Customer Reviews

Panasonic PV-VS4820 4-Head Hi-Fi VCR

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

 

 

The feature set of this unit is (for me) a tad better better than the listed features for the similarly priced JVC units, which is what you'll be comparing it to if you are looking for SVHS-ET units that record SVHS on both SVHS tape and regular VHS tape, the principal reason for buying such a comparatively high priced unit.

The SVHS-ET (SVHS recorded on VHS tape) recording and playback is excellent, and once you see the results, you'll never go back to VHS recording - the picture on VHS tape is as good as the broadcast signal - 400 lines of resolution compared to 240 for VHS. And if you exchange tapes with someone who has an older SVHS unit that can't do ET, you'll find that recording and playback on expensive SVHS tape is superb.

The unit also has commercial advance - detects and skips over commercials, which works quite well, getting about 80% of them, with perhaps a 10% ocurrence of mistaking program material for commercials; the advance feature can be under manual control or automatic. There is also movie advance, which skips commercials at the start of pre-recorded tapes, but I haven't used it yet, as I rent DVDs, not tapes.

The one area where this unit doesn't exceed the feature set in the comparable JVC units is in the front panel video jacks - JVC also has an S-video jack on the front panel, while this one has only a standard RCA composite video jack - which will not be important unless you have a modern camcorder with S-video output that you want to dub from. If you do, you'll have a tough time choosing between this unit and JVC, as you have to pay a lot more to get commercial advance in the JVC line.

This unit is so good that I considered buying a second unit for dubbing, but I found that there is no way to differentiate between two identical decks - they will both respond to the same remote codes. Sony allows the user to designate units as "VCR1" or "VCR2", so that 2 otherwise identical units can be controlled without conflict, but Panasonic does not - at least at this price point. In any event, this is not the deck you'd want for serious editing, as there is no flying erase head, and the cueing accuracy is typical of a low cost deck.

I had a hard time figuring out how to work all the features. The instruction book is reasonably comprehensive, and covers the basics well enough, and almost all features are covered to some extent, but many of the less often used features are not explained adequately (e.g., slow motion tracking), and are are often not where you would expect to find them, or are poorly written. I called Panasonic support twice for explanations (something I have never had to do on a consumer electronics product till now!), and got a prompt, accurate response both times (a pleasant surprise). After becoming familiar with the unit and reviewing the instructions to see where I had gone astray, I found that all functions were indeed covered, but I never would have found everything without help. Whoever wrote the manual spoke idiomatic English, but simply didn't know how to organize a manual.

Overall, an excellent performer, a great value, and worth the hassle of figuring out the instructions.

Wow. This puppy continues to amaze us every day. Here's the last couple of surprises:

* After taping a show, it asks whether you want to delete the commercials right away, or do it later. How nice to have choices!

* It tapes SVHS quality on VHS tapes. Wait until you see SVHS quality, then see how yucky normal VHS looks.

* When you rent a video, one button on the remote fast forwards past all the previews. You see all the junk fly by, then the tape slows down, and the audio cuts in at precisely the first note of the movie soundtrack. Amazing.

Needless to say, we love this one.

This machine does a good job as a S-VHS machine. However, its motors grind away like a washing machine. If you can put it in the next room with the door shut, buy it.

A good vcr. I personally like the vcr plus featre. but there are many featres like Dolby ProLogic-compatible hi-fi sound Advanced VCR Plus+ recording features Rapid rewind/fast-forward Commercial Advance skips over 3 minutes of commercials in 25 seconds Multibrand universal Light Tower remote control. a good BUY!

I was leary of ordering this over the net but was very happy with it. The commercial advance is the coolest feature. It automaticly fast forwrds over the commercials without touching it. I needed a VCR with an S video hookup and this one worked well for the price. I am verry happy with the overall performance. The remote [is not good] but I don't use it much anyway.

The manuel for this unit is so poorly written, out of order and hopelessly confusing, if your setup isn't flawless the first time around, plan on spending many hours trying to undo your mistakes and get it right. Even when you disconnect the cables, unplug the unit and then reconnect everything, things remain stubbornly in memory, defying you to make changes. The Auto VCR Plus+ System Channel Setup AUTO SET UP, which is supposed to be automatic overnight, may take nights and nights and nights and never set anything up right, and in the Auto VCR Plus+ System Channel Setup MANUAL SET UP it is maddenly, frustranting difficult to get simple numbers to appear in the right places (you have two keys, up and down, and with each tap the numbers leap from 3 to 14 to 56 to 3, etc). After three days and some 14 solid hours, I'm still unable to program the thing, still unable to make an auto VCR Plus+ recording. If you love challenges, have oceans of time, infinite patience, and take joy in little electronic appliances that are a thousand times more complicated to operate than they need be, then this is the unit for you.

I notice another reviewer reports losing sound output after 18 months. Exactly the same thing happened to me. Otherwise, I have been satisfied.

[Original Review] Why can't anyone make a decent VCR anymore? This was my second (and final) try to replace an older RCA that worked great and lasted forever. I found the Panasonic PV-VS4820 to be a mixed bag. The plusses are that it rewinds and fast-forwards very fast, and that it has good picture and sound, even in SLP mode. The minuses are that the motor is VERY loud, it is very expensive for what you get, and it has the worst-designed remote control I have ever seen. I am keeping it, but only because I am tired of shopping for a decent VCR.

[Second review, just over a year later] Well, the VCR just stopped producing any sound output and stopped playing tapes, after less than a year and a half. I also own a Panasonic DVD player, with which I am pretty pleased, but this VCR is awful.

I've been using this VCR for about six months. So far, it is
decent, but not great.

There are a few things about it that I really don't like.

1) As other reviewers have mentioned, it's very loud.
Rewinding a tape sounds like an airplane preparing for takeoff.

2) When programming the VCR for manual recording, you cannot
enter the channels numerically (by pressing the number keys).
Instead, you must cursor down from the channel to which the VCR
is currently set. It's very annoying if the VCR is on channel
49, and you want to record channel 2.

3) The remote control and user interface really is confusing
and inconsistent. VCR UI design seems to have gotten much
worse over the past few years.

4) However, the worst thing about it is that after it finishes
recording, the VCR display still says it is set to record
additional programs. When you set the VCR to record, the
display says TIMER in big letters, indicating that the timer
is set to record programs. When the VCR is not set to record,
the display shows a clock. After the VCR finishes recording,
the display _should_ default to the clock (this is how other
VCRs work.) Unfortunately, the display still says TIMER, which
is awfully confusing. If you turn the VCR on and off again
after it has finished recording, the TIMER indicator disappears
and is replaced by the clock.

I just couldn't believe anybody would design a VCR this way on
purpose, so I called customer service about this (twice), and
emailed once. The first representative insisted that I was
wrong, and that the VCR didn't work that way. The second told
me that it was supposed to work that way, and that I didn't
need a display indicator at all because "after all, YOU were
the one who programmed the VCR in the first place!" I didn't
receive any response to my email.

On the positive side, the rewind really is very fast. I haven't
actually used the commercial advance feature, but it seems like
quite a useful feature.

I can't say I have noticed the improved picture quality either,
but I haven't been looking for it. I have noticed that tapes
I record on this VCR don't play on other VCRs, and this might
be the reason. (There may be a way to turn this feature off,
but I haven't found it yet.)

If I had it to do over again, I would not buy this VCR (or any
other Panasonic VCR, most likely). I always liked the Sony VCRs
I had in the past, so I would probably start looking there.

Panasonic lists this an an S-VHS VCR for $100 more (retail) than it is listed here. Other sites also agree with Panasonic's site. I suggest someone review the details. Here is Panasonic's link:
http://www.prodcat.panasonic.com/shop/templates/rect_template.asp?ModelId=8845&show_all=false&product_exists=True&active=1&ModelNo=PV-VS4820