VCR for analog TV as well as HDTV

They will all work. I have never seen a flat panel TV that did not include either a coax connection or an composite video connection that would support a VCR. However, you will likely not be thrilled with the video quality of VHS when watched on an HDTV. I do play a lot of kids videos for my 2 year old. He doesn't seem to mind the low resolution!

Enjoy,

TIC

I remember reading a while back about a particular model from Samsung that was hi-def VCR (Model DVDVR325) and here's an excerpt that might interest you -

"While the CE industry and the consuming public have been putting all the attention on DVD, JVC (with its HM-DH30000) and Mitsubishi (with its HS-HD2000U) have been quietly elevating VHS technology with the development of D-VHS. Basically, D-VHS VCRs are totally compatible with standard VHS, they can record and play all standard VHS and S-VHS formats, but with an added wrinkle: D-VHS is capable of recording in all 18 DTV approved formats, from 480p to full 1080i, with the addition of an external DTV tuner"

Enjoy!

Nshashidhar is correct. There are hi-Def VCRs too. However, they are expensive. The ones I usually see are about $400-$500. I did just recently see one on closeout at Circuit City for $100 open box. It might be worth a look.

TIC

You do NOT want to mix VHS with a larger, sharper screen. The horizontal luma resolution is about 320 pixels so the image will be very soft. Buy yourself an S-VHS recorder for about 530 pixels horizontally if you must retain backwards compatability with VHS tapes. It'll still be a bit softer than DVD, but not far from laser disc.

It's still only good for about 32 colors across a line, and you will have color bleed into adjacent objects.

Disk based recorders will avoid these problems.

Not too long ago I bought a JVC VCR for a few bucks over $100, mainly to fill the slot in a TV/HT setup, and, on very rare occasions, play a tape. Viewed on a 42" EDTV plasma the picture is much better than I expected. It does depend on the particular tape.

Slightly off topic, but whatever happened to the idea of recording high quality audio (no video) on VCR tapes?

Eldartford,

I haven't heard of anyone recording Audio on a stereo VHS tape since about 1987. It was a popular concept back then....

Enjoy,

TIC