<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div>Hi, Shai,</div><div><br></div><div>Read through these AMIA-L posts (below) from Sept. 2007. Very illuminating as to the differences between the decks, especially as Jim Lindner outlines why the J Series was selected for the SAMMA systems.</div><div><br></div><div>Have you asked your client <i>why</i> he prefers BVW series machines? </div><div><br></div><div>Better electronic specs (better picture/sound fidelity?) </div><div><br></div><div>Does he think it has gentler tape handling?</div><div><br></div><div>Just likes to use the most expensive tool?</div><div><br></div><div>Did the Sony guy you talked to say anything about looking for high serial-number machines? </div><div><br></div><div>Knowing the span of serial numbers and what improvements were included in a particular range (or what the last machine made's number was) can help when selecting a used machine.</div><div><br></div><div>Being aware of what board models or versions were supposed to ship with particular serial number ranges will help when checking to see whether old boards have been put into newer chassis, or newer boards are in an older chassis.</div><div><br></div><div>A completely refurbished BVW machine—one that's been brought back up to factory spec or made to exceed factory spec—would seem to be something to consider if your client insists on BVW. </div><div><br></div><div><div>Upper and/or Lower Drum assemblies can be rebuilt to spec.</div></div><div><br></div><div>That would include things like shotgunning the caps and other electronic parts that are likely to have aged seriously, or would fail during operation... and replacing mechanical wear parts like threading rings, nylon gears, capstan pinch rollers, etc.</div><div><br></div><div>You're somewhat at the mercy of what spare parts are available from Sony or aftermarket manufacturers (in the case of parts that aren't made anymore) as New Old Stock (NOS) from other suppliers.</div><div><br></div><div><div>Amortizing the cost of refurbishment and the ongoing maintenence over 100,000 tapes shouldn't raise the cost per-tape by much.</div></div><div><br></div><div>And perhaps you can find several late serial number machines and get them refurbed.</div><div><br></div><div>That would apply to Digital Betacam machines, also. With SDI output you have a simpler path to your digitizing station, too.</div><div><br></div><div>Ted</div><div><br></div><div>Here are the thread links to the AMIA-L discussion from 2007:</div><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><a name="162" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Sony BetacamSP Players</a><ul type="disc" style="list-style-image: url(http://lsv.uky.edu/archives/images/ls1-bullet.gif); "><li style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; "><a href="http://lsv.uky.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0709&L=amia-l&F=&S=&X=7E1FEE1930B6060824&Y=preservation%40tedlangdell.com&P=7539" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Sony BetacamSP Players</a> <i>(19 lines)</i> <br><b>From:</b> DJ Demangone <<a href="mailto:demangoneav@GMAIL.COM">demangoneav@GMAIL.COM</a>> <br><b>Date:</b> Thu, 6 Sep 2007 22:13:30 -0400</li><li style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; "><a href="http://lsv.uky.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0709&L=amia-l&F=&S=&X=7E1FEE1930B6060824&Y=preservation%40tedlangdell.com&P=7637" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Re: Sony BetacamSP Players</a> <i>(44 lines)</i> <br><b>From:</b> Eric Wenocur <<a href="mailto:eric@LAB-TECH-SYSTEMS.COM">eric@LAB-TECH-SYSTEMS.COM</a>> <br><b>Date:</b> Thu, 6 Sep 2007 22:39:46 -0400</li><li style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; "><a href="http://lsv.uky.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0709&L=amia-l&F=&S=&X=7E1FEE1930B6060824&Y=preservation%40tedlangdell.com&P=7743" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Re: Sony BetacamSP Players</a> <i>(111 lines)</i> <br><b>From:</b> Ted Langdell <<a href="mailto:preservation@TEDLANGDELL.COM">preservation@TEDLANGDELL.COM</a>> <br><b>Date:</b> Thu, 6 Sep 2007 23:05:39 -0700</li><li style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; "><a href="http://lsv.uky.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0709&L=amia-l&F=&S=&X=7E1FEE1930B6060824&Y=preservation%40tedlangdell.com&P=8036" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Re: Sony BetacamSP Players</a> <i>(618 lines)</i> <br><b>From:</b> Jim Lindner <<a href="mailto:jim@MEDIA-MATTERS.NET">jim@MEDIA-MATTERS.NET</a>> <br><b>Date:</b> Fri, 7 Sep 2007 07:16:41 -0400</li><li style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; "><a href="http://lsv.uky.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0709&L=amia-l&F=&S=&X=7E1FEE1930B6060824&Y=preservation%40tedlangdell.com&P=8138" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Re: Sony BetacamSP Players</a> <i>(35 lines)</i> <br><b>From:</b> Trey Bunn <<a href="mailto:treybunn2@GMAIL.COM">treybunn2@GMAIL.COM</a>> <br><b>Date:</b> Fri, 7 Sep 2007 08:49:21 -0400</li><li style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; "><a href="http://lsv.uky.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0709&L=amia-l&F=&S=&X=7E1FEE1930B6060824&Y=preservation%40tedlangdell.com&P=8340" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Re: Sony BetacamSP Players</a> <i>(40 lines)</i> <br><b>From:</b> Klara Foeller <<a href="mailto:klf@MOHISTORY.ORG">klf@MOHISTORY.ORG</a>> <br><b>Date:</b> Fri, 7 Sep 2007 09:26:53 -0500</li><li style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; "><a href="http://lsv.uky.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0709&L=amia-l&F=&S=&X=7E1FEE1930B6060824&Y=preservation%40tedlangdell.com&P=9568" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Re: Sony BetacamSP Players</a> <i>(52 lines)</i> <br><b>From:</b> Eric Wenocur <<a href="mailto:eric@LAB-TECH-SYSTEMS.COM">eric@LAB-TECH-SYSTEMS.COM</a>> <br><b>Date:</b> Sat, 8 Sep 2007 21:08:20 -0400</li><li style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; "><a href="http://lsv.uky.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0709&L=amia-l&F=&S=&X=7E1FEE1930B6060824&Y=preservation%40tedlangdell.com&P=10163" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Re: Sony BetacamSP Players</a> <i>(114 lines)</i> <br><b>From:</b> Bill Seery <<a href="mailto:bill@MERCERMEDIA.COM">bill@MERCERMEDIA.COM</a>> <br><b>Date:</b> Sun, 9 Sep 2007 01:57:19 -0400</li><li style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; "><a href="http://lsv.uky.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0709&L=amia-l&F=&S=&X=7E1FEE1930B6060824&Y=preservation%40tedlangdell.com&P=10355" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Re: Sony BetacamSP Players</a> <i>(124 lines)</i> <br><b>From:</b> Ted Langdell <<a href="mailto:preservation@TEDLANGDELL.COM">preservation@TEDLANGDELL.COM</a>> <br><b>Date:</b> Sun, 9 Sep 2007 03:59:43 -0700</li><li style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; "><a href="http://lsv.uky.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0709&L=amia-l&F=&S=&X=7E1FEE1930B6060824&Y=preservation%40tedlangdell.com&P=10465" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Re: Sony BetacamSP Players</a> <i>(27 lines)</i> <br><b>From:</b> Eric Wenocur <<a href="mailto:eric@LAB-TECH-SYSTEMS.COM">eric@LAB-TECH-SYSTEMS.COM</a>> <br><b>Date:</b> Sun, 9 Sep 2007 11:09:25 -0400</li><li style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; "><a href="http://lsv.uky.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0709&L=amia-l&F=&S=&X=7E1FEE1930B6060824&Y=preservation%40tedlangdell.com&P=10869" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Re: Sony BetacamSP Players</a> <i>(338 lines)</i> <br><b>From:</b> Jim Lindner <<a href="mailto:jim@MEDIA-MATTERS.NET">jim@MEDIA-MATTERS.NET</a>> <br><b>Date:</b> Sun, 9 Sep 2007 17:19:57 -0400</li><li style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; "><a href="http://lsv.uky.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0709&L=amia-l&F=&S=&X=7E1FEE1930B6060824&Y=preservation%40tedlangdell.com&P=22446" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Re: Sony BetacamSP Players</a> <i>(410 lines)</i> <br><b>From:</b> Jim Lindner <<a href="mailto:jim@MEDIA-MATTERS.NET">jim@MEDIA-MATTERS.NET</a>> <br><b>Date:</b> Sat, 15 Sep 2007 18:45:53 -0400</li></ul></span></div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div><div><br></div><br><div><div>On May 31, 2011, at 2:32 AM, Shai Drori wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div>Please excuse the cross posting.<br>A while ago I was faced with an upgrade issue to my betacam SP station. One of my clients claimed he only transfers tape on BVW series vtr's. He also refused to here about the J series claiming they were inferior. At the same conversation he also suggested I look into the Samma robot (he loves price tags). I didn't see the point of explaining to him that Samma works with J series, from my experience it's best to shut up. When I spoke to Sony service in NY, the guy on the other side of the phone made the following comments:<br>1. The BVW is aging and if it is an Ebay unit it might have poor quality playback.<br>2. Assuming we are looking for a cheap vtr in good condition the UVW might perform better since it is younger and it's caps are in better shape. Still, a serviced BVW will be better.<br>3. A better alternative would be an SX deck. It is younger still, usually has less head hours, and by design has excellent picture quality.<br><br>So my question is this:<br>Assuming we and looking for a cheap (~5K$US) yet excellent picture quality playback vtr, what would you choose and Why? Multi format decks can be included in this brain pick.<br>Cheers<br>Shai Drori<br><br>_______________________________________________<br>Please trim posts to relevant info when replying!<br>Send QuadList list posts to <a href="mailto:QuadList@quadvideotapegroup.com">QuadList@quadvideotapegroup.com</a><br>Your subscribe, unsubscribe and digest options are here:<br><a href="http://mail.quadvideotapegroup.com/mailman/listinfo/quadlist_quadvideotapegroup.com">http://mail.quadvideotapegroup.com/mailman/listinfo/quadlist_quadvideotapegroup.com</a><br></div></blockquote></div><br><div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">Ted Langdell</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">Secretary</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" color="#0018ea" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; color: rgb(0, 24, 234); "></font></div></div></div></span> </div><br></body></html>