NEW FORMATS JOGGLE PICTURE FOR VCR BUYERS

If you weren’t among 1985’s 11 million or 12 million purchasers of videocassette recorders but have plans to enter the video age this year, brace yourself for confusion. Tape-machine shopping involves making some big decisions--and lots of little ones.

You can’t even begin to make a choice of brand or model until you get past the whole business of formats. A year ago, the shopper was faced with just two options: VHS and Beta. Now there’s also 8-millimeter, Super Beta and HQ VHS to consider.

Don’t panic.

The terms may seem baffling, but learning the differences isn’t that tough. And once you’ve mastered the format hurdle, you’ll be ready to confront such “bells and whistles” as hi-fi versus plain stereo, MTS (for multichannel TV sound), freeze-frame, scan, memory backup and audio dub.

The following glossary will help you past that first, essential obstacle: format.

VHS and Beta. VHS and Beta are the two traditional mechanical systems for home videocassette recording--and they aren’t interchangeable. VHS models have outsold Beta, even though Beta cassettes are smaller and the format is generally believed to provide a slightly better picture. (Only about 15% of VCRs sold in the United States are Betas; VHS brand names outnumber Beta about 7 to 1.)

VHS got its head start by providing more recording time--currently six hours on most machines at the slowest speed. (VHS machines have three speeds, Beta two; the slower the speed, the worse the picture.) Since more people own VHS models, video stores--with their limited shelf space--are more likely to stock VHS copies of prerecorded tapes than Beta.

This imbalance has meant a vicious cycle for Beta manufacturers: Even though the format is now capable of recording for longer times (usually up to five hours), many purchasers have been scared off by the possible future scarcity of Beta-format prerecorded tapes.

Super Beta and HQ VHS. Sony, the chief manufacturer of Beta recorders, is trying to silence the anti-Beta voice of doom with a new line of Super Beta machines, which came on the market in ’85. Sony claims this system has a 20% sharper picture than regular Beta, and video-magazine tests have found the claim accurate. Now there’s also HQ VHS, a slight improvement over regular VHS quality. Prices, however, are considerably higher than for “ordinary” machines. Fortunately, Super Beta is compatible with Beta, as is HQ VHS with VHS.

8-millimeter. Despite the fact that VHS and Beta machines are already in about 30% of American homes, some experts are saying they’ll be obsolete by the 1990’s. The reason is 8-millimeter. This new format, initially promoted by Kodak and now also supported by Sony and other companies, has one big thing in its favor--size.

Eight-millimeter cassettes, cameras and decks are remarkably compact--even compared to Beta. The 8-millimeter cassette is only a little larger than a standard audio cassette. Picture quality is reportedly similar to that of standard VHS and Beta, while the sound matches those systems’ hi-fi versions. Eight-millimeter cameras are much lighter than those for other formats.

But its newness isn’t the only strike against 8-millimeter. Only a handful of prerecorded tapes are available, and any substantial increase is unlikely until mid-1986 or later. And there are only a few home decks available, costing considerably more than the average Beta or VHS machine and without all of their optional doodads. Eight-millimeter cassettes record only four hours and blank tapes cost more than VHS or Beta ones.

Still, improvements are expected, and little 8-millimeter could very well eventually tower over the competing systems. Alas, with technological development comes technological obsolescence. Just keep saying to yourself that the glass is half full, not half empty. Of course, the real problem is that after you’ve finished shopping for that new VCR, it’s your pocketbook that’s going to be empty.

QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS: As space permits in future columns, we will answer Home Tech questions about VCRs, videotapes, compact discs and other subjects. Readers are invited to write (though no personal responses will be possible) to: Home Tech, Calendar, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053.

WE GET LETTERS: Reader response to the Jan. 3 VideoLog article on the difficulty of finding new releases (other than movies) at video stores included some further tips on obtaining prerecorded videocassettes.

Halbert Watson, Pomona city librarian, wrote: “Nowhere in the article was the public library mentioned as a source of some of these hard-to-find tapes. We seem to be the best-kept secret in town. Yet public libraries (particularly Pomona Public Library) have been in the forefront of providing the public with much of the material you refer to in your article. While we are not in the business of selling tapes, we certainly are in the business of lending them, and our specialty tends toward tapes that commercial operations don’t find it profitable to carry.”

Frank Bacon of Pushplay Video (Box 391, 9903 Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90212) and Barbara Greenleaf of Greenleaf Video (Suite 5121, 2049 Century Park East, Los Angeles, Calif. 90067) both pointed out that they and other catalogue companies offer an alternative method of purchasing videocassettes. A future Home Tech article will take a look at such mail-order options and at video clubs.