Is it possible to play japanese vhs tapes on american vcrs?

Sugarflower · Post by **Sugarflower** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 12:37 pm

I've seen lots of old series that are not fansubbed, R1 released, and are not on R2 dvd, however they are on vhs tapes. I'd love to buy a few of them but wanted to know if there is a way for them to play on my vcr.

It would be even better to buy the tapes and have somone to transfer them to cd or dvd for me so I could play them on my computer.

Thanks for the help.

vampyreshoujo · Post by **vampyreshoujo** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 12:51 pm

Japan and North America use the same TV signal (NTSC) so VHS recorded in Japan should play on an American VCR. I bought the original Japanese Nausicaa VHS from Animenation, and it played just fine on my VCR.

Here's info on signal standards from answers.com:

Signal standards
VHS can record and play back all varieties of analogue television signals in existence at the time VHS was devised. However, a machine must be designed to record a given standard. Typically, a VHS machine can only handle signals of the country it was sold in. The following signal varieties exist in conventional VHS:

PAL/625/25 (most of Western Europe, many parts of Asia and Africa)
SECAM/625/25 (SECAM, French variety)
MESECAM/625/25 (most other SECAM countries, notably Eastern Europe and Middle East)
NTSC/525/30 (Most parts of North and South America, Japan, South Korea)
PAL/525/30 (i.e. PAL-M, Brazil)

Since the 1990s dual- and multistandard VHS machines have become more and more common. These can handle VHS tapes of more than one standards. E.g. regular VHS machines sold in Europe nowadays can typically handle PAL, MESECAM for record and playback, plus NTSC for playback only. Dedicated multistandard machines can usually handle all standards listed, some high end model can even convert a tape from one standard to another by using a built-in standards converter.

S-VHS only exists in PAL/625/25 and NTSC/525/30. S-VHS machines sold in SECAM markets record internally in PAL, and convert to/from SECAM during record/playback, respectively. Likewise, S-VHS machines for the Brazilian market record in NTSC and convert to/from PAL-M.

Sugarflower · Post by **Sugarflower** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 1:14 pm

Thank you for the help Vampy. I may try purchasing some tapes from YJ then. There are some short OVA's of Toriyama's works that I've seen and would like to watch. I've read the translated manga of them but it would even better to see them animated.

Post by **sensei** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 4:16 pm

May I piggyback a question onto this thread?

What about laser discs? I was curious to see just what Condition Green actually looked like, so I bought the OVA off YJ, figuring I'd deal with getting it dubbed onto DVD when it arrived (and the cover art is great)(and it was only 600 yen). But will I run into compatibility problems when I try to find a laser disc player?

Ah, well, the cover art was worth 600 yen.

Keropi · Post by **Keropi** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 4:56 pm

I'm pretty sure there's no regional settings for LDs. They only started doing that when DVDs came out. I have a LD player and there's nothing there dealing with regional settings.

Life was easier before they came out with regonal settings.

There's too many good anime that never made it to DVD and it's a shame they're not coming out. All we can do is buy tapes and LDs and hope the LDs don't get laserdisc rot.

Krafty · Post by **Krafty** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 4:59 pm

Video/DVD standards have always been an issue. When I buy any hardware I always make sure it is multi-region or can be hacked.
It's often necessary [when dealing with VHS] to have a compatible TV too.

NTSC uses 525 lines accross the screen to make up the picture compared to 625 on PAL format.
From my perspective of having PAL equipment, English programmes have better clarity than other formats. NTSC programmes have a 'warmer' feel to them as the picture is slightly stretched to fill that surplus 100 lines.

As Vampy says, Sugar, you'll have no problems playing Japanese NTSC vids on your equipment.

Sensei, I assume that LDs have the same sort of encoding as VHS in that the PAL/NTSC standards are maintained. They're not like the DVD regions.
If you already have an LD player, check the manual to see if it mentions playing discs from foreign countries.
If you're looking to buy a laser disc player, it'd be wise to research it online first to check compatibility details and learn of potential problems with particular brands.
There are many 'fan sites' for entertainment technology/hardware so the geeks will undoubtedly know through playtesting

Post by **sensei** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 5:00 pm

Thank you Keropi! Condition Green fanatics from all over the globe adore you!

(Now to beg or borrow a LD player...)

Keropi · Post by **Keropi** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 5:18 pm

The strange thing about laserdiscs is that the audio was digital, but the video was still analog. But if your laserdisc doesn't have any scratches on it, the video quality is much better than VHS tape (the sound is better too).

But flipping a LD over takes two hands instead of one. They are quite cumbersome to handle.

Sometimes I buy used anime LDs and tapes here:

Anime Jungle
http://jungle-scs.co.jp/en/

Cloud · Post by **Cloud** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 5:19 pm

Umm. Where did flipping a LD over take two hands instead of one?