Mono video or stereo video?
If you have a stereo TV it will need a stereo video, otherwise the video cassette will play in mono. In principle all films that you buy or rent have stereo sound. If you have a mono video you will be unable to get anything other than mono sound when watching a videocassette even if you have a stereo TV. The experience of concerts and other musical events are much enhanced by being in stereo. If you have a Pro Logic amplifier you must buy a stereo video to get the cinematic sound effect.
Different systems
There are different systems for videos but VHS is the system used for home video. If you want to be able to edit video recordings from you camcorder there are videos in both Super-VHS and Hi 8. D-VHS (Digital-VHS) is designed to record digital transmissions such as those from the DSS (Digital Satellite System) in the United States or BSkyBs digital broadcasting service in the UK. The system uses S-VHS grade tapes and is backwardly compatible with normal VHS. Picture quality should be of MPEG-2 quality.
Sound and picture
These days almost all videos have connections for scart cable. The scart cable separates the transference of sound and picture which greatly improves the quality of both.
Video+
Video + is a simple method for programming your video for recordings. Supplied with each TV programme listing in newspapers is a special number. Key this number into the remote control and the video will take care of the recording.
Long Play
With Long Play (LP) the play and recording time of a videocassette is doubled. The video runs at half the speed, so for example a three hour cassette will last for six hours. The quality of the picture and sound will deteriorate somewhat, but improved technology means that a long play recording is perfectly watchable.
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