Customer Reviews

Emerson EWW7070 Digital Multi-System VCR

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Emerson EWW7070 definately added World Class to its world wide capabilities. Straight out of the box, it took PAL I tapes from the UK and played then with excellent quality and stereo sound. It outclassed others I had tried and returned that had cost twice as much. I have now had a chance to play some of the 400 tapes that I brought from England, some over 15 years old, and recommend this unit to anyone needing to play and record foreign VHS tapes.

I found that while this unit's price was appealing, and it was easy to use, the converted signal was only adequate. There was a pattern of lighter and darker lines scrolling up the screen. This was going from PAL to NTSC3 format.

Looked OK on paper but, it stated that it could playback any tape, but PAL N and PAL M don't work, their brochure lies. That was 75% of the intended use. I also notice severe strobing on bright scenes while playing back PAL I (I mean severe, not the 25 fps strobe), don't see this on a Samsung SV-5000W playing the same tape. You get what you pay for, and this is a cheap VCR, so...

You may miss from the spec sheet (as I did) that there is no tuner or timer on this machine. The converter works well but you will only use this as a secondary VCR.

Forget the Emerson converting VCR - it's a piece of junk. Besides being flimsy (it is, afterall, an Emerson), this VCR does an inadequate job of converting different tape standards. It will allow you to view different tapes on American TVs and it is an inexpensive unit, but for $50-$100 more, why not purchase a converting VCR that will do more than a lousy job? There are, afterall, other VCRs that have this capability. If you are in the market for a converting VCR consider one of the many that Samsung manufactures. They are specialists in this field.

This VCR plays my tapes from UK beautifully, and it has very nice stereo sound. The look is different but acceptable. It does not have an automatic tracking system and its remote control (or control on VCR itself) is primitive. I have not tried to use it to record programs from TV directly because I have not figured out how, and there is no need: I have another VCR to do the task. It is a bargain considering converting tapes into different formats would cost a fortune. If you have lots of tapes from other countries, you can certainly give this VCR a try.

Poor converting quality, lack of such common devices as timer and tuner make such VCR a senseless purchase, especially after $100 price increasing. But if you constantly receiving foreign tapes, you may wish to try this VCR, though it feels more like a player.

While this VCR lacks many of the fancy options found on conventional VCR's, it's converting capability is excellent. Converting from PAL to NTSC3 was as simple as plugging it in, and the image was crystal clear. I tried the Samsung SV7000W and found it to be hard to operate (it took me some time just to figure out the standard playback channel was not channel 3 or 4). The Samsung also had an inferior and "jittery" picture. In a nutshell, the Emerson isn't much as a normal VCR, it has no fancy options, but for straight conversion purposes it performs quite well. I cannot vouch for any modes outside of PAL to NTSC3 or NTSC3 to NTSC3.

Brillitan conversion quality when playing PAL I tapes (from UK). Couldn't possibly ask for any better playback! Highly recommended to anyone with British tapes.

Great price; comparable units go for $500-$800 (aiwa, samsung, etc...) Appearance is great, (why oh why can't it be black?). Seems a bit on the flimsy side, but oh well. Major turn-off is that it's only got 2 heads, and unfortunately no S-Video option. But, again, for the price you can't go wrong! Here's a puzzle: Try finding Emerson on the Web! Good Luck! Darrel