SilverWook said:
The AG-1980 was firmly in the "prosumer" category. (As was most S-VHS gear.) All the industrial decks I ever used didn't have internal TBC's, as the typical studio setup would likely have an external unit. How such a feature laden deck with such good specs came out at the original price point is a mystery to me. (The decks I used in college probably cost three times more.) I used mine as a home editing system for years.
The 1980 has a lesser known cousin, the AG-5710, which has the same specs except for the addition of an RS-232 port on the back. It can sometimes be found for less.
What about the Panasonic AG-5700? I have that and the JVC HR S5900 svhs machines. Got them both for $80 from a member of an anime club that no longer needed high end vcr's to acquire and copy shows because of how it's all online now.
For a regular vcr sold in 2002, the Panasonic PV-9662 (another one I have) is also pretty good. I bet that wouldn't go for a lot at all and it is way better than your usual vhs/dvd combo deck all the photo stores seem to use for their tape conversion services.