Customer Reviews

JVC SR-MV45US DVD-R & S-VHS/VHS Dual Deck

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The many other reviews condemning this line of products is true. I recently purchased one of these, and had to return it because it didn't work right out of the box. I returned the next one within two weeks for suddenly shutting down in the middle of recording. I returned it and got a third unit, which failed in the exact same way one day before the 30 day guarantee expired! I have also spoken with other video professionals who have been disappointed by this unit (in its various names and model numbers). There is something seriously wrong with the design of this machine, and JVC should not be selling these machines at all.

I was almost scared off by the negative reviews. Maybe they are trolls, maybe it was a sample problem. I happy I wasn't, though.

I have a bunch of S-VHS and VHS tapes of stuff which I needed to transfer to DVD.

I've DUB'ed about 10 VHS tapes so far. It's very convenient, 'cause it can automatically adjust the recording time to suit the tape length.

Really just put in a DVD-R and a tape and push the DUBB button...

The recording quality is good -- the TBC seems to do a good job of cleaning up the source if there are problems with that.

If there are multiple recordings on the tape, it creates a new track for each one. After finalizing, it auto-chapters every 5 minutes.

So, in summary, it seems well built, is convenient to use and does a good job.

The JVC SR-MV45 is a combo SVHS/DVD-R unit, marketed by the people at JVC as a part of their "Professional" line of equipment.

And while it's not a bad piece of gear, and I use it quite successfully in my work, in its design, features and execution its quite far from "pro".

For instance:

-it has no meters, or any indication that audio is present at the inputs;

-it has no headphone jack to allow a user to monitor audio;

-it has an IEEE-1394 (FireWire) port, but the port only works as an input (unlike many other JVC units, where the port is bi-directional). Thus, the unit can't be used for the primary purpose I'd like to use it for, which is to transfer VHS/SVHS videotapes into my editing system. For this, I have to use one of the video outputs routed through an A-to-D converter box. A very stupid omission.

-and on the subject of inputs and outputs...the unit has a paucity of those, certainly not enough to hook it into a professional system, where you'd want outputs to connect (a) into the system, and (b) into a monitor. And one of the outputs is DVD-only, further limiting one's choice when integrating the unit into a pro edit system.

Additionally, the VHS transport is not of pro quality, being very lightweight and made mostly of plastic.

OK, so what are the good points? Well, the FireWire input lets me make digital DVD dubs directly from my edit system. It has front inputs (S-vid, composite and stereo audio). It has some nifty dubbing functions to let you copy tapes to DVD-R easily. And, it has a raft of on-board features to program DVD tracks and chapters...things I would never do in a million years on a DVD-R machine, because there's much easier and better ways to do that in DVD authoring programs. Thanks anyway, JVC.

So in summation...this is a unit that performs as expected, if you don't expect too much as a professional. I bought it because SVHS decks of any kind are becoming a rare breed; and frankly, I was duped by the product description, which didn't really stress that the FireWire connection was INPUT ONLY (I'd owned a previous unit, the SR-VS20U, which had a bi-directional FW connection).

We were provided with four of these units for our educational facility. All of them had difficulty playing burned DVDs that would play just fine on other brands. We were also surprised to discover this model does not have a tuner, and at this price it should. We ended up taking all of these out of service and replacing them with Magnavox models.

I recommend buyers look at the Amazon reviews for defunct JVC VHS/DVD

dual deck products before they purchase any current dual deck model.

They have a proven history of extremely poor build quality. JVC keeps

rapidly changing model numbers, which makes this more difficult for

the consumer to discover. However they all look very similar with

only slight cosmetic differences.

Search on these item numbers and see for yourself:

JVC SR-MV40US

* Built Defective, I bought and returned three of these units (12/2007)

* Faulty DVD Drive is a known inevitable problem on every unit (11/2007)

* Worked well while it worked (10/2007)

* Disk Error on most discs after 5 months of owning the unit (08/2007)

* No luck with this (06/2007)

* Problem unit (05/2007)

JVC HRXVC27U (5 1-stars out of 8)

* 1yr and 1/2 and it died (02/2005)

* Worst home electronic device I've ever owned (03/2006)

* Barely outlived the warranty (10/2005)

* the J must stand for Junk (05/2005)

JVC DRMV5S (8 1-stars out of 16)

* Do Not Buy The JVC DRMV5S DVD ... (09.2007)

* JVC DRMV5S is defective! (03/2007)

* Total Junk and they Know it ! (12/2006)

* There's got to be something better (03/2006)

* JVC should be ashamed! (01/2006)

* Died after two weeks (10/2005)

A search on "Jvc Hi-fi Vcr/DVD Combo" search yields the following models:

JVC HRXVC29S

* I had the unit for under a year, and one day ... it just froze (04/2006)

* What a disapointment after only 2 years (03/2006)

JVC HRXVC15S (1 1-star, 1 2-star out of 2 reviews)

* Factory Defect....Look Elsewhere (09/2007)

Here are some model numbers that WILL NOT come up on a search but CAN be

accessed by working through "see all of my reviews"

JVC DRMV1S (>>> FIFTY-TWO <<<< 1-stars out of 63 reviews)

* Worst purchase decision ever!! (11/2007)

* Unit has never been right (10/2007)

* total piece of junk!!!!!! (02/2007)

* Nothing But Trouble (07/2006)

* poor reliability (10/2006)

* Don't buy the JVC DRMV1S (01/2006)

* What a piece of junk!!! (01/2006)

* Avoid this unit or you WILL be sorry (01/2006)

* Total loss (01/2006)

* Worst piece of electronics I've ever seen (12/2005)

* Possessed by Demons (10/2005)

* For the sake of your sanity, do not buy this!!!!! (12/2005)

... it just goes on and on.

JVC HR-XVC20U (10 1-stars out of 19 reviews)

* Very disappointed - Not a good buy (10/2004)

* I will never buy a JVC product again (07/2004)

* In the shop (05/2004)

* DON'T BUY IT!! (05/2004)

* Pathetic (05/2004)

* I bought it in october of 2003 - going bad in april 2004

* Do not buy this unit! (04/200)

* A regrettable purchase (02/2004)

JVC HRXVC26U (6 1-stars out of 14 reviews)

* Awful (08/2007)

* 2 Units same problem ... freezing (09/2004)

JVC HRXVS44U (6 1 or 2-stars out of 10 reviews)

* VCR drive died after one year (10/2004)

* Third straight reviewer to have a problem (01/2005)

* This is junk...avoid (09/2004)

* Durability is questionable, after 9 months ... (05/2004)

* unit was terrible out of the box (12/2003)

JVC HR-XVC33U (5 reviews out of 10 3-stars or less)

* Returned Item (03/2004)

* Problems from the start (02/2004)

* I am on my third one and it's going bad too (12/2003)

JVC HRXVC16B (3 1-stars out of 3 reviews)

* I'll never buy another JVC product again. A month after ... (04/2007)

Buyer Beware !!!

Others here have slammed JVC for allegedly poor build quality. Yes, JVC did indeed have issues with the DVD drive on some of these decks. Mine was defective as well, and had to be returned to JVC for repair in warranty. They fixed it and it works to this day. Unfortunately, the procedure for burning DVDs with this deck is rather complex.

But the VHS side of this thing is a work of art. As I type this, I am using it to play back 17 year old SLP VHS tapes and it is doing it without fail, as we archive years of VHS stock to DVD. NO OTHER MACHINE WE HAVE FOUND, INCLUDING OTHER JVCs, will play these tapes.

I am not using its internal DVD drive, I am going to an external, professional grade, DVD burner.

The bottom line...if you need a VHS player for old tapes, this box just can't be beat. Period.