Panasonic. The BETTER VCR! Wow! Great Reliability!!!
Written: Sep 10 '04 (Updated Sep 14 '04)
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Pros: Excellent reliability record! Great performance & worth the money!!
Cons: Manual is a bit complicated to follow.
The Bottom Line: I highly recommend this unit for those who like good quality performance & reliability. It's truly worth it!!!
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| daquan's Full Review: Panasonic PV-V4640 VHS VCR |
WHY PANASONIC?
I've owned Panasonic products for some time now, & I know a lot about this brand.1994 is when I bought my first Panasonic product. It's true that DVD players give the best picture resolution availible. And some higher priced VCR's also may give better picture quality. But even though some store chains ( Target for one ) may have done away with selling VCR's & VHS tapes, one should not be so quick to count them out altogether. The fact is, everyone would still need a VCR to record. Unless you plan to buy a DVD recorder / player which may cost an awful lot of money - about twice the cost of a good 4-head VCR.
I've owned just about every brand of VCR out there. You name it, I've owned it. And NONE of them measured up to Panasonic! Below are the main reasons why I found the PanasonicPV-V4640 VHS VCR to be the better choice:
HOW ABOUT PICTURE & SOUND?
If you are not terribly fussy about the picture quality of this unit & don't own a DVD player yet ( who doesn't these days ), this unit, in my opinion, gives a pretty good a picture quality. Four-head units such as this one, usually have better picture resolution anyway than the two-head units do. It provides good picture quality with great stereo hi-fi sound! Like most 4-head hi-fi stereo VCR's, the PV-V4640 has excellent video & sound.
And because this unit uses 4 video heads, it eliminates the " noise bars " that are associated with 2-head units when you fast-forward, rewind, pause or slow-motion. Special effects & play modes are virtually clean, clear & crisp, as if you were watching regular cable or satellite TV!!
IS RELIABILITY GOOD?
My first Panasonic VCR ( PV-8661 ) is proof of this. It has been in use since around '97 and it's still going very strong. Not one problem with it has come up! Both that model & the PV-V4640 still are in use & they are used on a regular basis. Because my Panasonic TV had picture-in-picture ( PIP for short ), I use the earlier model for playing tapes & the PV-V4640 for recording or dubbing ( tape to tape ).
Panasonic VCR's DO have very high ratings for dependability as told by Consumer Reports magazine. They've reigned supreme as THE MOST RELIABLE brand to buy. As you know, buying the brand that will give you the least amount of trouble is what you'd want. Panasonic & Quasar are both made by a company which also makes Technics products.
ARE THE CONNECTIONS EASY TO DO?
There are 2 sets of input jacks ( front & rear composite video / analog audio - 3 RCA jacks x 2 ) & one out ( 3 RCA jacks ). The front panel has no buttons to control menus or program the unit, only basic buttons & the 3 RCA jacks - composite video in, audio left & audio right channels. The front audio inputs can be used to record from such things as a camcorder.
The back panel has video in & out, audio left in & out, audio right in & out. There are also RF / cable in & out, as well as a small switch that allows you to choose between channels 3 & 4 if you were to use the RF out to send the unit's signal to TV.You can also connect the unit directly to the TV set or through a satellite box or cable box.
WHAT ABOUT SETUP?
Setup is quite easy & is a piece of cake! The initial VCR setup process is virtually automatic. The machine scans for
the availible channels & also sets the present time & date as well, using radio signals as long as the cable or antenna is connected. The cable or satellite box must be tuned to a PBS channel for the Auto Clock Set feature to work accurately. Otherwise it must be done manually. It comes in handy after you've had a power failure & makes resetting the clock much easier!
And while you are setting up the machine, that would be a good time to go on and set up the VCR-Plus Gold feature.
This feature lets you program preset channel codes to set up & match code listings from your local newspaper or TV Guide. The channel & program codes are both listed. When this feature is set up, all you do when you want to record a program is look in the tv listings, get the program code, go to the appropriate place in the unit's on-screen display, punch in the code, finish the record setup, make sure that you turn the unit off & you're done! The VCR will automatically change the channel to the one that you wish to record when the machine is about to record!!
WHAT ABOUT THE REMOTE CONTROL?
The PV-V4640 comes with a remote control that has a unique button layout & is easy to use. Basically, you almost don't need to focus it directly at the VCR, as with other brands. The large up / down, left / right buttons operate flawlessly for menu control & other features and are uniquely arranged.
The remote also has illuminated buttons activated by the small button marked LIGHT in the upper right-hand corner.Good for mastering the VCR or other electronic devices in the dark! It can also be programmed to other thing, such as the TV, stereo, cable or satellite boxes.
Other buttons on the remote include VCR, TV, DSS / CABLE, fast-forward, rewind, play, stop, pause, slow motion, volume, channel up / down,( these same 2 buttons are also used for tracking ),sap / hi-fi, record, ca / skip, speed,, search, add / delete, movie advance skip, numbered buttons 0 - 100, counter reset, display, action, VCR / TV, program, input & the most noticed thing on the remote is the very large shuttle jog knob, which also performs the three functions - rewind, fast forward & slow motion in either direction!
WHAT ARE THE FEATURES?
- VCR-Plus Gold.
- On-screen display.
- Hi-fi / stereo sound.
-Tape position display to let you know exactly where you are on tape. This does away with the aggravation of having to remove the tape just to find out where you, on it!
- Time / Date Stamp allows you to mark the time & date that a program was recorded & displays it for you at the beginning of the program that was taped. This feature is done through the remote control only.
- Rapid tape rewind & fast forward gives you less time to wind tape in either direction, slows down when it comes near the end to avoid tape damage.
- Three recording speeds ( on remote ), SP, LP, & SLP. Panasonic is unique in that the 2nd speed is usually not availible on most other brands!
- Four video heads to eliminate video " noise bars " during FF, RW, pause or slow.
- Timer recording ( without using VCR-Plus Gold ).
- Home Theater ready.
- Energy star-rated.
- Comes with 2 AA batteries for remote, instruction manual and one video cable.
- On-screen instruction can be set to English, Spanish or French.
- One-year warranty on parts, ninety days on labor.
ANY SHORTCOMINGS AT ALL?
Manual is a bit complicated to follow.
FINAL THOUGHTS?
Yes! Buy this unit if you want good good performance & reliability! It's worth the money!! Panasonic is the brand that I like better!!!
Thank you for taking the time to read this review.
-Daquan.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 165.00
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Epinions.com ID:
daquan
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Location: East Boston, MA.
Reviews written: 245
Trusted by: 62 members
About Me:
Was born & raised in Boston. I like kitchen gadgets & appliances. Love to cook!!
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