[John123]

Yes the Philips VR-813 is probably one of my favourite all-rounders with quite an extensive feature list for its time..and no doubt a hefty price tag to match! The only thing(s) really missing was a TBC and perhaps the Cue/Review motor of its Panasonic counterparts. Not quite the semi-professional editing solution in its day..but almost!

It also boasted newfangled Widescreen recording to go with an equally impressive Philips widescreen telly, that was marketed as part of 'The Collection' - all part of Philips' flagship Matchline series. Not bad for 1991!

I believe the VHS-only model (with VPT), was the VR-713, and the VPT-less, VHS-only model was VR-712. Also have a vague recollection of a version with a satellite tuner and polariser fitted, presumably for the European markets only.

IIRC one or two of the later 'Matchline' Philips S-VHS machines also sported VPT, such as the VR948, and the rather fancy VR969 with its lovely little analogue timepiece in the middle. I recall there was a matching 14" portable TV that also had the same analogue style clock. Very posh!

With regards to these later 'Matchline' machines, I'm not entirely sure if they actually processed the RGB signal in the same manner as the VR-813. As mentioned, pretty much all machines with twin SCART sockets will allow 'loop-thru' of the RGB signal for the convenience aspect (e.g. record from a cable or satellite decoder box etc). It's easy to confuse the two scenarios.

As for the Grundig machine you mention, also try running a Google (image) search for something like 'Grundig GV VPT' - the machines that feature VPT all seem to have it as part of their respective model numbers.