Great Throw-Away VCR!
Written: Jan 21 '02
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Pros: Easy buttons, simple operations, little bells & whistles so even I could program it!
Cons: Slow to rewind & broke after only 8 months!
The Bottom Line: If you want a VCR that you replace every year and throw away once it has quit - then this is your lucky day!
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| jwilkinson's Full Review: Sharp VC-H815U VHS VCR |
Hi, I'm writing this review right now because the thing just quit working on me after only eight months! So I am hoping this will help others avoid making the same mistake we did and wasting your money on a cheap VCR.
I bought the Sharp VC-H815U Model VCR at Best Buy for $59.99 on sale from $69.99. Need I say it was the lowest costing VCR in the place (should I even write more?). We purchased it back in May 2001 as an extra VCR for our toddlers. We didn't want them messing up our better VCR (that has all the bells and whistles that we can't program). This seemed like the perfect VCR. Low cost, simple operation, not too many features (I mean play, stop, eject and rewind is all I need!). I'll give you some background on its features.
Bells & Not-Really Whistles:
~4 Heads (duh)
~Multi-language on-screen display menu
~Quick Start (starts playing when tape is loaded - great for kids!)
~Unified remote control (like I need one more right?)
~5 seconds timer backup (I thought that was too funny not to mention - I don't know about you, but I can't get the power to anything back on in FIVE seconds! LOL)
~Auto tracking
~Recorded Section Auto Replay (plays a recorded section of the tape over and over again - only those with kids could appreciate that feature)
~Tamper Proof Mode (OK, this was what sold me - You can make it so no buttons on the VCR will work once activated by the remote control until unactivated again - so your kids can't hit eject or RECORD while playing a tape)
OK, those were more features than I really cared about but I wanted to list them all.
Setting It Up:
Connecting the Sharp VC-H815U Model VCR to the TV was easy. Just follow the directions in the manual which are basically plug the audio/video cable (RCA plugs) into the back of the VCR and to the TV accordingly (on the IN side of the VCR and the OUT side of the TV) and the coaxial cable that is provided with the VCR (from the OUT on the VCR and the IN on the TV). This is the same set up as any VCR to install. But even I could do it so not too hard.
Using The VCR:
Using the Sharp VC-H815U Model VCR is fairly easy to do. The Play/Forward/Reverse/Stop is all on one big round button so its easy to spot and press (no looking through a bunch of small buttons in a row). The power and eject are on the opposite side of the VCR. It has a power light to show you when the power is on (mine turns off now after 3 seconds).
Fast Forward and Rewinding are slow. After about a few minutes of rewinding it poops out and you hear it get slower and slower. Then I just hit Stop and then Rewind again to get it moving faster. It does have an automatic rewind so that once it reaches the end of a tape, it will rewind and then eject it. Then after 10 minutes it shuts the power off. So that is nice. But if you unfortunately have to wait for it to rewind (while your kids yell "Mommy, I want to watch Thomas the Tank Engine again!!!"), have a seat and get a drink because it is going to be a while! LOL
You can see my sarcasm as I write this review, can't you? Well it is because I just had one of those moments of kids eagerly awaiting the Teletubbies to arrive in our home and send us off to Teletubby Land and the VCR wouldn't play!
Now I did check to see if someone shoved a cookie in it or stuck a pencil inside and no, that's not what is wrong. I think it just plain wore out! By how slow it was when rewinding a tape, I should have known it wouldn't last this household.
I can't say I spent tons of money on this item, because I didn't. But $60 is still too much to spend on something that doesn't even last 8 months.
Warranty:
I guess I got my money's worth. And of course the warranty will cover parts up to one year but labor only up to 90 days (pretty standard). The labor will cost me more than if I went to buy a new one to throw away in 8 more months. So I won't be trying to get it fixed. I will see if Best Buy will take it back (but I won't hold my breath). I'll update this if I have any success.
For more information:
Call Sharp Electronics Corp. at 1-800-GO-SHARP
Write:
Sharp Electronics Corp.
Sharp Plaza
Mahwah, New Jersey 07430-2135
www.SharpLCD.com
Thanks for reading. I hope I helped you stay clear of this model if you really value quality and want more bang for your buck!
Joan W.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 59.99
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Epinions.com ID:
jwilkinson
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Location: Southern California, USA
Reviews written: 33
Trusted by: 4 members
About Me:
I'm a Stay-at-Home Mother of three sons!
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