Customer Reviews

Panasonic PV-V4621 4-Head Hi-Fi VCR

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I purchased this VCR since my old one was also Panasonic and worked well over the years. The features of this new VCR are great. However, I am now on my second one after having returned the first. The first one made a great deal of noise from the motor and recorded video playback was grainy. The second unit is much more quiet during operation, but the viewing of recorded video is terrible. There is a very noticeable degradation of the picture upon playback and an "interference" type line wiggling along the bottom. Adjusting the tracking does not solve the problem. I have purchased new tapes, but that has not changed anything. This second unit is going back to the store tomorrow. After reading other reviews, I am wondering if Panasonic produced a bad "batch" of this model VCR. There seems to be too much disparity between reviews where some say the picture is excellent and others say it's terrible. I am still debating whether I will try a third unit of this same model and brand.

This VCR has many wonderful bells and whistles, like commercial advance, many indexing searches and great displays. BUT the recordings are terrible. I had to return this VCR. It is also noisy which you don't notice if it is in a glassed cabinet. the remote is easy to learn but the buttons are unbelievably tiny.

I love the features of this VCR, especialy the automatic commercial advance. The VCR marks the beginning and end of commercials and then automatically fast forwards through them on playback. A time-shifter's dream! I previously reviewed this as 3 stars because it was incompatible with my new Panasonic HDTV set. I found out that the TV was the problem, not the VCR. Now that I have hooked it up to my Sony XBR HDTV, I am very pleased with my purchase.

Panasonic must have a quality control problem with these units. I've read reviews stating the picture quality is great and other reviews saying it is horrible. Add mine to the horrible list. Recording at any speed results in grainy playback. The VCR is the noisiest VCR I've ever heard. The remote has micro buttons for the channel changing and the record button is too close to the channel buttons. Setup is not easy either. Mine powered up talking French, so I had to wade through the manual to figure out how to reset it. FF or Rewinding does not automatically display time remaining. You have to press the display button on the remote to get this info. Needless to say, it went back to the store. I exchanged it for a Sony SLVN71...The Sony was a breeze to setup. Didn't even open the manual. Remote was excellent. Picture quality was excellent. Plus the Sony has a metal frame and case. The Panasonic is total plastic.

I've had it a few weeks, and everything has worked as expected. The power save and commercial advance features are very useful, and work as advertised. Minor disappointments are that only 8 programs can be set up, and the programming interface could be better. For example, I could easily enter the program time using the number keys (1-2-3-0 for 12:30, for example), but instead I must use the up and down arrows, slowly advancing from 01 to 30.

I am electronics illiterate. When my VCR broke down I had no idea how to tell what was good and what was not. Being a single mom, I dont have anyone to help me decide. All I knew was that my 3 kids needed a VCR and quick! I read the reviews other people had given about every VCR from Amazon.com. I got frustrated trying to decipher all the technical terminology. If you are electronics illiterate also, I am here to tell you, I love this VCR. It is easy to operate and rewinds quickly and quietly. I was amazed at how light it was. This is definitely worth the money and I would encourage anyone to purchase this item.

Overall, I would rate this product as a "good buy". However, with just a couple of adjustments, the product would be a great buy. Two primary compliments are: 1. Once it's set-up and running it performs extremely well! The VCR complements/enhances both regular TV watching and movie/recorded playback. 2. Nice features in the auto clock and freeze and slow frame play

Two primary detractors are: 1. Getting the player set-up and running! If you do nothing else after receiving this player, read the first couple of set-up paragraphs written in "ENGLISH". I had the misfortune of having the player default to French instructions and then had to work my way backwards.(That's an engineer for you). 2. The remote's buttons and key features leave a LOT to be desired. Although it's supposed to be a Universal Remote, meant for many brands and multiple function (TV, VCR), it is very poorly designed for TV remote, which is what is most frequently done in most households. The keys are "much" too small and difficult to individually single out for "pressing". I had to use a couple of different colored permanent ink markers to highlight most often used keys. The "back-light" feature is not worth mentioning. It's primary function is to distinguish between TV/VCR & TVVCR mode, nothing more. Not used enough to include as a "feature". I gave the player the benefit of the doubt with a rating of 4 stars. There isn't a place for 1/2 stars otherwise the rating would've been 3 1/2. Don't mis-understand, I would make the same purchase again if given the opportunity. It's a good product, just not a great one.

This is best VCRs I have ever seen. I just installed one of these for my uncle. I could not believe the picture this produces. Frankly, this machine replays tapes better than any other recorder on the market I have seen in years. The picture was excellent.

Simply put, this VCR is the only one I suggest purchasing. Not only is it user friendly, there are so many options that make your viewing pleasure incredibly efficient. If you tape daily programs, you will surely enjoy the easy programming and the fast advance through commercials that you don't even need to set-up. Great purchase; great playing clarity, and highly user friendly.

(...) This VCR is packed with great features (like VCR+ silver and commercial advance) and has great picture quality even when using my rabbit ears antenna (no cable!). When researching VCR's, I found that the Panasonic name was at the top in terms of reliability. Put that together with the features and it was a no-brainer for me. Great VCR...no regrets.