JVC 30K and 40K D-VHS Recorders

[HDTVFanAtic]

ecost.com has refurb JVC 30k DVHS recorders for $279 and free shipping.

they also have new JVC 40k DVHS recorders for $469

http://www.ecost.com/ecost/ecsplash/search/search.asp?Search=d-vhs&CurDSN=simple&calledfrom=1&incimage=on

[jaymer]

and in a nutshell please... if I got one of these (lets say the cheaper one for $279), and a SA 3250HD (swap out my pace box), then what exact capabilities will I have? benefits?

[HDTVFanAtic]

D-Theater which has a better resolution than OTA Broadcasts.

The Ability to Record from the SA-3250HD via firewire to a D-VHS.

The Ability to archieve a movie or show forever (or longer than you can on the SA-8000HD.

There might come a time where you want to give some D-VHS tapes to your good friends (hint hint) and who knows what might be on that tape that you forgot to erase :) A friend might even do the same for you!

I would also suggest that you pick up the extended warranty further than the 90 days on the unit - as the JVC decks have had a sorted past - not that that would stop me from buying.

[amheck]

What's the main difference between the 30k and 40k?

Aaron

[HDTVFanAtic]

I haven't gotten into all the features, so I am sure I will leave out something.

The 30k and 40k were not available at the same time. The 40k replaced the 30k sometime in the last 6-9 months.

As I understand it, the 40K will record S-VHS where the 30k won't.

Some people mention the fan on the back of the 40k is quieter. As the 30k fan is inaudible to me when you have any audio in the room, that's a non-starter for me.

The firmware on the 30k that had problems and had to be fixed by the service center is obviously fixed on the 40k.

Neither have ATSC Tuners.

The 30k seems to be more forgiving when the 1394 info is wrong, as we saw with the 30k working with the wrong EPN info where the 40k was a no go.

That is my most important consideration - as who knows what we will try a year from now if things get touchy.

Some people speak of audio drop outs on AVS forum and other things - but I can't really speak to those. I believe there are a number of factors involved.

I am sure there are probably some other minor feature differences, but that's about all I can tell you.