So I just bought a few Famicom systems this month (original Famicom, AV Famicom, and Famicom Disk System). what i would like to know is if it is possible to hookup the Famicom to a VCR. is it possible? Will it work? Has anyone done it? if so, do you still have to worry about the 95 - 98 channel thing? and i guess one more question off the point but if possible i would love to find a way to convert the coaxial or rf from the Famicom to a better format, like compsite. anyone here know a device or something that converts the rf to a composite somehow or rca?
It will work through the VCR and if using the RF connection on a US VCR, yes you have to worry about the channel 95-98 thing. The VCR will do its own conversion and output Composite video, but it won't look as clear as real composite video, which you can easily see when you hook up your AV Famicom.
I own a regular (non-GPM) Famicom and wondered if my US VCR would be able to convert its RF signal into composite video and separate audio. I tried it tonight, set my VCR channel to 96 (fortunately you can select channels up to 125 with the front panel buttons) and it worked perfectly. It worked just as well on channel 95.
The signal will not be quite as sharp as outputting the RF to the TV directly, but it works and the signal is not terribly degraded. It is a solution if your TV does not tune up to 95-96 or does so poorly. My TVs do support channels 95-96 as well, but this method should allow you to also record the video directly to a capture device.