As a fellow filmmaker from the 80s, I can confirm your observations. In 1985, the JVC solution was what drew the attention of MANY, but it was expensive and did not record directly to VHS. For way less money, I bought a JVC camera with a video out cable that pluged into the Panasonic VCR PV-8000, which took a battery. Built a DIY shoulder mount and hit the street making documentaries for a fraction of the cost of film and the premium JVC solutions were priced at. I had lots of run time on the VHS tapes and they were easy in the community/university studio to copy over to the U-matic tapes for editing. By the late 90s, all VHS was already on its last legs. I got a VX-1000, and a DCR-DC10 a bit later, used. No way anything VHS was on my shopping list, even if I was tight on funds. Thanks for your work on this channel!
I appreciate hearing from my fellow videographers who went through all the phases of hardware like I did. Yes, I remember lugging a full sized VHS recorder around on a shoulder strap and a separate camera that was larger than most camcorders. The Compact VHS continued on to at least 2004 practically outlasting VHS itself. It's fun to play with now as obsolete technology when I can buy one for the price of a good lunch.😃 Thanks for watching.
Thanks for being one of the few people that give this camera attention! I just purchased one recently and it is still being shipped thanks for some previews and information on how it would look. Love your channel man, keep up the good work!
You are welcome. I love all of these cameras, maybe some a little more than others, lol. Let me know how it goes after you get it and thanks for watching.
Wow dude I just pulled my moms old camcorder out of the attic today and it happens to be this same one. You're one of the few people talking about this camera on UA-cam and it happens to be the same day I find mine and start looking it up. Kind of a strange coincidence.
That's a cool coincidence. I never owned one of these back in the day, but I always wanted one. So I took it out on the town for a little ride. As I stated in the video, it wasn't the flashiest camera even back then, but it gets the job done. Thanks for watching.
I so much salute you in your purchasing prowess and investigating details on these mini-digital moviemaking studios. P.s., I created a video-movie with my own SONY TRV-510 D8 camcorder AND guess what? With proper lighting, composure and clean tape heads, the people who viewed it have no idea what it was shot on.
I appreciate your comment. I bought my TRV-510 as my first digital camcorder and was very impressed with the footage. I hate that it stopped working within 5 years or so. I will eventually get another one. And yes I can’t seem to stop buying cameras. I have many more I haven’t reviewed yet. Thanks for watching.😊
I enjoy your vids, I get bored extremely easy but I am able to sit through most of your vids. Thank you for take'n the time. Can you tell me what is the difference between the JVC GR SXM 730U and the JVC GR SXM 745? 🤠
The "40" series means its a year newer than the 730, manufactured between 2000 and 2001. I don't have a definitive answer on the "45" versus "40". I think the "half versions" were intended for outside north america but I'm not sure. In any case even with identical features the newer one is probably better. Not sure what if anything changed that year. Usually it was the zoom ratio and they had fewer models in the later years. Thank you so much for the compliment and thanks for watching.
Hi, I have recently purchased a Hi8 Sony camcorder and now want to buy a VHS one. Which one would you recommend? It has to be similar size as camcorder.
If you are looking for a VHS I recommend JVC as they invented it. The compact VHS are smaller but tapes are much shorter and more expensive. The one such as in this video is a good choice. Thanks for watching.
The JVC Cameras with model numbers similar to the ones here are typically US versions (NTSC). But there is an easy way to tell, the model number ends in "U", (for US I suppose). The PAL versions tend to end in "E" (for Europe I suppose). As an example I found a GR-SX22EK for sale in the UK which I have to assume is PAL. As an alternative, you could look for a PAL VCR and play the tapes back using the adapter. It's probably easier to find a working PAL VCR. Either way the NTSC and PAL versions are not interchangeable. So good luck finding one you can use and thanks for watching.
You can convert videos to PAL with most good video converters. I recommend a program called XMedia Recode. XMedia Recode is free, and can convert any video to any format, size, aspect ratio, FPS etc. XMedia Recode is so good that when I discovered it, I have never used another converter since. The first reason I used it was because I was trying to find a converter that would encode videos I could burn to a CD and play in my DVD player. I had been using 3 or 4 different converters, because one converter may encode a file that would play from a CD in my DVD player, another may encode a different format that would play etc. But XMedia Recode would encode several formats that would play off of a CD in my DVD player. For example, I can play ASF and AVI files burnt to a CD in my DVD player if they use certain codecs, but only certain converters would encode them correctly with those codecs, but XMedia encodes all codecs correctly. Using XMedia recode I can simply convert videos to MPEG, MPEG2, VOB, ASF, AVI, burn them to a CD and they just play in my DVD player. The ASF and AVI files have to use codecs like XVID, DIVX, MS MPEG$ V2 etc, but XMedia Recode simply encodes them correctly, while other programs do not. I know it is 2023 and I am still putting videos on a regular CD and playing them in a DVD player. I just realized years ago I could put good quality video on a CD and some DVD players will play it. The DVD player just thinks it is playing a VCD, SVCD or MiniDVD. If I put MPEG or MPEG2 on a CD it pops up as a VCD or SVCD, if I put anything else like DIVX on a CD, it pops up as being a MiniDVD. Nonetheless, try XMedia Recode, it will convert NTSC to PAL, and to any file type you choose.
Hello ...MyGR-SMX540U this camera after twenty years will not playback with clarity. All my tapes seem to be lost. Is there something I can do to fix the problem. Are my valued memories lost for ever???
It is more likely that your tapes are okay, but most likely your camera has failed after 20 years. The tapes do eventually disintegrate, but my experience is that 40 year old tapes will still play fine, but the cameras go bad. You have two choices, you can send your tapes to be professionally converted. Or search eBay for a camcorder that is tested and working. Repair is no longer possible as almost no one works on these cameras anymore. I strongly urge everyone to convert their tapes while they still can. They will all eventually fail.
@@WaybackRewind Thanks for the reply....I Kind of thought this was the case myself. I was hoping for for a better outcome. After only using the camera to record about 30 cassettes I really was hoping maybe a cleaning would be all that was required. Sad....
There are many ways to get the footage digitally. The method used depends on what you are starting with or your personal preference. I have a 6 part series on converting analog to digital. Thanks for watching.
The feature on the JVC VHS-C didn't change much from 1999 to 2004. The button layout varied is all. And yes the RCA VHS-C were basically the same. Thanks for watching.
@@WaybackRewind i never knew it was made by JVC i got it for Christmas i think around 2001 2002 it was from walmart I think it cost around $200 we probably only used it maybe 20 times. it just so big & outdated to carry around now nobody even want's these old camera's anymore. maybe the only camera's people want are 8mm & DV for video transfer to dvd.
There is no reason to use this camera 20+ years later except fpr nostalgia. But I did take it out for fun. Back then a camcorder mean a special memory and not pictures of our food. Nice thing is new batteries are still available for these cameras.
Eh, those digital camcorders where all not that great to me. Convenience of taking the film off of camcorder because of sd card? Ya ill give it that but the image was not great. It looked to pixilated and the framerate was horrible at least the one that one of my family member had. Analog was better with framerate and image can be just as good as long as you knew how to work the camcorder.
It’s true early digital camcorders had horrible pixelation due to extreme compression. Over time this has improved dramatically once the bit rate increased to over 100Mbps. Analog has its charm from a nostalgic perspective. But a modern digital camera has better image quality. Thanks for watching.
![Last VHS Camcorder [RCA CC4391 the Last of its Kind]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U6WMrP_8b9k/mqdefault.jpg)
![Last VHS Camcorder [RCA CC4391 the Last of its Kind]](/img/tr.png)
Nice
As a fellow filmmaker from the 80s, I can confirm your observations. In 1985, the JVC solution was what drew the attention of MANY, but it was expensive and did not record directly to VHS. For way less money, I bought a JVC camera with a video out cable that pluged into the Panasonic VCR PV-8000, which took a battery. Built a DIY shoulder mount and hit the street making documentaries for a fraction of the cost of film and the premium JVC solutions were priced at. I had lots of run time on the VHS tapes and they were easy in the community/university studio to copy over to the U-matic tapes for editing. By the late 90s, all VHS was already on its last legs. I got a VX-1000, and a DCR-DC10 a bit later, used. No way anything VHS was on my shopping list, even if I was tight on funds. Thanks for your work on this channel!
I appreciate hearing from my fellow videographers who went through all the phases of hardware like I did. Yes, I remember lugging a full sized VHS recorder around on a shoulder strap and a separate camera that was larger than most camcorders.
The Compact VHS continued on to at least 2004 practically outlasting VHS itself. It's fun to play with now as obsolete technology when I can buy one for the price of a good lunch.😃
Thanks for watching.
Thanks for being one of the few people that give this camera attention! I just purchased one recently and it is still being shipped thanks for some previews and information on how it would look. Love your channel man, keep up the good work!
You are welcome. I love all of these cameras, maybe some a little more than others, lol. Let me know how it goes after you get it and thanks for watching.
Wow dude I just pulled my moms old camcorder out of the attic today and it happens to be this same one. You're one of the few people talking about this camera on UA-cam and it happens to be the same day I find mine and start looking it up. Kind of a strange coincidence.
That's a cool coincidence. I never owned one of these back in the day, but I always wanted one. So I took it out on the town for a little ride. As I stated in the video, it wasn't the flashiest camera even back then, but it gets the job done. Thanks for watching.
Best thing is that you can still buy new batteries for it. Some you can't and they aren't able to be used anymore.
I so much salute you in your purchasing prowess and investigating details on these mini-digital moviemaking studios. P.s., I created a video-movie with my own SONY TRV-510 D8 camcorder AND guess what? With proper lighting, composure and clean tape heads, the people who viewed it have no idea what it was shot on.
I appreciate your comment. I bought my TRV-510 as my first digital camcorder and was very impressed with the footage. I hate that it stopped working within 5 years or so. I will eventually get another one.
And yes I can’t seem to stop buying cameras. I have many more I haven’t reviewed yet.
Thanks for watching.😊
I enjoy your vids, I get bored extremely easy but I am able to sit through most of your vids. Thank you for take'n the time. Can you tell me what is the difference between the JVC GR SXM 730U and the JVC GR SXM 745? 🤠
The "40" series means its a year newer than the 730, manufactured between 2000 and 2001.
I don't have a definitive answer on the "45" versus "40". I think the "half versions" were intended for outside north america but I'm not sure. In any case even with identical features the newer one is probably better. Not sure what if anything changed that year. Usually it was the zoom ratio and they had fewer models in the later years.
Thank you so much for the compliment and thanks for watching.
Hi, I have recently purchased a Hi8 Sony camcorder and now want to buy a VHS one. Which one would you recommend? It has to be similar size as camcorder.
If you are looking for a VHS I recommend JVC as they invented it. The compact VHS are smaller but tapes are much shorter and more expensive. The one such as in this video is a good choice. Thanks for watching.
Would you know if the model name is the same for the PAL version? Looking to get one for digitizing PAL VHS-C cassettes.
The JVC Cameras with model numbers similar to the ones here are typically US versions (NTSC). But there is an easy way to tell, the model number ends in "U", (for US I suppose). The PAL versions tend to end in "E" (for Europe I suppose). As an example I found a GR-SX22EK for sale in the UK which I have to assume is PAL.
As an alternative, you could look for a PAL VCR and play the tapes back using the adapter. It's probably easier to find a working PAL VCR.
Either way the NTSC and PAL versions are not interchangeable. So good luck finding one you can use and thanks for watching.
You can convert videos to PAL with most good video converters. I recommend a program called XMedia Recode. XMedia Recode is free, and can convert any video to any format, size, aspect ratio, FPS etc. XMedia Recode is so good that when I discovered it, I have never used another converter since. The first reason I used it was because I was trying to find a converter that would encode videos I could burn to a CD and play in my DVD player. I had been using 3 or 4 different converters, because one converter may encode a file that would play from a CD in my DVD player, another may encode a different format that would play etc. But XMedia Recode would encode several formats that would play off of a CD in my DVD player. For example, I can play ASF and AVI files burnt to a CD in my DVD player if they use certain codecs, but only certain converters would encode them correctly with those codecs, but XMedia encodes all codecs correctly. Using XMedia recode I can simply convert videos to MPEG, MPEG2, VOB, ASF, AVI, burn them to a CD and they just play in my DVD player. The ASF and AVI files have to use codecs like XVID, DIVX, MS MPEG$ V2 etc, but XMedia Recode simply encodes them correctly, while other programs do not. I know it is 2023 and I am still putting videos on a regular CD and playing them in a DVD player. I just realized years ago I could put good quality video on a CD and some DVD players will play it. The DVD player just thinks it is playing a VCD, SVCD or MiniDVD. If I put MPEG or MPEG2 on a CD it pops up as a VCD or SVCD, if I put anything else like DIVX on a CD, it pops up as being a MiniDVD. Nonetheless, try XMedia Recode, it will convert NTSC to PAL, and to any file type you choose.
Hello ...MyGR-SMX540U this camera after twenty years will not playback with clarity. All my tapes seem to be lost. Is there something I can do to fix the problem. Are my valued memories lost for ever???
It is more likely that your tapes are okay, but most likely your camera has failed after 20 years. The tapes do eventually disintegrate, but my experience is that 40 year old tapes will still play fine, but the cameras go bad.
You have two choices, you can send your tapes to be professionally converted. Or search eBay for a camcorder that is tested and working. Repair is no longer possible as almost no one works on these cameras anymore. I strongly urge everyone to convert their tapes while they still can. They will all eventually fail.
@@WaybackRewind Thanks for the reply....I Kind of thought this was the case myself. I was hoping for for a better outcome. After only using the camera to record about 30 cassettes I really was hoping maybe a cleaning would be all that was required. Sad....
You could try a head cleaning tape. These can no longer be purchased new though. Search eBay for new old stock, good luck.
you should do a video on the hdr fx1!
One of these days I'll get one and do a video, assuming it still works.
Thanks for watching.
Is a VCR the only way to get your footage digitally?
Or can I use a playback machine w this?
There are many ways to get the footage digitally. The method used depends on what you are starting with or your personal preference. I have a 6 part series on converting analog to digital.
Thanks for watching.
Analog to Video (6 Part Series): ua-cam.com/play/PLSh5LPnUxQZpLC0_BNwWLx6A47MVposgI.html
that jvc looks just like the rca camcorder i have. i think it's from around 2002
The feature on the JVC VHS-C didn't change much from 1999 to 2004. The button layout varied is all. And yes the RCA VHS-C were basically the same. Thanks for watching.
@@WaybackRewind i never knew it was made by JVC i got it for Christmas i think around 2001 2002 it was from walmart I think it cost around $200 we probably only used it maybe 20 times. it just so big & outdated to carry around now nobody even want's these old camera's anymore. maybe the only camera's people want are 8mm & DV for video transfer to dvd.
There is no reason to use this camera 20+ years later except fpr nostalgia. But I did take it out for fun. Back then a camcorder mean a special memory and not pictures of our food. Nice thing is new batteries are still available for these cameras.
Eh, those digital camcorders where all not that great to me. Convenience of taking the film off of camcorder because of sd card? Ya ill give it that but the image was not great. It looked to pixilated and the framerate was horrible at least the one that one of my family member had. Analog was better with framerate and image can be just as good as long as you knew how to work the camcorder.
It’s true early digital camcorders had horrible pixelation due to extreme compression. Over time this has improved dramatically once the bit rate increased to over 100Mbps. Analog has its charm from a nostalgic perspective. But a modern digital camera has better image quality.
Thanks for watching.