One of the best VCRs from the VCR Expert!
Written: Jun 16 '00 (Updated Jun 21 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good quality with useful features
Cons: Can't think of any!
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| maverick0516's Full Review: Panasonic PV-9662 VCR |
Ok! Ok! Maybe I'm not an expert but I can tell you this much.... =) I bought this VCR about a year ago to replace my older Toshiba VCR. When I was just shopping for a VCR back then, I wanted something that has a lot of features but at the same time, I also wanted something that wouldn't break the bank. The Panasonic was just the right VCR for me!
The PV9662's main features and my opinions about them:
* 4-Head/Hi-Fi VCR - Will (should) give you good sound quality and good recording quality as well as playback. Prices on VCRs are so cheap right now, that buying anything less than a 4-Head/Hi-Fi VCR is stupid! I've seen some as low as $99 bucks! And plus, I don't think you'll see any 2-Head VCRs out there anymore. =̃
* VCR Plus+ Silver - For easy programing! All you have to do is enter the "program code" (found on TV guides), insert a blank tape and you're done! To set this up, you just enter your zip code and your channel info will get downloaded to your VCR. It's almost the same as the "Gold" version of VCR Plus, except that the gold version doesn't need to download anything, the channel info is already in the VCR when you enter your zip code. Very convenient when recording!
* Movie Advance - The screen turns blue and it advances the tape to the starting point of the movie, passing through all the previews. When it reaches the start of the movie, a message on the screen will flash, it will ask you to press "play"! If you're not looking or if you're away from you're TV when this message appears, you'll end up rewinding back to the beginning! There's no option to make it automatically play. I really don't like this feature, I'd rather hit play and then the fast forward button until I get to the start of the movie! Watching the previews are sometimes fun, you might see something that you would like to watch next.
* Commercial Advance - Same idea with Movie Advance. When you're watching a recorded program, when this option is activated, it skips the commercials by fast forwarding to the next segment of the show. The VCR advances through a 3-minute commercial block in about 30 seconds, when the recording is done in SP mode (Standard Play). It advances quicker when you record at a lower speed, around 10 seconds in SLP mode (Super Long Play). But you have to remember to let the VCR put indices (plural for index) on the tape by letting it rewind to the beginning of the tape, otherwise, Commercial Advance won't work! This feature, I actually like! I record a lot of the 49ers games, and this one let's me watch it quicker during playback. But of course, I turn this feature off when I'm recording the SuperBowl! I just love watching those SuperBowl commercials! =)
* Auto Clock Set - Solves the problem of the blinking "12:00"! The VCR automatically sets the time. Well actually it's not that automatic! You have to go into the VCRs set-up screen and choose "Auto Clock Set" before it can show the time. This is a one time set-up, if the power goes down, the time will just show on the front panel of the VCR when the power comes back up. My other VCR has a real Auto Clock Set feature, just plug the power cord and cable and you're done! No need to go into the lovely set-up screen! Panasonic should have called this feature the One-Step Clock Set! (hey! it kinda rhymes!) =̃
* Universal Tower Remote - Yep! It's a tower! This one is even bigger than my TVs remote! As everyone knows, a universal remote (also called multi-brand remote) can control another unit. Really helps when you have a lot of remotes laying around. You can control a TV and your Cable box/DSS Satellite. But in my situation, I use my TVs remote to control everything. So I only used this remote when I set-up my VCR. You can illuminate all the buttons on the remote by just pressing the "light" button located on the top-right corner. The buttons are clearly labeled and easy to understand. No need to dig up the manual just to see what a button is for.
* Front A/V Input - Very convenient when you want to connect a camcorder, video game system, a digital camera or another VCR for recording! It's very convenient because you don't have to go in the back of your VCR to these connections. I usually use it for connecting my DC280 digital camera (http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-2B1A-6A9A128-39243FFC-prod1) to view the pictures I have on my CF card. But that's another topic. =)
* Auto Head Cleaner - Panasonic equipped this VCR with a built-in, non chemical head cleaning system that helps prevent clogging of the video heads. Obviously, a cleaner video head results in better/clearer picture. This VCR tells you when the video heads gets clogged or dirty. When you play a tape, it warns you that the video heads may need cleaning. You can bypass this by just pressing the play button. You can use a "dry" type head cleaning cassette to remedy this problem or you can bring it to a Service Center and get charged a ton of money! Hint: A cassette cleaner works! =̃
* Home Theater Ready - Don't get confused on this one, it's just merely saying that it has the same width as the other components on a home theater set-up! So it's just talking about the size! Good, when you want to put this together with your other components (like a receiver, dvd, cd player), it won't look awkward, they all have to same width.
Little things I like about this VCR:
* It has 3 recording speeds. SP = Standard Play which offers the best quality picture/sound, 2 hours of recording time. LP = Long Play which offers 4 hours of recording time and gives you good picture/sound quality. SLP = Super Long Play, up to 6 hours of recording and will give you from fair to poor picture/sound quality. Some VCRs only come with 2 speeds, SP and SLP (sometimes called ESP). I mostly use the LP mode to record 49ers games, this mode gives me ok quality instead of the poor quality that the SLP mode offers.
* Titles on recordings! This VCR gives you the option of putting notes or titles on your tape. When you insert a tape, an on-screen display (OSD) will show the date you recorded the show, time, channel, category and your personal title/note (like: Our Vacation, Mom's B-day etc. etc).
Summary and some tips!
I'll be holding on to this VCR until it gives up on me! Panasonic is a good brand and they delivered on this VCR. I have the confidence to say that this VCR is one of the best out there. And for only around $160+, you just can't get a better deal. Well maybe you can, in less than 6 months, prices on VCRs are just going to continue to drop due to the popularity of DVD players! I have a DVD player but I'll end up using my VCR more since I have a massive collection of cassette videos!
Some tips on VCRs:
* When you buy a Hi-Fi VCR, you have to connect it to your TV via the audio/video cables (you know, the red, white and yellow cables) if you want to hear stereo sound and also to see a better picture quality. You'll only get mono sound and descent (maybe grainy) picture when you use the usual black cable that comes with your VCR!
* Do not use your VCR to rewind tapes, instead buy a cheap tape rewinder to do the job. It'll prolong the life of your VCR. Just a reminder, VCRs are made for playback/recording only, the rewind button is just there for convenience.
* Don't buy any extra warranties on VCRs!! VCRs are very durable and will last you longer than you expect. I have 4 VCRs at home, please don't ask me why =). My oldest VCR has been around for more than 5 years and still working fine, never had to bring it to a repair shop! It's a generic Symphonic brand, for those who want to know! Oh, just to let you guys know, we still have this VCR where you have to load the tape from the top, you know, the very big ones that looks like an audio receiver. And yep, it still works! =) We don't use it anymore though, we're keeping it for sentimental reasons. =)
Sorry for the long review. I have not written anything in a long while so I guess the juices are flowing!! <grin>
Happy to be writing again,
Maverick0516
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
maverick0516
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Location: Northern California
Reviews written: 15
Trusted by: 12 members
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