*UPDATE* Thank you again for the corrections below. VHS HIFI uses helical scanning heads in the drum to lay down HIFI audio. The linear audio tracks were for older (or reverse compatible) LOFI audio tracks. Also, SP, LP, & SLP had no bearing on the audio quality.

A couple of points to note: HIFI Stereo Audio heads on VHS VCRs are located on the same rotating drum as the video heads. The stereo audio signal is recorded using an FM carrier signal and embedded on the tape along with the video signals, different frequencies are used of course to avoid interference between the video and audio. HIFI Stereo doesn't use Dolby noise reduction, it is not required due to the exceptional signal to noise ratio. If a HIFI Stereo VCR has Dolby NR this is purely for the linear audio tracks the VCR also records. These linear audio tracks are entirely separate from the HIFI audio tracks, only a few HIFI stereo VCRs also recorded linear stereo, most recorded only a linear mono audio track to maintain compatibility with older equipment. The large audio head to the right of the drum is for linear audio not HIFI stereo.

I used to record audio on VHS for parties. I used the medium speed with a 160 minute tape and I could get 320 minutes of decent audio that I could just push play and enjoy the party. Sometimes I would use a mixer and do a DJ mixed show in advance, and have a virtual DJ "in da house". I also knew a few audiophiles who backed up their LP collections using VHS tape. So I guess I knew about this :) Great topic. Take care...

I've never thrown out any tape deck. VHS HiFi has been one of the best investments I've ever made, beginning in December 1986.

I don't know how many years it's been since I've watched TV, but I still view my VHS tapes. Hi-Fi VHS with four head scanning. Wow and flutter 0.005%. Freq. response 20-20,000 Hz. You couldn't ask for anything better...

I used to record stuff on VHS Hi-Fi all the time back in the early 90s. I got good results recording friends that performed in bands and did acoustic solo gigs at bars. And I did some low budget TV shows where I switched two S-VHS cameras through an MX-12 switcher to a S-VHS HI-FI deck and got surprisingly good results. The final shows were mastered to Betacam-SP for broadcast.

I used a Super Beta HiFi deck to archive all my albums in the 80's. It made perfect copies.

The NPR station I worked at used VHS HiFi to record programs for later broadcast.

I'm SO glad i didn't give up on vhs hifi vcr's i have quite a few machines

Hi-Fi VHS sounded “better” than my Revox A77

i think the VCR was a little clearer in the high frequencies

Fun fact, some high end VCRs and most VHS Camcorders have the erase head in the drum spinner as well. Was called "Flying Erase Head" which makes pause/edits in recording seamless. I have a Sharp branded full size VHS camcorder that has a flying erase head. :D

I bought an excellent vhs recorder in the 90's after hiring them in the 80's at tv rentals stores. I was able to record 12 hours worth of vinyl records including a vast amount of my singles + favourite tracks from albums. I still have the vhs tapes and never got rid of my player. It's still connected to my HD tv along with dvd player & hardrive recorder. I have the lot connected to my hi-fi systems. Sound is still excellent. I even play old tv series that still never made it onto dvd...ie; "Spender" starring Jimmy Nail. Why not ? & the best of all - I taped so many music shows like "Raw Power" and have these still to watch. I never did follow trends. How many people threw away their vinyl collections and turntables, just because it was the trend to only use cds and now regret it ? Lol & as a footnote - I still have 2 walkmans for cassettes + a cd walkman from the 80's & 90's.

Decades ago, I used a Hi-Fi stereo VHS machine - which I still have - for recording orchestral concerts from FM radio and the results were exceptionally good.

Just one thing - hifi stereo on VHS uses the video heads (helical scan) for the audio. The linear audio head is used for the legacy mono audio only. The hifi signal is good but can suffer from chatter due to the head switching of the video heads. Also I note you used an image from a UK TV guide, which to be pedantic was using "Video Plus" rather than VCR Plus, although I think the two were technically identical. The main advantage of using VHS for recording eg radio was that you could record ten hours of good quality audio, continuously using LP, which was good for recording festivals etc back in the day.

The HiFi audio is actually recorded and played back along side the helictical video. Low bandwith audio was recorded as a linear track

Threw away. I still have a RCA VCR hooked to the main TV. I use it for some shows I still have VHS. They do sound good yet. I have another 2 ready if needed in the closet

SP was mainly two hours and LP was 4 hours and SLP or EP was 6 hours on a standard tape. Tapes in SLP never went over 8 hours on the longest tapes. It's just FYI. This was a great video. Thank you for sharing.

I learned how to record high quality audio recordings onto VHS cassettes years ago. They key is getting a reliable VHS HiFi VCR (not standard VHS). The sound is fantastic, on a par with many top-end vintage reel to reel decks. Plus there are two benefits: (1) very long recording times ranging up to 8 hours per tape, and (2) the ability to record unattended via the VCR timer.

There's one major hangup recording on VHS, in any deck other than a pro deck, and that is compression or their innate limiter the ALC. I have two S-VHS Hi-Fi decks and neither one has independent recording level controls found on any run of the mill cassette deck!

About 30 years ago, I used a VCR to record the Dr. Demento Show. I'd just let it run, then edit it to an audio cassette (minus the commercials). Also, I never got rid of any decks. Do to havin' a collection of movies that are still not available on DVD or Blu-ray.

I used to record an Overnight blues show by hooking my HiFI VCR to the Technics amp. Programed it for Saturday 1155 to Sunday 505am, channel 00 was the Aux in. Then listened through the week! IIRC HiFiVHS had a dynamic range of 90dB, compared to CD 100dB and Cassettes average 70dB!

BE KIND, PLEASE REWIND. Remember rhat, ahhhh the good ol days.

I still own a Sony Betamax player model ( SL-HF 1000 )and a Samsung Worldwide VCR player (model SV- 7000W). They are really nice machines and I'm so glad that I held on to them. 🤗

I didn't throw my VCR away. I remember reading in the 90s a letter in What Hi Fi answering a letter about recording from the radio. They suggested that a VCR could be used and that it would be better than Cassette. It would not have been four head either at that time.

We had mothers day in the uk in March,so happy mothers day to all mums in the USA 😊 Been awaiting eagerly for the next show and now its here I've really enjoyed it mr Recordology!

Audio junkie here. I had a great machine made by Hitachi in the 80's that I used to record supersize mix tapes. I don't remember the model number, but it was labeled as 7 Head with (5+2 Heads) in parenthesis. It even had LED VU meter bars. Sadly, it died in the early 90's and was cost prohibitive to fix.

I have fond memories of my Akai VS-A650, it was one of my first purchases when I got my student loan :) It included a Dolby Surround decoder and a stereo amplifier(!) that could be switched to output either the front or back speakers. The model has also record level sliders, VU meters, 7 rewind speeds (2x,3x,5x,7x,9x,11x,15x iirc) and an in-drum erase head for seamlessish editing. And funnily, a Y2K bug shifteing the weekdays off by one after February 28th, 2000 (years divisible by 400 are not leap years in the Gregorian calendar lol). I finally got rid of it because the power supply fizzled out after 8 years of 24/7 operation. First, the front panel CFD slowly got dimmer, and finally the entire machine would brown out trying to spin up its tape drum. But it saw good use recording temporary Music TV and "archiving" CDs before mp3s and CD burners were a thing. I heartily recommend it if you can find a working one. The model without the "A" in the model number probably is a better choice since it hasn't got the amplifier and thus runs cooler and might not have the power supply issues mine had. thanks for the video!

I recorded a late night 2 hour fm talk show on my jvc vhs back around 20 years ago. It was a big step up in quality and plenty of record time. It sounds strange, record radio with a vcr? It works way better than regular cassette.

I buy hi-fi vhs whenever I can at sales. Also, 1 rotation of the drum represents I field of video, not one frame. It’s interlaced. Hi-fi did not use the linear track. The hi-fi was fm modulated and written concurrently with the second set of heads at a different azimuth along with the video.

I still have my HiFi Stereo 4 head VCR. I’ll try recording from vinyl to a VHS tape. Having spent some time at local cable company community channel, I remember using Betacam SP and U-Matic SP up until late 2001

I used to record audio on VHS many years ago. Are you using the KZfaq audio library? For your audio presentations that are not on records, you can thoroughly compare and contrast without copyright issues.

We used to use our VCRs to record the 4-hour long Dr. Demento show back in the day. We did that because we could set the timer for it to start and end and not worry about the tape running out in the middle of the show.

I recently purchased a Hi-Fi stereo VCR so I could finally play my old VHS tapes in their original quality. I was very surprised at just how much better it was to standard VHS audio. It's at least as good as vinyl and very close to CD/DVD quality.

Still have my 4 head Hi-Fi VCR. You were right, its audio is second to none- why do you think I hooked it up to a surround sound system?

I miss VCR's. Those were the good old days man. I suspect we are close in age by your tastes. I'm 40.

How do you record audio in if there are no meters? No visual or controls of what’s coming in? Reel to reel or cassette decks have them, how do you compensate for not having input audio meters to control your input volume?

Back in the late 80s I used 6 head Mitsubishi VHS HIfI for DJing. Could record 6hours on a tape 20 to 20k. This came in handy when doing mobile gigs where turntables would skip from people dancing and the floor shaking too much. Those were the days....

I still have the Hi-Fi VCR we bought at Radio Shack over 20 years ago, and a TV/VCR combo we bought at Best Buy before that.

Happy Days! - i think i have mentioned this a few times. I have managed to get hold of 4 VHS machines, including a 6 - head LG HiFi VHS still unopened in its box ( security seal still intact). May be worth getting hold of a 6 head deck and/ or a Beta HiFi deck ( Beta HiFi are becomming expensive in the UK as people wise up to this). Good luck and hope to see future vids on this subject.

I never had a HiFi VCR till I was well into my late teens. I discovered early on I could use the family 4 head Linear audio, mono VCR for recording music I liked from the "Music Choice" channels which worked ok. That became a hobby for a few months 'till I filled the entire tape.

I've used mine for years for recording 50s audio shows that air on a local radio station. Usually I take the time to record from the radio to my computer so then I can save up a series and get 12 hours by treating the left and right channels as their own tracks.

Happy belated Mother's Day to Mrs. Recordology! :)

VHS Is Magic, No Joke! It was revolutionary at the time

I have a JVC Super VHS that music sounds very good. I used it before I got a computer to make CDs.

That’s the exact vcr I found at the thrift shop three times

In the 1990s, I (and as it turned out many others) used VHS to record radio. Computer sound cards and storage weren't advanced enough (quality or size) to store a lot of audio, and VHS Hifi always sounded good. Being able to record on a timer made it great for overnight recording when more interesting stuff was being played.

My sony slv -n50 says 4 head HI FI stereo, but when I record music on it, it comes out mono

I still use my 3 Hi-Fi VHS VCR machines. Have been using VHS tapes on and off with cassettes to record audio since the 80s.

Hi-Fi audio is recorded diagonally on the tape like the video. That’s why it sounds so good using more tape real estate.

What does it mean when the back only hate audio (yellow and white only output, no red) I don’t see video out put anywhere

I used to use vhs hi-fi tapes to record live performances, especially that i could make use of 6+ hours un-interrupted, since the 90's all the way up to the mid 2000's when it was starting harder to get tapes, even though they were getting cheaper. Only drawback was that little buzzing noise when played back on a different player, but in all, was very useful and good quality. Would transfer them to cassette or cd-r when i edited them later on.

The SP,LP,has no effect on the hifi sound quality. Some recorders may need a video signal to allow recording or playback. Most don't. Some do.

One thing you made me realize is how the video is recorded and then the other tracks record over it on the edges. I actually thought the audio was done by the heads on the drum.

Actually we used VHS HiFi units we imported from Japan in the early 90s in the Transcription Service at Radio Netherlands. Starting in 1991 we had been looking to make better recordings of the concerts we would record at The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam as we always found tape was never high enough.. We used VHS HiFi from 1992 until 2010. Our current affairs, documentary and features departments all used open reel until 1996 when digital desktops were available. But, we were the first department to ditch reel to reel. We would also edit the concerts using VHS HiFi and the duplications were made either for the cassettes, CDs and LP releases that we would send to stations overseas for broadcast through the transcription service. When we made the switch to VHS HiFi we would get visits every now and again from other international broadcasters and they would ask us how we could have such high quality recordings when they were still using open reel tape. So we showed them. A few of them Deutsche Welle and the BBC World Service also then adopted VHS HiFi as a recording format for live concerts.

This is awesome, however a more fair comparison would have been using metal maxell tape!

I happen to have that same Panasonic Omnivision VCR! Thanks to my dad, I've kept a few VCR's because they work. It's a good thing because a few people I know asked me if I could make DVD's out of their VHS tapes. With the right kind of capture devices, and video editing and DVD mastering software, I've managed to get very good results. Maybe the best I could get from the VHS tapes. I even got paid for it! Almost all of them have mono sound, which is why it wouldn't matter if I use a Goldstar VCR that is not in stereo. The picture quality hardly made a difference, which is why it wouldn't matter what VCR I use. There were only a couple of video that happen to have stereo sound. That's where that Panasonic Omnivision VCR would come in handy. I also have a Sony, which is also Hi-Fi Stereo.

Quel videoregistratore non ha il dolby,perché nel video esce la scritta dolby sul VHS?,poi il VHS non usa il dolby sulle tracce stereo,ma sulla traccia mono

Digital audio can also be recorded on Hi-Fi VCRs.

I actually have a Panasonic VCR that is almost exactly like this one!!!!!

Sony D-131 Discman was my first portable I bought it in 1995 and I got at least three good years out of it.

Very nice

For VCR speeds, there was SP, LP & EP\SLP. I think there was one VCR that had a speed that was even slower than EP\SLP.

I remember wanting to buy a SuperVHS VCR, but never seeing them at local thrift stores, so I ended up buying a used one for about $80 (with the shipping) on eBay. Then ironically about two weeks later, I found (and bought) one at my local Salvation Army Thrift Store for only $9.99 and then two weeks after that, I found (and bought, haha!) another one for $14.99 at a local Value Village. I had literally NEVER seen them EVER at local thrift stores (plenty of standard VHS VCR's, but never SuperVHS) and now suddenly they were popping up everywhere and they still fetch high prices on eBay since they are very much in demand by collectors. :)

I used to use my VHS Hifi VCR (AKAI vs-a77) in the nineties as a hifi audio recorder, it sounded better than my Nakamichi LX5 cassette deck!

For it's time it was a truly remarkable format.I chose to purchase a Harmon Kardon VCD1000 back about 1986, It cost me over $700 ( MSRP was $850) , mostly to use to record simulcasts of concerts and other radio shows from a local Chicago station, WXRT. It did have remarkable specs in its review in Stereo Review mag ( 09-1985) which even stated that "A tape dubbed on it from a CD, could not be distinguished from the original in a A/B playback comparison" It held out for a few years, but developed transport mechanism "bugs" and once CD's and then recording digitally with a A-D sound card on a computer and burning your own CD's became more mainstream and affordable it became something to find its way to the bin.

Tape good idea. When I was a kid we used to chew up a piece of paper and jam it into the hole lol.

My surprise was how good the cassette sounded. I know, Techmoan did a video some time ago on cassettes (“better than you don’t remember”), but most of us had cassette players that didn’t sound as good as any other format, including vinyl and CD. One reason was because as you pointed out, the slower the speed, the lesser the quality of the sound. Cassettes run at less than 2 inches per second, which is far less than any other tape format. I knew someone once who got better sound on cassettes by recording them at double speed. I wonder how many people actually use video cassettes for recording audio only...it’s certainly n interesting idea!!!

It's nice to discover this new twist, if perhaps a tiny one, among the pursuits of home audio enthusiasts. After all, analog open reel has long made an impressive comeback, at least among some well heeled audiophiles who can afford to restore and/or upgrade their machines and who afford the now very high priced tape stock. To some degree renewed interest in analog recording is understandable, at least for recording live sessions, since arguably the best sounding A/D conversion two channel electronics can cost upwards of $3500. Indeed, two track 1/4" open reel can sound very good even at least at 7.5 ips, more so if gain stages are dc coupled, low DA film caps are used for supply bypassing, et al. I've never heard (nor have much interest in) today's premium open reel designs but a shoot out between one or more (e.g. a recapped and well aligned Ampex ATR-102 1/4" OR a "tapelifterless" Studer deck) and, say, a Sony or Panasonic VHS Hi-Fi VCR. While signal electronics build quality may likely be far better even in these stock open reel decks (lower distortion percentages?) , the H-Fi VCR may have wider and flatter frequency response, higher signal/noise ratio and far lower wow and flutter. Even more impressive is that both recording speed and tape stock formulation costs will be a mere fraction of what plagues open reel tape enthusiasts. Only open reel have rapid and precise razor blade editing and variable pitch control. But I submit that IF advanced circuit designers, like those here www.diyaudio.com ever got serious about revamping the R/P electronics of Hi-Fi VCRs (especially those with superior transport design and build quality), the VCR would become the best sounding AND most affordable analog recording device. And for starters there's certainly no shortage of VHS blank media on where it's being all but given away at ebay, craigslist and countless garage sales-many tapes with low mileage and oxide shed. Go for it!

I used a Pioneer 1050 to master my music at 15ips……….Purchased a Hi Fi VHS,,,,,,,dtarted Mastering on the vhs with the Helical heads……Much more information recorded with those helical heads………Those tapes still play well today…….Did this back in 80’s90’s

A small FM radio station and hi end tape recording device all in one little box. Powerful invention.

Still got 3 of them probably should dust them off and go through my tape collection..

I reserve vinyl music in this way (VHS HIFI SLP mode 360min) to a BGM tape. or even to record PCM(video port)+ VHS hifi (L+R audio port) simutaneosly with PCM processor (ex. SONY PCM-501ES.......)

I have the same vcr cool 😎 still works no remote tho. But what about DAT players ?

I still own a Funai VHS HI-FI 4-Head Sereo and DVD combination with reversible dubbing recording abilities. I'm missing a spring on the DVD flap (so it stays open, though I tape it shut until needed) but otherwise the unit remains in very good condition. I've had it probably since 1977 or thereabouts. It has eaten a tape or two but that's because I either forgot to clean it's heads or forgot to BRIEFLY demagnatize them (just like a compact cassette player needs done now and then. Look it up.) I also have a separate unit that both reminds and fast forwards my VHS tapes--a real life saver with old tapes which tend to jam up or lock up tight when they haven't been used for awhile. Best buy of that era that I ever made.

Never threw any of my hi fi decks away unless they were really not salvageable. I have a Panasonic similar to that and two Sanyos that I got at Walmart, one still unopened. The VHS did better than the reel to reel in the low frequency response but reel to reel did better in the top end of the frequency response. We made a lot of videos of my band back in the day using a mixer and a VHS camcorder. We took the audio output of the mixing console and video out of the VHS camera into the VCR and we got some of the best sounding recordings of the band. It really sounded close to a compact disc to me. As the one head is leaving the tape the other one is coming on the tape. You have your stationary head which has a very limited frequency response but the heads on the scanner have what they call FM audio which is your hi fi audio and because the way the tape drum is spinning, the tape is emulating many feet per second which gives you the most fantastic audio. The guides are so critical as well. If they're out of alignment even ever so slightly tape won't be able to track properly and if it's really bad it won't track at all. In order to set them up properly you need an oscilloscope. Thank you for sharing.

I still have a vhs player still in good working condition still watch my old vhs movies

I still have some HiFi VCR's & 1 Beta HiFi VCR as well.

It’s sad there is not a headphone jack or VU meters like even a cheap cassette recorder would have. Why no headphone jacks or input meters on most vcr’s

Luckily, I never threw out my original VHS decks (an unremarkable 2-head mono one by Emerson as well as a much more sophisticated 4-head hi-fi JVC VCR with a flying erase head which was perfect for video editing). I've also scooped up JVC Super VHS ET VCR's from my local thrift stores for $10 to $15 that were a great upgrade. Plus, I kept my original VHS collection and still buy the odd VHS here and there, particularly if it's a rare title or one that isn't readily or cheaply available on DVD or Blu-ray. :)

I stumbled on the ability to do this in my late teens, and had visions of recording all sorts of things onto videotape, but I never did anything about it. Though I was aware that my local student radio station were looking at recording the overnight shift onto VCR, but as before, nothing came of it.

Some VHS HiFi decks also had audio record level controls just like a cassette deck.... I had a nice Mitsubishi VCR with level controls and LED counters, as well as a 40 year old Panasonic Omnivision (Search KZfaq for "80s VCR" my videos are the top 2 results). I remember back in the day recording a "Top 500 rock songs of all time" countdown and going back to dub favorite songs to a cassette later. And not saying I ever did this but if a friend happened to loan a CD box set for a day, it would have been easy to use a camcorder to film the CD display and just record the entire thing...

I’m sure you are aware they did make a digital vhs machine that was purpose built for audio and I believe it was one of the first consumer digital formats beating the cd. The pioneer sv p100

Still got my VCR

Yes, exactly, is the hi fi analog sound, close 90 dB dinamic range

I did this with radio programs in the early 90's, and used the VCR's programming controls to record when I was out. Tape quality was excellent and the unit was designed to be used as an audio deck as well as video. The deck was a cheapie sold under the "Fisher" brandname, but I don't know who really made it. It was a HI Fi unit, but is long gone.

I think the one you took apart is the model I used to have...

I've had a few different vcr's and the best one i had was the akai and it had the best sound and picture. I forgot which model but i would record stuff when i was at work and then watch it the next day. Picture was so good and the sound was the best. It was a stereo hi-fi model.Well i did spend a lot of money on it. It was akai's high model. Well a couple of years later i recorded a show i wanted to watch. Now remember this is the early 80's so i was ready to watch it i hit play and nothing but snow so i thought the cable was out when it happen so i recorded another show and later of course snow. So i found out the tuner quit working. I think a storm must have had a surge in the cable and shorted it out. So i took it to get it fixed and i got a call from the guy saying he couldn't fix it. What happened is that Akai went out of business and he couldn't fix it with out thier parts so was without my favorite vcr. I bought another brand that was good but it didn't have the best picture or sound that the Akai i had. OK Bored you enough have a good one!

Some restaurants the owner would have a vcr and recorded music to play instead of paying for muzak for background music. Recorded on the slow speed and have a few hours of music and then it would rewind and start over.

Be kind, rewind. Beta Hi-Fi recorders were used at live concerts and in recording studios. Audiophile magazines always touted Hi-Fi VCRs as great home audio recorders at the time. Great informative video young man!

Also something to mention. Most tapes are T-120 tapes, which means SP=120 mins EP= 4hrs SLP= 6hrs. I think there are longer tapes but they're harder to find.

Analogue audio recorded helically on tape stock that beats type II tape. DAT recorded uncompressed digital audio helically, DCC used lossy compression recorded linearly - very high bitrate MP2, the same codec used in DAB ata lower bitratein the UK IIRC.

I will have to record some music from a cd to my Realistic Stereo Hifi Beta deck actually made by Sanyo and see how it sounds.

The mechanism you have is not the original "M" threading, it's an "S" threading. The original M threading had the pinch roller pressing on the recorded tape surface, the S threading places the pinch roller behind the tape so it doesn't contact the recorded surface. The helical scan gives you really high relative tape-head speed, over 100 (or 200 I don't remember) inches per second which is higher than any other tape audio recorder.

Actually the Stereo HiFi Audio is recorded along side the video, helical, not linear like the low fi audio used to be.

These came out in the 1980's. $700.00 for a VCR. More classic than DVD 📀 players of today. Is this a best VCR? Sounds like you're saving not 👎 to throw them away. I remember the old 8mm, and 16mm movie 🎥 projectors in our school 🏫. I liked 👍 everything when it was old school 🏫. Your friend, Jeff.

Tried a mixtape I missed something Noise .. Original data erased from tape... I have a Mitsubishi HiFi 4head deck Hmmmmm

You did make one mistake. When it came to most tapes sp got you 2 hrs, lp got you around 4, and slp sometimes referred to as ep would give you 6. There were some tapes that would give you slightly more though to where in slp would give you 8 hrs.

Their are hi fi heads on video drum that why it refers to 4 head hi fi. The fixed audio head is not hifi head but lo fi for backwards compatibility with older non hifi VHS tapes

I had done a similar test back in the 80's / played the Top Gun VHS movie tape ,, was definitely better // i always thought it was because it audio was enhanced because it was a movie ???