Mitsubishi continues to have the highest quality VCRs.
Written: May 17 '01 (Updated Jul 14 '01)
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Pros: Excellent choice for casual or 'power' users.
Cons: Hard to find.
The Bottom Line: If you can find one, it is an excellent choice for a heavy user of their VCR.
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| grimjack2's Full Review: Mitsubishi HS-U681 VHS VCR |
I purchased the Mitsubishi HS-U681 because I needed a second VCR. Not because my current VCR broke, but because in my new place, I have an old TV in the bedroom that doesn't have a remote, so I wanted to use my old VCR just to work the TV.
My older VCR is a well used, 8 year old Mitsubishi HS-59. That VCR costs me $750 in 1992, and was the highest end VCR I could buy without going to SVHS. That feature would have made a jump in price to around $1000 back then. Feature wise, I felt I made the right choice because this VCR still works perfectly today, even though it has been used EVERY day for 8 years, and often under duress since I don't just play tapes, but record all the time too. I only wish I could review the HS-59 on Epinions, but since I don't think they made it after 1993, I understand the lack of a listing for it. That VCR has been so good to me that I haven't been paying attention to how bad the general quality of the average VCR has gotten in the last five years.
Since I loved my old Mitsubishi VCR, I went to my local Good Guys, and asked what the current highest rated Mitsubishi VCR was. I also point out that SVHS, isn't really necessary since I don't use it. Unfortunately, the guy told me that they may be dropping the Mitsubishi VCR line from their stores due to a lack of models. I then talked with the helpful salesman who told me that VCRs in general have gone way down in quality in terms of reliability, tuner quality, and feature set. With their lower prices, they are almost disposable parts of an entertainment setup. Well, I told the guy that I wanted the best I could, so after doing a little research, I was glad to see that the Mitsubishis are still one of the better made units.
In the two years I've been using the HS-U681 I've had no problems, after a lot of use. To list some of the positive features: Generally, I find it easy to use. It fits in a small area. The front panel can easily be seen with two darkness settings. There is a job shuttle on both the remote and on the VCR itself. The VCR automatically sets the time and adds available cable channels while you sleep. It has what I'm told is still the fastest Fast forward and Rewind available.
One of the strongest features of this VCR is how quiet it is. It is very quiet when not playing a tape. Some VCRs can't say the same. When you insert a tape it seems to 'wake up' and plays almost instantly when you tell it to. After about 5 minutes of inactivity it goes back into its quiet mode. It takes about 2 seconds to 'wake up'. While playing the tape there is very little noise coming from the machine itself. Not even rewinding and fast forwarding is too loud. I'm only mentioning this because many of the newer VCRs have very thin plastic bodies that make loud noises when playing. This can be distracting during quiet parts of a movie.
The front panel has lots of information and is laid out well. As a matter of fact, I can even program the VCR to record without having to turn on the TV set. It isn't easy, but the front panel has almost all the same information on it that the on-screen menu does.
Another great feature is its "PerfectTape Recording". If you put a blank tape in the machine you can choose to have it analyze the tape before being able to record on it. This will adjust its internal recording settings to best match the quality of the VCR tape. The VCR, in general, has an excellent recording quality!
Whenever you Fast Forward or Rewind, you see a gauge taking up about half the width of your screen giving you a good visual representation of where the head is on the track. It is always nice knowing how much room is left on the tape. However, I've commonly noticed that the tape will assume I have only 6 hours total on the tape until I get to around the 5 hour point, and then it will start to correctly show that I can fit 6hr 20min total on the tape (at EP speed of course).
While playing a tape, pushing 1-6 jumps forwards in increments of 30 seconds to 3 minutes. And while Fast Forwarding or Rewinding, pressing and holding the same button will slow down the playback and show you instantly what is under the head's current position until you release the button.
Both of my remotes have an A/B switch that lets me work two different Mitsubishi VCRs with one remote. This is a very handy feature when you dub as much as I do. Also, it has both audio and video dub buttons which can be very nice when dealing with home movies.
For some of the more technical features, the front panel has one set of input RCA jacks (hidden under a lid), while the rear panel has one set of input RCA jacks, and 2 output RCA jacks.
If I have any complaints it might be that I'm disappointed that you cannot change channels with the jog shuttle dial like on the older Mitsubishis. Also, my older remote had backlighting. Although never really used, this was a great 'show-off' feature to friends and family. Also, not all the buttons are easily reached on the remote. You have to open the lid to work the numeric keypad which is annoying because with 70+ channels, I hate having to use the channel up/down switch, and getting to the keypad requires two hands. I also wish they didn't put the OTR button under there.
The VCR came with all the cables, quality batteries in the remote, and even an IR emitter to work the TV remote if I so wished to program it. Also, I haven't seen that many instruction books for VCRs, but The instruction book seems huge to me at 82 8.5" x 11" pages.
Unfortunately if I've convinced you to seek out this VCR, it is currently hard to find. The HS-u545 may be its newest replacement. Or the HS-u775, although that is a SVHS model.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 249
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Epinions.com ID:
grimjack2
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 - Top 500 |
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Location: San Rafael, CA, Marin County
Reviews written: 181
Trusted by: 124 members
About Me:
Film is my favorite art form. I live a life of constant amelioration.
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