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In Reply to: RE: Having a senior moment? posted by emsquare on March 16, 2012 at 17:44:01
Check this out, just read it and it's kind of interesting:
Around 1984, JVC added Hi-Fi audio to VHS (in response to Betamax's introduction of Beta Hi-Fi.) Both VHS Hi-Fi and Betamax Hi-Fi delivered flat full-range frequency response (20 Hz to 20 kHz), excellent 70 dB signal-to-noise ratio (in consumer space, second only to the compact disc), dynamic range of 90 dB, and professional audio-grade channel separation (more than 70dB). VHS Hi-Fi audio is achieved by using audio frequency modulation (AFM), recording each of the 2 stereo channels (L, R) on a frequency-modulated carrier and embedding the modulated audio signal pair into the video signal. To avoid crosstalk and interference from the primary video carrier, VHS's implementation of AFM relied on a form of magnetic recording called depth multiplexing. The modulated audio carrier pair was placed under the luminance carrier (below 1.6 MHz), and recorded first. Subsequently, the video head erases and re-records the video signal over the same tape surface, but video signal's higher center frequency results in a shallower magnetization of the tape, allowing both the video and residual AFM audio signal to coexist on tape. (PAL versions of Beta Hi-Fi use this same technique). During playback, VHS Hi-Fi recovers the depth-recorded AFM signal by subtracting the audio head's signal (which contains the AFM signal contaminated by a weak image of the video signal) from the video head's signal (which contains only the video signal), then demodulates the left and right audio channels from their respective frequency carriers. The end result of the complex process was audio of outstanding fidelity, which was uniformly solid across all tape-speeds (EP or SP.) Since JVC had gone through the complexity of ensuring Hi-Fi's backward compatibility with non-Hi-Fi VCRs, virtually all studio home video releases contained Hi-Fi audio tracks, in addition to the linear audio track. Under normal circumstances, all Hi-Fi VHS VCRs will record Hi-Fi and linear audio simultaneously to ensure compatibility with VCRs without Hi-Fi playback, though only early high-end Hi-Fi machines provided linear stereo compatibility.
Due to the path followed by the video and Hi-Fi audio heads being striped and discontinuous—unlike that of the linear audio track—head-switching is required to provide a continuous audio signal. Misalignments may lead to imperfect joining of the signal, resulting in low-pitched buzzing.[19] The problem is known as "head chatter," and tends to increase as the audio heads wear down.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHS#Hi-Fi_audio_system
I see they attribute the buzz to head switching, which contradicts the Wikipedia article I found last night. :-) Having watched the head switching on VHS, I'm not surprised, it's all over the place.
Follow Ups:
Josh, I was really worried that I had lost too much recollection. I even told my wife while we drove home this afternoon. Surprisingly, she adjusted the "azimuth" in my head, caused by an incident that I had forgotten, probably on [subconcious] purpose.
Anyway, the VCR that had PCM was a Toshiba. The Panasonic was bought earlier and was a mutually decided, and not insignificant, expense.
The Toshiba, later on, was one of the expensive toys that I never consulted her on. It almost cost me a divorce. To make matters worse, it was stolen a few days after I got it, before I had time to use it much. When I had tested it days earlier, I could not get it to be better sounding than the Panasonic when recording LPs. So, the thief & the insurance company saved the day...probably our marriage, too.
Which is kind of ironic. When I got a pair of Acoustat 2+2 to try at home for a couple of weeks, this was the same wife who said it was ok to spend the {much more} money on them. (I did not buy them for lack of proper amplification to drive them with.)
What on earth do they make these ladies out of!
I know the syndrome well. "To one thing constant never." Except that Shakespeare wrote that about guys. Minor detail, there.
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