Conference hips::uk_audioo

    Hook up your NICAM decode and , if you get the Crystal Palace IBA
    signal, you have regular NICAM sound NOW!! - it started this week
    (if you look closesly in TV times, you will see some music programmes
    marked 'NICAM digital sound').
    The beeb are also doing test transmissions - which, if you watch    
    the NICAM indicator in the shops, seems to mean on almost everything!
           
    Of course, if you don't get the London transmissions, you may have
    to wait a bit, tho some other trasmitters are also sending NICAM.    
        
    Dave

Hello,

I have just bought a TV and Video that I have wired up through my HIFI. I 
have heard rumours that by using the scart connection the sound and picture
quality improves quite drastically. Is this true?

Can anybody clarify this for me.

Also, does anybody know anything about the QED switch box used to expand
the amount of inputs on your Amp.

thanks for any help you can give me.

Jonathan

    re-1
    
    I have a SCART cable for mono TV's and Videos if you have a SCART
    plug on your amp then you can have my cable if you want it.
    
    Grant

    
    Has anyone ever seen a cable that has SCART on one end, and two phono
    plugs on the other end ? That's what I'd need to connect our video and
    amp. together.
    
    Trevor

    Re; .4
    
    Trevor,
    
    Tandy do a cable with a SCART plug on one end to two phono plugs
    (L & R audio) and one coax plug (composite video).

    Graham

    re.4
    
    I have one but it is only mono.
    
    Grant

    I have a SCART cable in use at the moment which runs to at least
    five phonos - 4 x audio in/out, 1 for picture. I got it in Tottenham
    Court Rd a few years back.
    
    Mike

    
    I've just bought (fram Tandy, thanks...) a SCART plug and a couple of
    phono plugs, in order to make myself up a cable to go from my video to
    my amp.
    
    It occurs to me that I don't know which part of a phono plug is the
    ground connection. Is it the central pin, or the cylindrical bit around
    the pin ? I would think it's more likely to be the cylindrical bit,
    but can someone confirm this  ?
    
    Trevor

    
    It's the cylindrical part. The center pin is therefore the signal.
    
    Peter

    Well I just bought (on saturday) a Panasonic NV-f65B NICAM Hi-Fi Stereo
    Video Recorder and it is GREAT.  I recieve the transmissions from
    London (Thames/LWT) and the Stereo light never went out over the whole
    weekend (BBC1,BBC2,ITV & Channel 4) all in stereo!!!
    
    Grant

    Does that one do long play recording too? And how much did you pay,
    Grant?

    Thanks for the info.. I must admit, the bar code reader puts me right
    off it (I hate paying for gimmicks). Otherwise it sounds good value.
    
    Keith

    Sorry to correct you Grant but the 65 has LP mode for AUDIO only (no
    picture).
    
    The only real differences between the two are:
    
    Jog and shuttle, a 'Flying' erase head and LP mode with picture...oh
    and of course 50 quid!
    
    ..Craig
    
    

    re-2
    
    I find the bar code quite usful (no fiddley little buttons to press to
    set the clock/timer)
    
    re-1
    
    I did not realize the 65 only used LP mode in Audio only.  SH*T I have
    about 10 3 Hour tapes that I have recorded Films onto in LP mode :-(
    
    Grant

    Sorry I made a mistake in my reply, the diffrence is actually 100 quid
    not 50!
    
    Re -1
    How good is the picture/sound quality in LP mode compared with SP?
    The LP mode doesn't interest me much due to the fact that I like all my
    recordings (especially stereo films) to be top quality - (SNOB),
    and the prices of tapes is fairly cheap nowadays. 
    
    re -2
    Oh dear Grant, try reading the instructions next time 8-) 8-)
    
    
    ..Craig  

    To be honest, I haven't ever used a barcode video, so perhaps I'm being
    a little premature in my ridiculing of it. However, I don't as a rule
    buy a newpaper, and I'd have to buy *something* (right?) to get the
    barcodes. One idea I DO like is the videos that allow you to set
    programmes from teletext.
    
    Anyone know a good VCR with Nicam, HiFi sound, LP for video,
    8 event/14 day programmable from Teletext?
    
    Keith

Our Video has a scanner, but I don't use it. Mainly because the scanner
is in a separate box. I think they are integrated now, aren't they?

    re-1
    
    Yes they are the 65 has the scanner built into the bottom right corner
    of the remote control.
    
    Grant

Re .21

	Yes the scanner is part of the remote control.

Re my previous notes

	I've just done an A/B test this lunchtime on SP/LP and I take back what 
I said regarding LP. There _is_ a noticeable deterioration in picture quality
on LP. 

	I now have a Sony Trinitron with SCART input and think that previously 
the poorer quality TV and RF input meant that the differences between SP & LP 
were indistinguishable. This was  because the resolution was no better than
that obtainable with LP. Now can get better resolution the difference is 
apparent.

	SP is now indistinguishable from broadcast. Quickly flicking between a 
recording of a short segment of programme then being braodcast & the broadcast 
itself it was impossible to distinguish them. This was not the case previously.

	LP looks a little fuzzier but is still very good indeed I can still
live with slightly lower quality most of the time. There is definitely no
difference in the sound quality between LP and SP. 

	I guess I've got to change my mind now and only use LP for time 
shifting or non critical programmes. Anything that I really want to keep then I 
think that I'll use SP.

Nigel

	You have to be careful, I think, when considering picture quality
	as to the size of tube on which it's displayed. VCR output has less
	definition than normal broadcast but this will tend to be lost on
	a small screen, but more noticeable on a large one. On my 18"
	trinitron replay is pretty well indistinguishable, particularly
	when using extra quality tapes (TDK-EHG in the NVF65) but when I
	was assessing videos to buy the measure was usually a 26" job
	where you can see the difference quite clearly between models.

	I too was sceptical about the bar code reader but then there are
	other ways to program it. However it really is very easy to use
	and one becomes converted.


>>							Incidentally every 
>>few months it stops scanning, I got really worried the first time and bought 
>>new batteries. I have found that you need to clean the lens on the reader, it
>>is a bit awkward too because it is so small but then the reader works again.

	It sounds as if you may not have read the manual (a daunting task
	I'll grant you) since there is a warning about dust accumulation
	and instructions on cleaning by removing the cover from the bar
	code reader. I tried this as an experiment and estimate the time 
	to clean it at about 20 seconds flat!.

	
	-John

    
>     and 48 hours so far (the latter was spoilt by ITV's purile censorship,
>     but the Nicam stereo on ST was great).
    
    Yes, I thought it was a "damn" shame that they censored it.

re .-2

	A wise choice Keith.

	Perhaps we can form an F70B owners club? There are now several 65/70 
owners reading this file obviously the audiophiles choice.

>    It would be nice if the barcodes included a "today" barcode instead of
>    me having to work out the date (or have I missed something?), but
>    otherwise it seems pretty good.

	This is the one nit that I would have with the programming on the 
machine. You have to refer to the date on your newspaper (or Teletext) and then 
enter that. It would have been a good idea if when the date was left blank then 
it defaulted to the current date. After all the machine does know & display
what day of the week it is. 

Nigel

   
   I hadn't bothered purchasing a VCR until in December 1990 when the price 
   of NICAM VCRs fell below 300. I had borrowed friends machines 
   occasionally but had never been impressed with the quality the mono audio 
   such models provided. However when Near Instantaneous Compounded Audio 
   Multiplexing was supposed to have become more wide spread, as well as the 
   drop in price, I decided to take the plunge.
    
   Admittedly after meagre research, I put my hard earned cash, 299, on a 
   SHASIO 6600, ( or similar ) from the local dixons/currys. What Video did 
   list it as good value and the cheapest NICAM machine out.
   
   I immediately connected it up to my Creek 4140 amp/ Haybrook HB1 spkrs, ( 
   sorry if the numbers aren't exact ).
   
   I was suitably impressed when "stereo" was displayed as I tuned into each 
   channel and the sound was reasonably good quality, as well as actually 
   coming out of both spkrs. However I have since noticed that "stereo" 
   being displayed is not an absolute indicator of audio quality. To be fair 
   the odd program can be very good, though not on par with the Rega III. 
   However some music programs that are advertised as stereo in the Radio 
   Times are not of very good audio quality, much hiss can be heard.
   
   Why is NICAM, assuming "stereo" displayed on my VCR means NICAM, so 
   inconsistent even when viewing recently produced stereo programs ?
   
   I was quite shocked with the play back sound when I recorded something 
   and played it back, and when playing pre-recorded tapes. This is due to 
   the VCR using linear stereo recording which is extremely poor, no where 
   as good as my 5yr old Toshiba cassette deck recording at the same time. I 
   experimented with LP recording which had the effect of making recorded 
   music programs almost unlistenable. Just a warning.
   
   The question I ask is do the more expensive Hi-Fi VCRs provide a better
   play back sound quality when recording NICAM transmissions,
   and if so how ? ( I know VHS Hi-Fi is good, that's not in question ).
   
   Is the NICAM information recorded as broadcasted, i.e. embedded in the 
   VHF signal so that it can then decoded again on play back ? I think this 
   unlikely as that should be easy, hence there is no excuse for using 
   linear audio recording, only linear play back is required to be backwards 
   compatible with older recordings.
   
   
   I would be grateful if anyone can throw a little light on this.
   
   Sorry if I've gone on too long.
   
   Mike.

re .33
   
>   The question I ask is do the more expensive Hi-Fi VCRs provide a better
>   play back sound quality when recording NICAM transmissions,
>   and if so how ? ( I know VHS Hi-Fi is good, that's not in question ).

>   Is the NICAM information recorded as broadcasted, i.e. embedded in the 
>   VHF signal so that it can then decoded again on play back ? I think this 
>   unlikely as that should be easy, hence there is no excuse for using 
>   linear audio recording, only linear play back is required to be backwards 
>   compatible with older recordings.

	Yes the sound is great (see lots of other notes here about this). They
record it in HiFi format, I don't believe that the NICAM information is stored
as such. There is absolutely _NO_ excuse for linear recording except cost
cutting on the part of video manufacturers. Actually stereo linear recording is
even worse than normal mono VHS linear sound as the track is half the width. 
   
	My first VHS recorder was a HiFi model and I was astonished at how bad 
normal VHS sound was when I played back a tape recorded on a non HiFi machine. 
I've also checked it out by just listening to the linear track (althogh not for 
long). You're right it is worse than a cassette deck, it's actually worse than 
a cheap ghetto blaster. When the difference has been heard I'm surprised that 
there is any market for non-HiFi models. You can however pay more for a VCR 
with crap sound than for a basic NICAM HiFi model. We're not talking about the
difference in sound between audiophile & normal consumer equipment, what we're
talking about is the difference between a wind-up gramophone & a CD player. 

Nigel

    I think the more expensive machines are capable of recording the
    digital NICAM signal, ready for conversion at tape playback time.
    
    This is also a problem with the external NICAM decoders one can buy. 
    When viewing a broadcast it's great, but you can't use it when
    replaying a tape.

	Yes, see topics 37 and 230 for more Nicam stuff. With half
	a grand at stake I did a very thorough survey (see 37) both
	on sound and picture quality. Proper Nicam sound is superb,
	and unaffected by interference. The better videos can also
	be used as tape recorders, and normal Hi-Fi equipment is now
	appearing with specific VCR input/outputs (same as normal tape
	and CD really but separately identified).

	The lights on the video only indicate that the transmitter
	is pumping out the signal. Since this may well have been encoded
	from an analogue original of varying quality what you get varies
	a lot. Most programs are still in mono but the number that get
	the full works is increasing.

	A quick trade up whilst Nicam videos are still a great rarity
	might be a good idea.

	-John

	I've had my '65 for a year now and performance is still impeccable.

    I see that Currys were also selling the Akai 510 for 349 pounds last
    weekend.
    
    Andy - happy Akai fs-650 owner