2000jun05. I was just wondering about WVHS. You remember, the high-grade analog video machine that was supposed to knock the legs out from under analog HDTV? It only cost around $5000 back in 1996 or so. The only time I saw one was at work – it came in with Japanese-only instructions. The Vancouver International Film Festival is accepting entries in WVHS, so the format is “getting around.” The resolution of WVHS was “almost” comparable to HDTV – something like 1907x1009 (vs 1920x1034 for HDTV) – but the interesting bit was that instead of recording one near-HDTV program you could also record three simultaneous VHS programs. So if that brand-new JVC WVHS deck is actually now priced at $250 (maybe they've just had one sitting around the shop for five years? floor model?) and you’re a big video geek who doesn’t mind the prohibitive cost of WVHS tapes (I believe it also takes VHS for those special moments when you know you won’t have programming conflicts), this would be a good present for YOU! I wonder if it’s compatible with TiVo, which cannot record two shows at the same time. I am guessing “no.” Figure it out, geek.
