JVC SR-VS30 Mini DV / S-VHS VCR

Pros: Reliable. Great copy features. Good Price.
Cons: No component video out. Should have firewire port on back. Poor tech support from JVC.

Thought I would add my 2¢. I would suggest that is all that it is worth. {grin} I have had the earlier model of this deck for 3 years. It is the JVC HR-DVS1U model. It doesn't support the DVCAM digital tape format such as this model. With that being ...

Pros: Ability to bring in VHS footage via Firewire into computer. S-Video out.
Cons: MAJOR audio and video playback problems. Firewire connection on the front only.

I bought this unit to get miniDV footage into my Mac via FireWire. First of all, the miniDv side has major problems, as it's dropping out all the time (video) with bad fuzzy stuff flashing on the video for no apparent reason, it's not on the tape and the head is clean (I tested it). Then there is a serious audio problem where the audio somewhere on the tape will completely drop out for a second into total silence after a few minutes. I have not been able to play anything over 10 minutes that didn't display this kind of problem. A huge problem if you want to make a VHS copy off a miniDV tape that's over 10 minutes long as the VHS will have that audio drop out on the tape. And there is only one Firewire output and it's on the front (!) very delicate, easy to break... why didn't they include one on the back? Overall very disappointed with this unit for the money. Stay away! Calling JVC will also frustrate the hell out of you (you WILL be disconnected out of the blue.)