JVC HR-DVS3U MiniDV/SVHS deck report

ullanta

ullanta

Veteran
Greetings! There was some discussion recently about cheap editing decks. I've just received a new JVC HR-DVS3U MiniDV/SVHS deck, and thought I'd share...

The deck works fine with Final Cut Pro (though I haven't tried 24p import yet). It seems to work fine with tapes it has recorded itself. But so far, on about two hours of imports from the DVX (MQ tapes, of course!), I've had numerous audio dropouts and two video glitches (sparklies). These glitches/dropouts are NOT repeatable - that is, playing the same section of tape does not result in the same glitches. For this reason, I was able to repair all the problems by re-importing "patches", but of course this is not convenient.

Does anyone have experience with this deck? Is there any chance this is a "startup" issue that will disappear? I bought the deck primarily for the ability to go from firewire direct to VHS, but thought it would be nice to use it as my editing deck as well...

-Barry
 
Re: JVC HR-DVS3U MiniDV/SVHS deck report

I have the same deck and use MQ tapes with very few issues. There have been times where I have experienced the same problems, but I just use the head cleaning tape that came with the dvx and it fixes my problems. Hope that it is just a "startup" issue and fixes itself. But I have had good luck overall. 24p import works perfect.
 
Re: JVC HR-DVS3U MiniDV/SVHS deck report

Looking at the specs there is no mention of a firewire port.

Does it have one? Or is that the Plug & Play listing?

From JVC america website....
HR-DVS3U
Manufacturer's suggested retail price: $1399.95


Mini DV Format &High Resolution Super VHS and VHS
Super VHS ET Recording
Pro-Cision 19 micron width EP Heads
DigiPure Technology w/ TBC and 2MB Frame Memory
PCM Digital Audio (DV) andHi-Fi VHS Stereo with MTS Decoder
VCR Plus+ with "Cable Eye" Cable Box Controller
Advanced Jog Dial on VCR
Jog/Shuttle on Remote
Insert Editing with Flying Erase Head
Audio Dubbing
DA4(Double Azimuth) Head Helical Scan System
Auto Index and Index Search
Digital AV Tracking
Plug & Play
Auto SP-EP Timer Recording
Active Video Calibration
Express Programming
Multi-Brand TV/DBS Compatible Remote with Jog / Shuttle
S-video Input on Front / Back Panel
Two S-Video Output on Back Panel
Rear AV Inputs, Gold Plated Front Inputs
Two A/V Outputs
181 Channel Tuner
1Year /12 Event Timer(6 event each for DV & S-VHS/VHS)
Multi Lingual Color on Screen Menu
1 Year Parts, 90 Days Labor Warranty
Width: 17 3/16" (435mm)
Height: 4-3/16" (106mm)
Depth: 15 (380mm)
Power: AC 120V - 60Hz
One -Touch Dubbing (DV to SVHS/VHS)
______________________________
Weres the ilink or firewire port? :-[
 
Re: JVC HR-DVS3U MiniDV/SVHS deck report

Here it is I found it!

JVC america website......
HR-DVS3U
Manufacturer's suggested retail price: $1399.95


The HR-DVS3U is a unique all-in-one video solution combining miniDV and Super Hi-Fi Stereo in one VCR. . Enjoy high quality and creative convenience with this double-deck featuring easy playback of Mini DV, automatic editing from Mini DV to Super VHS/VHS, and extensive connectivity with Non-Linear Editing systems.  


Mini DV and S-VHS VCR. DV Insert Editing


Random Assemble Editing (DV to S-VHS), One-Touch Dubbing (both ways)


DV Input/Output (i.Link IEEE1394)


Easy PC Connectivity and Non Linear Editing Compatibility.


DigiPure Technology with 2MB Frame Memory
___________________________________________

Sounds pretty slick for around $700 bones. But I have a $500 DV camera and I have the same problem. Dropouts randomly in the middle of excellent footage. Sparkles I think you called them. Now if I use the Sony premium tapes (blue tapes) problem goes away. So as carry over and since you can get them anywhere, I started using the sonys in all my equipment now.

Now my cheapo cam (samsung) and my DVX are dropout free now.
I am not sold on the dry tapes. If you have already used wet you can't convert back without problems. Plus most tapes are wet anyway. No telling what tapes they use when they tested at the factory. ;D
 
Re: JVC HR-DVS3U MiniDV/SVHS deck report

I've been using mine for a year; there have been occasional dropouts in playback which, for whatever reason, never seem to carry into the captured footage. I just figured it was a glitch in the feed to the TV, not the computer.
 
Re: JVC HR-DVS3U MiniDV/SVHS deck report

All interesting (though I don't want to delve into the tapestock discussion again (I'm all MQ, though I didn't think of factory testing...). Just for the record, my glitches do indeed make it to the computer, they are NOT limited to playback on the TV.

Anyway, after I've used the thing a little more I'll report back on whther the problems persist or not, in case anyone's interested...

-Barry
 
Re: JVC HR-DVS3U MiniDV/SVHS deck report

I have a friend that has a JVC HR-DVS2U. Low hrs and good condition. He is asking aprox 450.00 for it. Is this a good deck for loading footage from the DVX100a or do you guys know of any problems with this model?
 
Re: JVC HR-DVS3U MiniDV/SVHS deck report

I've had the JVC deck for one year and have had Consistent random audio dropouts and occasional video dropouts! Yes I usually just reimport until I get dropout free footage but it is a pain in the butt! Just spent $120 at an authorized repair center in Miami and told them what was going on! They told me to use TDK mini-DV tape for this unit to get the best results! Said my unit was perfect! I have experienced the deck having dropouts on most varieties of tapes [ randomly on playback] before I bought my DVX and switched completely to MQ tapes! I don't really want to try TDK tapes but this is what the techs said works best with this machine! I love this deck for the VCR and pretty much just use it for low-end projects! Probably will buy a GS-200 to use as my deck and 2nd camera!
 
Re: JVC HR-DVS3U MiniDV/SVHS deck report

Dude that is what sucks about used video equipment. There has to be some reason why they want to get rid of it and you don't know if they have been mixing tapes (wet and dry).

Sounds like a unit I am going to stay away from. Even though only $700 new. I would rather pickup a $400 camera and us it as a deck. Sounds like i would have the same number of problems for less money.

Why are editing decks so expensive. It doesn't make sense. They don't have optics, LCD displays, or lithium ion batteries.

Some of these decks have features that none of us will use. I need one that will just let me capture to hard drive (playback, no record) and rewind, flawless footage. Hell I never export back to dv-tape for fear of dropouts and compression artifacts.

Wheres this deck?

The flappysonic 200 DVP!
Features:
Playback
Rewind
Fastforward
Stop button
Pause button
Features ilink port
Panasonic DVX playback heads

Price $200

Ah the dream is alive! ;D


Hell I think I will invent it and make a fortune! I'm calling panny!
 
Re: JVC HR-DVS3U MiniDV/SVHS deck report

Thanks for the advice. Hey, Dell has a new Panny DV camera for $349.00. I could use that for a deck for the time being.
 
DVs3u working in Final Cut

DVs3u working in Final Cut

Hello, i saw that you have the HR-DVS3U working with final cut pro. I am a teacher at a school and would like to know what capture setting you used to get your mac talking with this deck. Is there a special driver or somethin? please help. We have 4 of these and cant seem to get things going.
thanks
 
I have a JVC HR-DVS2U Mini DV/VHS deck. I have a ton of Mini DV tapes and need to get them to a hard drive on a Windows 10 PC. I can’t figure out how to do this. Can anyone please point out the best way to get this done?
 
The model is fine - the individual unit is just a poorly maintained one. I've had 3 or 4 of this series of JVCs with firewire and internally its so close that the mechanisms seem to either be the same, or look the same. The killer is maintenance, and very careful maintenance. head cleaning is important, but compared to VHS, needs to be done much more carefully, and they wear pretty fast. The problems creep in, so you get a clog, but your cleaning adds to the wear, so after a few necessary cleanings, the wear starts to outpace the dirt collection. When I used lots of tape, I would keep an alert on ebay and buy ANY JVC of this type when they came up. Some would last a while, others were nearly worn out on arrival - but you only find out later. Realistically, when new, they were fragile, when old even more so. I think tape tension misadjustment speeds the wear. Cleaning tapes of any kind make it worse. The lids on mine remained off.like they did in my broadcast days where the VT machines would be cleaned, and cleaned and cleaned. I soon realised this is NOT a good move for mini-DV machines.
 
That is all useful, of course, but my question is how to get the Mini-DV tape to be recording on a Windows 10 computer. I could use some help with that please. Thanks.
 
You would need a legacy capture card with the correct I/O. Something like this (but not necessarily that model as I don't know if it will work for your hardware and situation): https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._HDMI_and.html

Or an AV output conversion to HDMI (via AV to HDMI converter) that you could also very easily use with an external recorder (that's what I do).

As far as software, there are about 100 different ones made in India and other countries...would have to experiment which ones works best for your sources and particular setup.

___

With all that said, it is 10000% easier to purchase a mini-DV camera on eBay for $50 and capture via FireWire, especially if you already have FW. If not, there are $25 FW to Thunderbolt adapters which I used on Macs with FCP X and QuickTime (assuming you have TB).
 
NorBro said:
You would need a legacy capture card with the correct I/O. Something like this (but not necessarily that model as I don't know if it will work for your hardware and situation): https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._HDMI_and.html

Or an AV output conversion to HDMI (via AV to HDMI converter) that you could also very easily use with an external recorder (that's what I do).

As far as software, there are about 100 different ones made in India and other countries...would have to experiment which ones works best for your sources and particular setup.

___

With all that said, it is 10000% easier to purchase a mini-DV camera on eBay for $50 and capture via FireWire, especially if you already have FW. If not, there are $25 FW to Thunderbolt adapters which I used on Macs with FCP X and QuickTime (assuming you have TB).
Click to expand...

I have a similiar card to this and the Blackmagic Media Express software that comes with it is ok for capturing the video. Can use DaVinci Resolve (free) to edit it from there.
 
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