What to Look for in a New VCR

When shopping this holiday season for a VCR in the VHS format, which is the most popular, here are a few basics that may help guide your decisions:

First, look at $350 as the magic number. That’s about the cheapest price for Type 1, a four-headed VCR with stereo sound. Spend anything less, you get Type 2, a two-headed machine with mono sound, with or without assorted extras.

These are the two basic types of record-playback VCRs.

You can spend as little as $200 for the bare-bones Type 2. The more expensive Type 1 machines ($350-$650) have stereo sound and two additional heads, which deliver crisper, noise-free special effects (such as slow motion and fast-forward).

The more you spend, the more features you get. In the high-end category, that means pluses like fancy tape editing features or a built-in VCR Plus--available on some RCA, Sony and Toshiba models.

But spending more money for the basic VHS machine doesn’t mean getting a significantly better picture. If you put a $200 VCR next to one that costs $600, you’d see that the more expensive machine offers a slightly sharper image and no visual noise, but the difference is not dramatic.

To get a truly higher-quality picture, you have to spend between $700 and $1,300 for a super-VHS (S-VHS) machine. For the best results with those, though, you must use special--and expensive--S-VHS tapes.

If you’re trying to decide whether to replace your old low-end VCR, remember that the new lower-priced machines are much better in some ways. For instance, the quality of the EP (extended play) pictures is better than it was years ago. Also, cheaper VCRs have more features these days, such as remote control units and sophisticated, on-screen programming. Automatic head cleaners, introduced just a few years ago in high-priced machines, can be found now in many inexpensive models.

What about brands?

A majority of store managers and repairmen consulted around the country said that, at the high end, the Mitsubishi models were the best, with the Sony line second. When the discussion turned to solid, lower-priced models, the three mentioned most were the Zenith VR2411, the Hitachi VTM262 and the Magnavox VR9120.

Another possibility: the playback-only machine, or VCP (video cassette player), available in the $150-$200 range. Most large stores carry one or two such models. These are great for people who watch a lot of rented tapes--which are often dirty, soiling the delicate heads and causing a poor picture. Playing rented tapes on a VCP saves wear and tear on your good record-playback VCR.

Video Draculas: With Francis Ford Coppola’s “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” a box-office hit, other versions of the famed vampire story are showing up in video stores.

MCA/Universal has released two, priced at $15 each. Avoid the Spanish-language “Dracula,” made in 1931 by director George Melford. It has a great reputation among horror buffs as being superior to director Tod Browning’s “Dracula” of the same year, which now seems stiff and outdated. But Melford’s movie is a creaky bore too--and it doesn’t even have hammy Bela Lugosi, who plays the title role in the Browning movie.

Director Lambert Hillyer’s “Dracula’s Daughter,” from 1936, is a scary, atmospheric thriller, with Gloria Holden outstanding as the sexy female vampire. Because she chases females, there are lesbian overtones to this movie that 1930s audiences obviously missed.

MPI’s “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” priced at $60, is actually a 1973 TV movie, featuring Jack Palance in the title role. You can’t go wrong renting this one: It may be the best of all the Dracula movies--certainly superior to the Coppola’s movie. Palance plays him as a somewhat sympathetic character, and the excellent supporting cast includes Simon Ward and Nigel Davenport.

What’s New on Video: Among the new releases:

“Housesitter” (MCA/Universal, no set price). In this far-fetched comedy, an architect (Steve Martin) builds a house for the woman he wants to marry (Dana Delany), but it’s taken over by a wacky waitress (Goldie Hawn) who decides to pose as his wife. Strong Martin-Hawn chemistry somewhat compensates for so-so script.

Upcoming on Video: “Poison Ivy,” “Prelude to Kiss” and “Class Act” (Wednesday).