In the market for a VCR? Panasonic PV-V4621 vs. Sony SLV-N71
Written: Jul 01 '01
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Sound: |
 |
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Picture Quality: |
|
|
| Durability: |
|
|
|
Pros: Commercial and movie advance are nice features
Cons: Its very noisy when rewinding and FF.
The Bottom Line: I bought the Panasonic over the Sony because of the commercial advance feature!
|
|
|
| jkao's Full Review: Panasonic PV-V4621 VHS VCR |
Being very indecisive about which VCR to purchase, the Sony SLV-N71 or the Panasonic Hi-Fi Stereo VCR PV-V462, I got both and tried them out side by side.
In terms of picture and sound quality, they are nearly identical. I'm going to concentrate on the other aspects such as features, ease of use, and any other observations that may sway your decision either way.
Cost
They are nearly identical and cost around the $120 range. I purchased the VCRs from Circuit City and Best Buy. Crutchfield.com has the best price online for the panasonic.
Sony's Commercial Pass vs. Panasonic's Commercial Advance
Sony's Commercial Pass means while you are watching lets say a tape of a show "Friends" and the commercial starts. You press the button "Commercial Pass". The tape will now FF. When the commercial ends you press again "Commercial Pass." Most of us aren't that accurate and we always over shoot when the commercial ends and the show starts back up. So this little feature will now rewind a few seconds to where the commercial ended. Now the catch is that you had to have over shot the commercial by 3 secs. Now you tell me. How is this different than if I used FF and play?
Panasonic's Commercial Advance is so much smarter. After recording your favorite show, The VCR will ask you if you want it to go through what you've just taped and mark all the commercials. You gladly say yes. The next time you watch the show and a commercial begins the VCR will then FF and stop just when the commercials end. You don't even have to life a finger. It works pretty well. It doesn't work 100% of the time but its close enough.
This feature was the deciding factor for me so I kept the Panasonic.
Remote
The remote for the panasonic as the "Universal Light Tower Illuminated Remote" Its very light and has almost a plastic flimsy feel to it. The nice thing about it is you can control VCR, TV, and DSS Cable . Unlike the panasonic, the Sony remote can only control TV and VCR. It's thinner, longer, and my boyfriend described it has not very masculine. The buttons on the panasonic are back lit and very small. The Sony is not lit but they are slightly bigger.
FF and R
There are two points I want to bring up.
When FF and R, the Panasonic is far superior in speed compared to the Sony. I had them race against each other to see who could rewind faster. However, the Panasonic is a little nosier.
After FF or R on the Panasonic and pressing play, there is a slight delay to respond as in most VCRs that I've come in contact with. The Sony however impressed me by its instantaneous response.
Front of the VCR
The Panasonic is very basic so you need the remote to perform a lot of your functions. One nice feature about the Sony is that there is a dial on the front that lets you set programed timer recordings very easily without searching for your remote.
Display on the Unit
The Sony has a picture of two circles to represent the tape and you can see it spinning representing the direction of the tape. (IE. It spins counterclockwise really fast when its rewinding) Also the counter is displayed on the unit.
On the Panasonic, the display only has the time. When in play mode it says play on it. When rewinding it just blinks play. The counter is displayed on the TV.
Energy Star
Panasonic Sony are both certified to be more energy efficient.
Auto Clock
Both have this feature where they can set the time by itself. No more blinking clock after the power goes out.
Color
Panasonic comes in both silver and black. (Although the black is being discontinued. You can find it at online retailers for a slightly higher price) Sony comes in black.
I think the silver is a little gaudy and clashes and stands out against the rest of my home theater components.
Dimensions
Both are 17" home theater style
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 119
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
jkao
|
|
Location: Palo Alto, Ca
Reviews written: 25
Trusted by: 3 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.