Rating: 
Summary: D-VHS rocks
Review: D-VHS is a VHS cassete with 6x the resolution of DVD and over 20x the resolution of regular VHS. This cassetes, which are the same size as a regular VHS, can playback and record 4 hours of High Definition and 24 hours (One day) of DVD quality. They also do not degrade with use like regular VHS's so. The HM-DH3000L can playback and recored with all standard VHS and S-VHS and unlike cheaper D-VCRs this can playback prerecorded D-Theater tapes. Only D-VCRs with the D-Theater symbol can play prerecorded tapes which this has. The first D-VHS titles will arrive this summer I can't wait.
Rating:
Summary: Why get a new VCR?
Review: I asked myself this question before I purchased this machine. However, I concluded that the new reduced price made this a necessary purchase especially since I needed to replace my old VCR. The main reason I wanted this device was to be able to timer record over the air Hdtv signals. This product has worked perfectly at this task. Be aware that you will need a set-top box or HDTV with built in firewire to be able to record in high def. I have a Hitachi 57XWX and this product was identified by the TV when I hooked it up. I have purchased U571 on DVHS and it looks and sounds awesome. The picture is much, much better than DVD which I also love. The VCR is capable of playing back DD5.1 through the firewire or through the optical out on the back of the machine. I am unable to record DD5.1 at this time because no one in my area is televising with a DD data stream. So I am not positive that this feature works. However, I would guess that it would because it is able to play back tapes in DD with the firewire.
Rating:
Summary: Why get a new VCR?
Review: I asked myself this question before I purchased this machine. However, I concluded that the new reduced price made this a necessary purchase especially since I needed to replace my old VCR. The main reason I wanted this device was to be able to timer record over the air Hdtv signals. This product has worked perfectly at this task. Be aware that you will need a set-top box or HDTV with built in firewire to be able to record in high def. I have a Hitachi 57XWX and this product was identified by the TV when I hooked it up. I have purchased U571 on DVHS and it looks and sounds awesome. The picture is much, much better than DVD which I also love. The VCR is capable of playing back DD5.1 through the firewire or through the optical out on the back of the machine. I am unable to record DD5.1 at this time because no one in my area is televising with a DD data stream. So I am not positive that this feature works. However, I would guess that it would because it is able to play back tapes in DD with the firewire.
Rating: 
Summary: No FireWire comm with computer
Review: I bought this VCR for Hi-Def video editing (export HD footage to D-VHS tape) and as DV backup storage (store several miniDV tape contents to one DVHS tape).In both applications this deck fails miserably. It just doesn't talk to the computer via FireWire, noway. JVC tech support didn't help one single bit - all they said was "it's a driver issue", but they don't release the driver for their device... In short, if you just want a VCR that may take input from a camcorder through FireWire - maybe it's OK. If you want to output video from your computer (from Adobe Premiere, Ulead MediaSturdio Pro or VideoStudio, Microsoft Windows Movie Maker) - just forget it. Doesn't work at all. I can't express my disappointment strongly enough.
Rating: 
Summary: HD Tape vs. DVD
Review: I have one of these units (I've had a D-VHS since 1998, although not capable of recording HD). I have to say that the amazing quality of the D-VHS format is wonderful. The argument that HD-DVDs are coming soon is a powerful one: despite what one review here says, D-VHS tapes *DO* degrade over time, like any other tape format. The bad thing with digital is that once the oxides flake off the tape, the picture is unwatchable, not just fuzzy like analog. That said, it will be a long time before HD-DVD can record off air like this VCR does; it's unlikely that today's HD programming will be available soon on DVD, so recording off the air is the only option for preserving these first HD programs. And the fact that you can tape dozens of hours of programming on one tape is wonderful for those of us who travel - a great alternative to the PVR with no extra monthly fees.
Rating:
Summary: will the 30K recorder become obsolete in three years?
Review: I have traveled all over the internet looking for reasons to either purchase this recorder or not. The most favorite of mine ..., was an internet sight with a letter written by the President of ABC who said he had this D-VHS deck and pointed out, when connected to his High Definition TV, this recorder/player, in his opinion, was outstanding. JVC has recently upgraded their HD Movies catalog and Hollywood is continuing to add to that catalog. It is nice to know that someone is looking out for the early adopters of High Definition tvs and recorders when the fact remains that DVD HD recorders/players are about three years down the road or maybe even earlier if the manufactuers can agree on using red light or blue light technology. I would certainly hate to pay [money] for this HD VCR deck to only find that after three years DVD-HD recorders have taken off like a rocket in popularity and companies have abandoned tape altogether. The question I ask myself....what does a person who loves HD do in the meantime to avoid clashing with his wife who only wants to watch Home and Garden on the big screen.......GO AHEAD AND BUY THE DECK!! After all, if it's good enough for the president of ABC, it's got to be good for me.
Rating: 
Summary: It Can't Record High Definition Satellite Programming!
Review: I'm so disappointed! I bought this ... HD VCR solely because I wanted to record High Definition Satellite Programming (such as Baseball & Football) from my Mitsubishi High Definition Satellite Receiver. (I live in an area of very poor terrestrial signals, so recording over-the-air programming is not possible.) After getting this VCR and tryingto hook it up, I find out that it will only record High Definition programming from it's "Fire Wire" or "IEEE1394" (digital) input. Unfortunately, the satellite receiver only outputs in "S-Video", "Composite Video", or "Component" (analog outputs). I have been told that it is not possible to convert the analog to digital! After searching the web, trying to solve this problem (JVC has not been helpful!), I have heard some talk that Hollywood does not want the High Definition satellite receivers to output in "Fire Wire" or "IEEE1394". If anyone knows of a satellite receiver that does this, PLEASE let me know, because I would be glad to purchase it in order to record HighDefinition satellite Programming on this VCR. In the meantime, JVC should write in great big RED LETTERS in their advertising (and on their box), "This VCR Can't Record High Definition Satellite Programming!" Any ideas or comments would be most welcome!
Rating:
Summary: it can play, but what about the recording or audio
Review: ok... It can record 1080i an below, ok, now what about the audio.
I don't want another HiFi Vcr. If I can dump 5.1 audio onto this machine. Then I feel it would be worth all the money there are asking. If anyone knows for sure of what it can do. Please Write an review to inform the rest of us.
Thanks
Rating:
Summary: Know its limitations
Review: The first thing to understand about this device is that it is pretty bleeding-edge technology. By this, it should be understood that it will do what it is supposed to do, but just barely. Because of this, if you are not the sort of person accustomed to getting the newest electronics devices, and dealing with all the teething problems the newest stuff always has, you shouldn't even be thinking about buying this VCR - you would in all likelihood just find it extremely frustrating and end up returning it. If, however, you are the kind of person who likes to get the newest stuff and working through its issues, then this VCR might be for you. The purpose of the rest of this review is to help you decide. What this VCR will do is: (1) play back pre-recorded D-VHS tapes.
(2) record HDTV from a FireWire / IEEE-1394 / iLink equipped receiver.
(3) do what a traditional S-VHS VCR will do. Here are the pluses and minuses from my own experience, in no particular order: + HDTV recording quality. When recording HDTV, the digital signal is transferred directly to tape so that it can be played back as changed. Unless there is damage to the tape, the quality of playback should be equal to the original signal fed into it. - no internal receiver. The HDTV record capability depends on an external HDTV receiver (whether satellite, over-the-air, or cable) to capture the signal, which is then fed to the VCR over a FireWire connection (IEEE-1394 and iLink are the same technology as FireWire, just with a different name). While recording, the receiver is tied up - if you want to be able to watch one program while recording another, plan on getting a second HDTV receiver. + support for HAVi, which enables the VCR operations to be controlled over FireWire. This allows the HDTV tuner to control timed recordings by turning on the VCR, starting recording, and ending recording. - very limited HDTV receiver support for HAVi. While this is not strictly speaking a problem with the VCR, it greatly restricts its usefulness. As of the time of this writing, I am aware of only one HDTV receiver that supports it - the Samsung SIR-T165. I have that receiver, and can report that the combo does indeed work. Other HAVi equipped HDTV receivers are supposed to come out soon, but you should be very careful about making compatibility assumptions here. If a particular receiver does not explicitly claim that it is compatible with this VCR, you should assume that it isn't. - limited HDTV programming availability. Only a fraction of the programming currently aired is available in HDTV, and not all of that is available in all areas. Check your local area over-the-air, cable, and satellite availability before buying. This is getting better, but we are a very long way from being able to assume that any show aired is available in HDTV. - the manual is pretty poorly written; it is quite difficult to understand what the VCR can and cannot do. Much of the important text is in the form of footnotes (!). It also contains at least one important error - it says that the power-saver mode must be enabled for FireWire recordings to work, but the reverse is true; the power-saver mode must be DIS-abled, not EN-abled for this. + 3 1/2 hour maximum HDTV recording length. This is enough for most sporting events and almost all movies. Note that for this length you should buy "7-hour" tapes; there are shorter tapes that can only record 2 hours of HDTV; the availability of the (cheaper) length tapes is fine, but know the difference. - black out period during playback speed changes. When changing from fast forward or rewind to play or back, the screen goes black for several seconds, which complicates skipping commercials. - no automatic re-wind when going from fast-forward to play. Many VCRs will rewind a little during such a change; this one does not. When skipping commercials during playback, this makes it all but impossible to go back to play without going past several seconds of the program. Rewinding slightly is complicated by the "black-out" problem mentioned above. - very limited number of pre-recorded D-VHS tapes. Such tapes are being sold under the "D-Theater" label. At the time of this writing, I only know of about three dozen such tapes. More tapes are being released, but the rate is a trickle, not a torrent. + Component video out and optical digital audio out. This isn't particularly useful with recorded tapes, since those can be played back over the same FireWire connection used to record them, but it is useful with pre-recorded tapes. Component video and optical digital audio are much more widely supported that FireWire. + VHS and S-VHS compatibility. You won't need a second VCR for older tapes. The JVC is perfectly capable (though not exceptional) in handling this sort of material. + limited competition. I am aware of only two other products in this category , both by Mitsubishi - the HS-HD1100U and the HS-HD2000U. I haven't used either, but am not aware of any particularly interesting reasons to choose either of them over this one (or vice-versa for that matter).
Rating:
Summary: PUhlease....
Review: This is a dumb machine...DVD will be HD soon so who cares. Why do I want to fast forward, rewind, not have features just so I can be the only guy in a 300 mile radius who own one of these things? You would have to be a big gadget guy with big pockets to buy something that was obsolete in the drawing room...
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