Knightmessenger said:
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.
Not familiar with those models. The main selling point of the 1980 and 5710 is the built in time base corrector and other picture controls.