JVC's DR-MV7S VCR / DVD combo recorder promises to upscale VHS

Although we're huge fans of convergence around here -- i.e. packing as many functions as possible into a single device -- our love of feature-creep has never extended to VCR / DVD combo units which, with double the amount of mechanical parts, make them twice as likely to end up at the repair shop or in your attic. Well there must still be some consumer demand out there for these disasters waiting to happen, as manufacturers continue to crank them out, always looking for a way to differentiate their device from countless others. We haven't really seen too much innovation in this space for awhile, but now JVC has broken out a new unit called the DR-MV7S that not only does recording on both sides of the divide (including DVD+R and DVD-R), it actually promises to upscale your crappy old VHS tapes for better viewing on that HDTV set. The engineers at JVC must really be some miracle workers, because the MV7S's internal scaling chip apparently cranks those old home movies up to 720p or 1080i over an HDMI connection, allowing you to relive embarrassing moments from your past with even greater clarity. Other nice touches on this $270 wonder include MP3, WMA, and DivX support, bidirectional dubbing between DVD and VHS, and an iLink input for transferring newer, slightly-less humiliating footage from your DV camcorder. Supposedly this model is available immediately, but with such lofty and untested ambitions, we'd follow HDBeat's advice and make sure you buy one from a store with a long return period and no restocking fee.

[Via HDBeat]

[Nick @ Sep 22nd 2006 6:47AM]

Two things: Firstly, boxes like this are ideal for second screens in a den or suchlike, where you want simplicity and a minimum number of boxes under your TV. I notice that JVC also do a version with a HD recorder (PVR) built in as well. I think that your hi-fi style idealism is getting in the way of recognising how many people relate to these sorts of products - simplicity is very attractive.

One additional aspect that I absolutely relate to is the benefit of only having ONE remote control that does everything, particularly where kids and spouse are concerned. So you set the TV up with just the one input pre-selected for this device and all you have to control on the TV is the volume - everything else is done in this one box. Heaven, even if there are some (relatively insignificant in proportion) drawbacks!

Secondly, a product like this is (or should be) DEAD IN THE WATER in the UK if it doesn't have Freeview (DVB-T) support. So far the only product of this type that I have seen with Freeview is the Panasonic DMREZ45 - the other manufacturers will undoubtedly be getting with the game over the next few months if they actually want to sell any of their products!

[Michael @ Sep 22nd 2006 6:48AM]

You know what, there are a lot of people who still buy these. Alot of people like my folks who started collecting VHS tapes back inteh 80's and have hundreds of them but never really got to heavy into the whole DVD thing. And actually my older (non tech savy) brother was telling me he was going to get a VHS/DVD combo the other day. And I was telling him he should get a DVD player that plays Divx.

Doesn't look like JVC did much wrong here. I'd prefer it in black but that's me. Aside from that, VHS+DVD uprezzing, Divx playback, MP3, DVD recording, firewire jack. At $150 it would sell pretty good I'd think. But at $270, forget it.

[Steve Packard @ Sep 22nd 2006 12:23PM]

Yes...sure you can upscale super-8. I'm presuming you mean digitally. You'd want to scan it to video and then process it. The grain of a super 8 film is going to be problematic, but if the film is high enough quality you could get decent results. You'd probably want to use some sort of software designed for film restoration. Depending on the type of content, you might be able to build a higher quality image by combining information from adjacent frames. It usually needs to be done manually one frame at a time.... and I'm completely off topic now

[Russ @ Sep 22nd 2006 9:33AM]

has anyone managed to upscale super8?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_8_mm_film

[Michael Chastain @ Sep 22nd 2006 12:06PM]

Yes they're more likely to fail, and I never liked the idea of integration in a $400+ device. But now that many models can be had for less than $100, who cares? For our home theater I've got separate components, but in the family room and bedroom we've got an all-in-one. It's just more convenient.

[Kirk @ Sep 23rd 2006 4:35AM]

Well I own this unit and I have to say that it really does an excellent upconverting job over HDMI for both VHS and DVD. VHS is inherantly crappy, but this dual recorder does an excellent job of upconverting the video.. The recording capabilities from VHS to DVD and/or external device to DVD is very simple to do and pretty good. I even have my Archos with camera attached and can record live directly onto DVD, pretty nifty stuff.

[Moi @ Nov 1st 2006 9:51AM]

Hi, I was looking to get one of these for the sole reason that I've wired my plasma with YPrPb from an RGsB switcher that outputs to an RGsB to YPrPb converter. The prerequisite of course is that all signals from all playback devices (Sky, Freeview, DVD etc) must be RGsB (which they all are via the Scart). All of the currently available combo and standalone VCR units output the VCR signal as composite. We have some very rare VHS that is not available on DVD,plus old home recordings and have been unable to watch them because of this. I dont want to have to switch the scart switcher and the plasma input selection just to see a composite signal so an upconverter sounds like the solution.

[Jimi @ Jan 1st 2007 10:17AM]

I got this unit recently. As much as I love it and think it does a great job of upconverting, it currently freezes during playback of DVD+R discs. The discs play fine in other DVD players. It will also play past the freeze point and freeze at a different point if I simply remove the disc and re-insert it. So it's not the disc. Waiting on a response from JVC.

[Jon Carey @ Jan 30th 2007 10:53AM]

Does anybody out there know of a product that can simultaneously record digital video onto a hard drive and onto a dvd? I would also need to export the digital video onto an external hard drive.

Thanks.

[Ben @ May 10th 2007 7:48PM]

Way easier than up-conversion done through my computer. This DVD/VCR combo has simplified my life so much, literally saving hours for every project. In case anyone is looking for one, I got mine at http://interstatedeals.com/jvc-drmv7s-dvdvhs-recorder-combo-upconversion-p-593.html

Seems to work better with DVD-R than DVD+R, might be just my discs though. (using Memorex)

[gar3 @ May 30th 2008 7:51AM]

I bought my parents a Panasonic combo player back in 2003. They had a lot of VHS and two or three DVDs.

I bought my daughter a Sony combo player last year. She had a lot of DVD and two or three VHS.

Personally, I'd love to see this JVC one in action. Hey, if I can get VHS and SVHS to look pretty darn good running s-video into my 50" Sony 720p LCD RP, I'd love to see what HDMI and 720p could give me . . . hmm, maybe not, heh, heh.

[ed @ Sep 24th 2006 5:33AM]

jvc still makes about the best of the vcrs made now, consumer wise. Doubt this is one of them. Its just a cheapo unit and the more you upscale a cruddy image, the worse it will look.

Still, kind of nice it at least plays almost anything you can throw at it.