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From: konzel@utecfc.UUCP (Charles Konzelman)
Newsgroups: net.audio,net.video
Subject: problems with HiFi VCR's
Message-ID: <38@utecfc.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 13-Sep-85 03:38:58 EDT
Article-I.D.: utecfc.38
Posted: Fri Sep 13 03:38:58 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 13-Sep-85 10:28:08 EDT
Reply-To: konzel@utecfc.UUCP (Charles Konzelman)
Organization: Engineering Computing Facility, University of Toronto
Lines: 52


	About a year and a half ago I bought a Sony SL5200 Beta HiFi VCR with
the intention of using it solely as an audio recorder. I was unable to locate a 
dealer that could demonstrate it properly, so I purchased it on the basis of its
excellent specifications and the favorable reviews in the press.

	However, on playback the unit seems to have some audio problems:

1) Levels of hum and hiss seem inordinately high, and I find this rather
obstrusive in quiet passages.

2) A whining noise is heard at the beginning of each Beta HiFi recording, but 
this gradually decays.

3) Sometimes the Beta HiFi light drops out for a second or so, with a 
corresponding loss of hi-fi, but then comes back on again.

4) There are random, short duration, low level, buzzing sounds (could these be
tape dropouts?) which are especially apparent (and annoying) during quiet    
passages.

5) Worst of all, a distortion problem which seems level and frequency dependent.
This is really apparent with solo recordings (for example, a female opera singer
or a trumpet) where there is no other music to mask the problem. I would
describe the distortion as a harsh, jagged kind of sound which accompanies the 
music. This occurs at levels below the red LED (0dB). I recorded some sine
wave test tones at different levels and frequencies. The performance seems OK at
low frequencies, but at high frequencies the same harsh, jagged sound emerges, 
somehow superimposed over the test tone. This occurs at levels below the
red LED, and higher levels aggravate the problem.

	The Sony Service Centre tells me (after numerous visits) that there is 
nothing wrong with my machine and that all SL5200's behave the same way. The 
special "HiFi" tapes improve the performance, but I really can't believe the 
unit is meeting the excellent specifications Sony touts so highly.

	Has anybody out there had any experiences with these HiFi VCR's (in 
particular the Sony SL5200)? Do all of these machines behave in a similar
fashion, or is there something wrong with my unit? 

NOTE: On some SL5200's the LEDs go from -20dB to +8dB, but on mine they go from
-30dB to 0dB. What is the significance of this?

	I would appreciate ANY feedback on the subject, as this problem really 
has me frustrated.

				     Very sincerely,

						   Charles Konzelman
						   University of Toronto
						   Toronto, Ontario
						   Canada