Modern Screen Romance

If You Were Tempted to buy a video-cassette recorder years ago but held off until the industry got the bugs out, refined the styling and dropped the prices, resist no more. Today's VCRs are easy to operate, gorgeous to look at and no more expensive than a top-notch stereo receiver. It's no wonder that there are currently 3,500,000 recorders in operation, with sales graphs going through the roof. And that figure doesn't include the action in video-disc machines, satellite receiving systems and large-screen-projection units.

Although the first generation of TV products introduced within the past five years opened our eyes to the wonders of video technology, the second generation has demonstrated that mass production brings lower prices, better performance and more profitability, among other improvements. To help you separate the wheat from the chaff, we've taken a close look at the various video components available (VCRs, disc players, cameras, etc.) in light of their excellence and expectations in today's market.

Tvs Sound Off

Stereo sound was an integral part of the first laser-optical video-disc players, introduced by Magnavox and Pioneer more than two years ago. It is now becoming a factor in video-cassette recorders and top-quality television sets. (Don't expect your local TV station to begin stereocasting soon, even though the Federal Communications Commission has moved a little closer to adopting a dual-channel stereo system for TV sound.) More importantly, prerecorded video cassettes and discs carrying stereo sound tracks will augment the Public Broadcasting System's stereo simulcasts and cable TV's 24-hour video and stereo rock marathons.

Although Akai introduced the first stereo video recorder, a VHS model, more than a year ago, it hasn't been until recently that the VPS-7350 ($1695) became available. Now there's a second model, the HR-7650 from JVC, priced at $1595; and a flood of stereo models is likely because the leading Japanese manufacturers already are producing stereo recorders for use in their country, where stereo telecasting is a reality. So far, there is no Beta equivalent, though both Advent and Marantz have announced plans to pursue it.

Akai was also the first to offer Dolby noise reduction in a video recorder. JVC's HR-7650 followed suit and there are a number of other new models that will include Dolby or some other form of noise reduction. Even the video disc, with its very high-quality digital audio tracks, is pursuing additional noise reduction; Pioneer, RCA and several other manufacturers have expressed interest in CBS' new CX noise-reduction system for video-disc players, which will be introduced later this year.

Sony's new Profeel video receivers are perhaps the first to introduce the component concept to television. Instead of the familiar one-piece TV portable or console, Profeel includes a monitor screen (your choice of 19-inch or 25-inch at $850 and $1500, respectively), a component TV tuner (the VTX-1000R, for $520) controlled by an infrared remote unit that can feed a high-quality audio signal to your existing stereo system or power a pair of tiny acoustic-suspension SS-XIA $80 speakers.

Profeel is only one approach to the problem of hi-fi video. The giant Matsushita Electric Company (Panasonic's parent company) recently unveiled a TV with a picture that compares favorably with the sharpness and detail of 35-millimeter film and another that features a 3-D picture created by the use of special glasses.

But don't ask your dealer for any of that just yet. Matsushita isn't promising consumer models in the foreseeable future. However, other manufacturers not only are promising better TV receivers, they're actually delivering them. The improvements generally fall into four areas: multichannel tuners designed for cable connection that eliminates the need for the unattractive cable box; stereo audio; an array of input and output jacks to allow for connection with other audio and video components; and high-definition receivers that dramatically reduce the amount of video "noise" in the picture.

Cheap Thrills

Sanyo led the way toward less expensive video recording with a no-frills low-cost Beta video recorder (Model 9100A, $695). While the new economy models from Sears, Sharp, Sony, Zenith, RCA, Magnavox, Panasonic and Quasar aren't inexpensive, they all have suggested retail prices of $1000 or less, which means that some are discounted in stores to as little as $600. Generally, these cheaper sets are minus long-term programers (most can be preset to tape only one show in a 24-hour period), electronic tuning, etc. And there are no fast- or slow-motion modes, no visual search and no freeze frame.

Sony, Zenith and Sharp budget models also feature front slot loading, such as is found on some audio-cassette decks. These models can thus be housed on bookshelves with low headroom or stacked with other components.

You Can Take It With You

Canon, Sony, JVC, Panasonic, Akai and other battery-operated portable VCRs are getting smaller and easier to tote. The Canon recorder and camera together weigh less than 11 pounds, including batteries; and Sony's new SL-2000 recorder weighs only nine. The Canon unit is virtually identical to the lightweight portable VCR system introduced by Technicolor and uses the same quarter-inch CVC format tape, which is roughly the size of an audio cassette.

In general, the new portables from RCA, Panasonic, JVC, Akai and the rest are a pound or two lighter than the models they replace and shave several cubic inches off the size.

Home Bodies

For many of us, the most adventure some piece of video equipment is the one-piece recorder/tuner/timer that sits close to the television set and does our bidding. These models make up the biggest chunk of the video market and their sales have been very brisk. The newer top-of-the-line entries from RCA and Panasonic feature freeze frame, single-frame advance and a wireless remote control so you can order your machine from across the room without accidentally tripping over the cord. But whereas last season's goodies introduced long-term programability, this season the emphasis seems to be on fast-speed visual search. It allows the machine to advance or rewind the tape at nine times normal speed while the tape is still in contact with the heads---hence, you can preview an entire hour program in just a few minutes. More importantly, you can also speed through taped commercials. Magnavox, Hitachi, Panasonic and RCA all have incorporated fast visual search on their new models. The Beta version available on Sony, Sanyo and others is called Betascan and does virtually the same thing. In addition, Panasonic's new PV-1770 ($1595) has four heads instead of the usual two, which makes for sharper pictures, particularly in the superslow, six-hour recording mode.

Focusing On Cameras

Video-camera prices have taken a tumble since the days when black-and-white models sold for $900. This season, a compact, lightweight color camera (the Sharp QC-30) will cost $599, with similar easy-to-use portables from Magnavox, JVC, Panasonic, Sony, Hitachi and RCA.

Cameras are not only smaller, lighter and cheaper; they're also easier to use. The Akai VC-XI ($1295), for example, is to videography what the Instamatic is to still pictures---a virtually foolproof shooter that turns in professional-looking results effortlessly, thanks to microcomputer-controlled automatic focus and adjustment.

The New Discography

We've already mentioned the video disc in our section on digitally recorded stereophonic sound. Actually, there are two video discs---the laser-optical variety introduced three years ago by Magnavox and the CED model, an RCA product that may lack some of the high technology of the laser type but which sells for a significantly lower price. The laser system, besides offering audio stereo, has the ability to locate an individual frame, to be digitally indexed and to perform such stunts as slow motion, reverse and single-frame advance.

CED players, available from Sears. RCA, Sanyo, Hitachi and Toshiba and others, all cost about $500 and produce pictures of striking quality. The discs---there are approximately 150 titles in the catalog so far (sorry, no X-rated entries)---cost from $15 to $28, with a typical feature film priced at less than $20. Unlike laser discs, which look something like conventional audio discs except for their metallic color, CED discs come in a plastic sleeve or caddy that is inserted into the player along with the disc. The idea of the caddy is to avoid dust and fingerprints on the playing surface.

There's a third form of video disc waiting in the wings---VHD, a project of Matsushita, which includes Panasonic, Quasar and JVC. VHD combines some of the best features of the existing systems, including multichannel digital audio, economy of manufacture and CED's caddy idea. It's due for introduction sometime this year.

Pictures From Outer Space

When the cable-TV industry harnessed space technology in 1975 to distribute feature films for pay-TV, many Americans regarded it as science fiction. Four years later, Neiman-Marcus featured a satellite-TV receiver as the ultimate Christmas gift, at a price of $36,500. This year, satellite TV is becoming a practical reality for thousands of Americans living outside metropolitan areas.

The new generation of satellite receiving equipment includes a number of budget systems priced as low as $4000, plus the entry of some familiar names into a business heretofore dominated by mom-and-pop manufacturers and makers of professional antenna equipment. Four thousand dollars is about half of what similar systems sold for a year ago. (Next month, Playboy will cover the satellite phenomenon.)

Larger-Than-Life TV

When the first large-screen and projection TV systems appeared a few years back, many of us wondered why anybody would want one at any price, (concluded on page 158) Modern Screen(continued from page 120) much less at a cost of $4000 or more, because of poor imagery and color register. Well, prices haven't come down, but pictures---and sound---have improved dramatically. Zenith's latest rear-screen projector is stereo ready and comes with a screen that appears or disappears at the touch of a button. Mitsubishi's entry is a rear-screen system with stereo amplifier and a pair of builtin loud-speakers. And for the ultimate in darkened-room projection, Kloss has a ten-foot screen, overhead-projection system, priced at $3750. Its resolution is so good it can be viewed from almost any angle.

On the horizon is a totally different concept in large-screen TVs. Last year, Toshiba introduced a prototype of a thin liquid-crystal hand-held television, whose technology is theoretically applicable to much larger models. Light-emitting-diode (LED) models are being worked on as well. What that means, in the rosy, distant future, is that we could have panels thinner than an inch cut to whatever wall size we wanted that would then serve as our television monitor.

There is a small, dark cloud, however, hovering over the video business. Last fall, Walt Disney Productions and Universal City Studios won a decision in Federal district court against the Sony Corporation, its distributors and dealers, over the taping of copyrighted material. There were many issues raised by the case, but the one most salient to most of us involved the right of individuals to tape material from their TV screens for their private use in their home. The court found that this was a violation of copyright. As you might expect, the entire home-video industry has an enormous amount at stake if the ruling goes unchallenged. And Sony has promised a no-holds-barred appeal. Whatever happens in the court, we suspect very little will change in the millions of homes that have made the wide range of video products a part of their routines.

And it's no wonder. The current crop of video products is tailored to complement our changing lifestyles. Video's second generation brings us an exciting range of possibilities and at prices we can actually afford. These refinements and technological breakthroughs make video more accessible, more seductive and more fun.