the deck--still bad. Connected the camera--beautiful. The deck goes back tomorrow, and I start saving up for a Panasonic.

Newest news:

We took the deck back. The vendor repeated one of our tests by hooking up the JVC deck to a monitor instead of a PC. Our tapes still looked bad. He ran three other tapes--one from a Sony camera, another that I didn't hear, plus a GL1. All the footage looked great! So, we've narrowed down the problem to our cameras. I can understand one camera, but can TWO XL1s' have the same misalignment problem????

July 21st, 2002, 01:24 AM	#1
Denis Basic Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Seattle, WA USA Posts: 35	JVC SR-VS30U - any opinions??? I have been thinking about purchasing the JVC's SR-VS30U or SR-VS20U dual Mini DV/S-VHS deck. (prices rage from $1,100.00 to 1,300.00 and more) Both of the decks seem to be good, for one can use them as editing decks, mini DV players and dubbing machines. They seem to be very functional. What are your experiences with the decks? Pros and Cons? Any other recommendations? Thanks, __________________ Denis Basic

July 21st, 2002, 04:13 PM	#4
Denis Basic Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Seattle, WA USA Posts: 35	Thanks for your comments, guys. Jeff, I am still working on my Big Mac plan and will let you know about the final outcomes in the other thread, I hope, sometimes very soon. :-) As to the Sony and Panasonic editing decks, they seem to be amazing; however, for the time being, outside of my budget. I have to make myself as functional as possible with the money I have. Thus, with a dual deck I will get a rewinder for my XL-1s (which started eating tapes), an editing deck, and a tool to produce VHS-es. I need the latter feature to be able to show my projects to some parties that insist on the VHS format. Thanks a lot for your comment about 20U. You confirmed the rumors I have heard before. Digital, thanks a lot for sharing your experiences with 20U and 10U. You again reconfirmed the problems with 20U. I also heard that 10U was great. Besides, I read that 30U has improved the time code and some other features. I hope that somebody who already owes JVC SR-VS30U will join our discussion and tell us more about her/his experiences with this deck. Later, __________________ Denis Basic

November 2nd, 2002, 02:26 PM	#5
BillF741 Posts: n/a	VS30U pixelation I too have the pixelation problem. Any recording that I have made from my TRV 20 camera that I try to play back on the VS30U plays back great...as long as I do not have the firewire plugged in and powered up. As soon as I do, the deck plays back choppy and pixelated until the "use cleaning cassette" message pops up. I have reproduced this error in 2 different machines, and I know of 4 others that have the same problem. If anybody else has this problem please let me know. JVC claims they have never heard of this before. Sincerely, Bill

June 26th, 2003, 02:26 PM	#6
Lorinda Norton Wrangler Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Southwest Idaho, USA Posts: 3,066	not a JVC fan Hello all, Wish I had found this thread before I purchased the 30U last Friday. I had a problem from the start with XP telling me it lacked the necessary software to install correctly. I got it to "work" anyway, but see artifacts and glitches in the captured images (using IEEE). We use two editing PC's--the problem occurs on both, with different tapes shot with two different XL1s cameras. Right now the deck is back where I bought it. The shop owner tells me he's hooked it up to his and a different client's PCs (also using XP) and it works "beautifully." Both his telephone calls to the JVC rep and my e-mails have gone unanswered. I'm pretty teed off about now. My questions to anyone who bought this deck: did it come with a cd for installation? And are there any answers to this problem (other than the unfeasible one that comes to my mind)? Thanks. __________________ Lorinda

June 28th, 2003, 04:39 PM	#7
Denis Basic Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Seattle, WA USA Posts: 35	Hi Lorinda, hi all, Well, let me tell you that I had the same problem with the JVC 30U from the very beginning. I had many glitches, as you call them, to be clear a lot of noise inserted in the picture and sound transferred to the computer. I had the same problem though I do not use a PC, but a Mac (1 Dual GHz, FCP3 and OSX). My Mac recognizes the 30U deck without any problems and without any additional software. However, as said, the transferred signal already after the first tape was a nightmare. Maybe a week or two after the purchase the device was sent back to JVC. It was fixed. They had to replace the head of the mini DV deck. However, soon after the repair I started having the same problem again though not as often. Well, I also have not used the deck as much ever since. But, recently, when I tried to use it, I had again a few little glitches, which could be alarming. The audio signal is cut here and there. From my experience the problem starts that way. The advice, which I got from my merchant, was to use JVC mini DV tapes only. (The advice sounds like rubbish.) On the other side, my XL1s does not like JVC tapes. In any case, I do not think that an editing deck should be that picky about the tapes and if it is, then it is not good. All together, insist that they exchange the JVC 30U deck for a totally different brand. I would think of Panasonic decks. I do not know what is available right now. However, from my experience, it seems to me that you will always have problems with the JVC 30U, and from that what I have read, nobody ever complained about Panasonic decks. (The Panasonic decks used to be very expensive – that was their “bad” side.) Good luck Denis __________________ Denis Basic

July 21st, 2002, 06:01 AM	#2
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Are you still thinking of getting a Mac and using FCP3? If so, I suggest getting a VTR from their list of qualified devices. http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/qualification.html I have read posts of capture problems with the SR20. If your still looking at Mac i'd look at Sony and Panasonic decks. I don't think either make a dual deck however.

July 21st, 2002, 08:21 AM	#3
Kurt Heim Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Jasper, IN Posts: 35	We use the SR-VS10U and the SR-VS20U with a PowerMac G4 and FCP 3.0. The SR-VS10U has worked great for the last 2 years with only one time that it had to be sent back to JVC for warranty repairs. We were getting digital artifacts like the heads were dirty so we tried running a head cleaner through it but didn't work. JVC replaced a few items and tuned everything back to factory specs and has worked great since. The SR-VS20U on the other hand has been a nightmare with our NLE system. We have seen those capture problems like the other reply listed. It acts like it has a problem reading the timecode. We did have one other problem regarding tracking on the SVHS/VHS side of the deck, so we had the place we purchased it at exchange it for a new one. I have been considering the new SR-VS30U also, since I would like to sell the SR-VS20U and get the SR-VS30U. If anybody is interested in the SR-VS20U, let me know. I haven't used it since they shipped the new one so it is brand new! Hope this helps!

June 28th, 2003, 08:33 PM	#8
Lorinda Norton Wrangler Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Southwest Idaho, USA Posts: 3,066	thanks....I guess Denis, I've heard better news. The guy who sold it to me reluctantly agreed to take it back; I may have to do just that. From advice given me on another thread I ordered the ADS Pyro firewire card today, just to see if what three sources said is true. My card was a cheepie, and folks are putting the blame there. I'm skeptical, but we'll see. I'll let you know what I find if you want. Looked at the Panasonic AG-DV2000, but don't exactly have 1680.00 at my disposal at the moment--that's almost twice what I gave for this other "unit." Thanks for the feedback!! __________________ Lorinda

July 2nd, 2003, 11:06 PM	#9
Lorinda Norton Wrangler Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Southwest Idaho, USA Posts: 3,066	edited update...in defense of JVC We tried the Pyro firewire card in both PC's and captured with the JVC deck, and got the same poor results as before. Took out the network card on one PC, cleaned the heads on the deck--still bad. Connected the camera--beautiful. The deck goes back tomorrow, and I start saving up for a Panasonic. Newest news: We took the deck back. The vendor repeated one of our tests by hooking up the JVC deck to a monitor instead of a PC. Our tapes still looked bad. He ran three other tapes--one from a Sony camera, another that I didn't hear, plus a GL1. All the footage looked great! So, we've narrowed down the problem to our cameras. I can understand one camera, but can TWO XL1s' have the same misalignment problem???? __________________ Lorinda