From: mc@vicorp.com (Mark Charalambous)
Subject: DAT versus VHS
Summary:  I like my VHS!
Organization: V. I. Corporation, Northampton, Massachusetts
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 14:19:01 GMT


I'd like to add my very subjective .02 to the discussion of the merits/demerits
of VHS and DAT.

I'm a VHS user, and so far (2+ years) am very satisfied with what I've got.
I haven't noticed any weird humming sounds from tapes I've received that
have been taped from beta and other VHS machines. I've noticed no droputs
on the EP (6 hour) mode.
Other than the obvious portability issues and the indexing difficulties
(when you've got 6 hours worth of music on a tape fast-forwarding and/or
rewinding to a spot is a nuisance. Even more of a nuisance when you need
to skip back and forth within one tape when doing a dub), I'm very happy.
When I need more portable access (car, walkman etc) I simply dub from VHS
to a cassette that I may or may not consider permanent.

I'm not a DAT taper. I don't own a machine. However there are in my mind
definite drawbacks that I have identified.
   1) Cost.
      Tapes are 2 hours long and cost $7 or $8. Two hours is usually an
      inconvenient time duration for Dead shows, which often take up 3
      hours, and thus match well with analog cassette times of 90 minutes
      each.
      The decks are very expensive. They start at $600-$700, and serious
      tapers are forced to purchase "Pro" decks due to that insane scms
      scam that the industry was able to foist on consumers. It's a %!#$@*% 
      outrage as everyone agrees.

   2) DAT technology may not last. But rest assured video technology,
      particularly VHS, will be around for a long time for obvious
      reasons. I would guess that audio capabilities will only improve
      (they are already phenomenal IMO) as we get more and more of this
      push toward home theatre systems.
      Let's face it, DAT has serious problems as a consumer technology.
      scms had a lot to do with it, but there's other factors too.
      And when and if it does in fact lose out to DCC or mini-CD, the 
      cost of the media won't be able to come down because it'll never
      sell in quantities like analog or VHS cassettes.

   3) (and this one to me is really important) Hardware reliability.
      I've been on a DAT-tape-heads mailing list for some time now
      (roughly a year), and by far the preponderous posts are those
      relating to problems with the decks (and also the tapes! Apparently
      some tape brands don't play properly on certain decks).
      The impression I get from the traffic on this mailing list is that
      DAT technology has a phenomenally high percentage of bad units,
      that is, decks that are purchased and start having serious problems
      very soon after they are purchased!
      For anyone who doubts this, I suggest joining the mailing list and
      just see for yourself.

   To compare costs: 
     VHS hi-fi deck- can now be purchased under $400
     One tape with 6 hours playing time: under $5 (I use hi-fi and sometimes
     hgx grade tapes).
     You won't go broke building a collection of VHS tapes. It's actually
     cheaper than analog cassette (and you can watch movies too!). 

     DAT deck: minumum $600, pro-deck-- this is very rough guestimate:
	$1500-2000.
     Tapes: For 6 hours worth of music: $18 - $24.
     You will spend a small fortune just getting into DAT, and the costs
     of building a collection are not meagre, IMO. But of course, you _are_
     getting all those great editing, etc features with DAT.

   I'm very happy with VHS and encourage other tapes to use this format.
   If you have never heard the sound, find a friend who has a hi-fi deck
   and tape something on the audio. See for yourself. The sound quality
   has been said by experts to be better than reel-to-reel. As with reel-
   to-reel, no bogus NR systems that screw up later gens of copies is
   needed.

   I know there have been posts here that hold a very different opinion
   of VHS audio. If you're at all interested I just suggest finding a way
   to judge for yourself.

   Please, let's hear more arguments and information regarding these two
   formats. I'd like to hear a defense of DAT w/respect to the drawbacks
   I identified.

--Mark
Newsgroups: rec.music.gdead