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From: ron@brl-tgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie )
Newsgroups: net.audio,net.video
Subject: Re: why *NOT* VHS-HiFi?
Message-ID: <6433@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 6-Dec-84 23:48:21 EST
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.6433
Posted: Thu Dec  6 23:48:21 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 9-Dec-84 06:34:00 EST
References: <267@aesat.UUCP> <327@tymix.UUCP> <1200@orca.UUCP>
Organization: Ballistic Research Lab
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Xref: watmath net.audio:3659 net.video:799

> []
> 
> 	"1. VHS Hi-Fi is NOT compatible with VHS Stereo.  This means
> 	that you won't be able to do anything with your friends' tapes
> 	or rental tapes other than look at the boxes."
> 
> When VHS Hi-Fi was first announced, the pundits claimed that this would
> be true.  Turns out it's not; there are units on the market which
> handle both VHS Hi-Fi and existing VHS stereo.  It's just a matter of
> planting a stereo head instead of a mono head for the conventional
> soundtrack, which has to be placed anyway.  No technical problems, just
> the marketing trade-off; the stereo head costs a little more.
> 
It wasn't the problem of reading the soundtrack.  Beta-Hi-Fi enthusiests
were claiming that there wasn't room enough in the VHS video signal space
to put the audio part without moving some of the video around making them
incompatible with non-hi-fi tapes.

Evidently this has been resolved.

-Ron