Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site decwrl.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!floyd!harpo!decvax!decwrl!rhea!akov68!boyajian From: boyajian@akov68.DEC Newsgroups: net.video Subject: Beta Hi-Fi Problem/Question Message-ID: <6214@decwrl.UUCP> Date: Tue, 13-Mar-84 08:57:49 EST Article-I.D.: decwrl.6214 Posted: Tue Mar 13 08:57:49 1984 Date-Received: Wed, 14-Mar-84 20:08:26 EST Organization: DEC Engineering Network Lines: 39 I recently encountered a problem that results in a question that one of you peo- ple might be able to answer. How does the Beta Hi-Fi unit read the stereo signal off of the helical tracks? Do the heads automatically read the signal, or are there control signals on the control signal track that tell the heads to read the stereo signal? The problem that generates the above question(s) is as follows: The other week, I purchased a Beta Hi-Fi copy of BLADE RUNNER. When I sat down to watch/listen to it, I found no stereo signal. There are 5 simple tests for this: (1) the "Beta Hi-Fi" light should come on; (2) the stereo/bilingual in- dicator light should come on at the stereo position; (3) there should be a much fuller sound than one gets with a mono tape; (4) there usually is a very notica- ble channel separation (at least there is on the other BHF tapes I have or have listened to); and (5) there should be no high-end hiss. The BLADE RUNNER tape flunked all 5 tests. Just to make sure everything was in working order, I tried my other 3 BHF tapes, and they were fine. The manager at the store where I ord- ered the tape let me take their rental copy home (free of charge) to test *it*. It was fine, so they have sent the "bad" copy back to get it replaced. I can't really figure out why there would be no stereo signal on the tape unless one of the following situations occured: (1) as the recording studio made 'n' dupes at once from a master, one of the machines was not set for stereo input (this would mean that a whole batch of tapes would be "bad") or (2) as I postulated in the question I made at the beginning of this article, there are control signals on the tape that tell the read heads to read a stereo signal off the tape and these controls signals somehow got munged. Even if no one's got an answer to my question, I thought I'd let the newsgroup know that such a problem can occur (if it's occurred once, it can occur many more times). --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC Maynard) UUCP: (decvax!decwrl!rhea!akov68!boyajian) ARPA: (decwrl!rhea!akov68!boyajian@Shasta)