Sony SLV-N51 4-Head Hi-Fi VCR

by Sony

Product Details

Product Manual [1.03mb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005I9R4
• Item model number: SLVN51
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,692 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
  • #12 in Electronics > Televisions & Video > VCRs
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 4, 1973

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The Sony SLV-N51 four-head hi-fi VCR satisfies your recording and playback needs, offering such features as commercial skip, which automatically advances the tape 30 seconds when activated; flash rewind, which offers a complete rewind of a T-120 tape in a mere 60 seconds; and instant replay, which skips back a few seconds to replay a compelling scene or bit of dialogue. The device also employs a plug-and-play setup, so users can be up and running in mere moments (the channels and clock tune automatically). Video performance is enhanced by the dual azimuth four-head recording and playback, which enables two speeds for SP mode and two speeds for EP mode. The slower EP mode is nearly as sharp as the SP mode due to the 19-micron heads, which reduce distortion and deliver a clear, digital-like picture.

Users will appreciate the convenient multilingual onscreen display; the crystal-clear freeze frame, frame advance, and search modes; and the index scan, which helps locate a specific program on a tape without fuss. As opposed to VCR's with manual tracking, the SLV-N51 includes sophisticated digital auto tracking adjustment that smoothes playback. The VCR also employs an eight-event timer, auto head cleaning, a parental lock feature, and front AV inputs for connecting to a camcorder or game system. In addition, the SLV-N51 is Energy Star compliant.

What's in the Box
VCR, coaxial cable, remote control, two AA batteries, user's manual.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice VCR for the money, July 20, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Sony SLV-N51 4-Head Hi-Fi VCR (Electronics)

This is a nice and fairly inexpensive VCR. Because of my schedule, around 98% of what I watch has been recorded so I give my VCR a workout everyday. I'm just an average person, and I'm not trying to obtain a state-of-the-art home theater system. However, I'm particular about performance. I have been known to return three or four VCRs to the store before selecting the one I wanted to keep.

I never owned a Sony so I cannot compare within the same brand. I bought a Sony once and returned it because the remote had microscopic buttons. This is not a problem with this model. Its picture and sound are great. It plays tapes recorded on my other VCR perfectly, which was not the case with my old VCR. The Sony was easy to set up. It rewinds and fast forwards lightning fast. So far, I have no complaints about performance.

I do have some petty problems with it. I find the universal remote extremely irritating. The numerical buttons control the TV only if the TV is a Sony. Mine isn't so I have to use the channel up/down button. The play/ff/rr/pause control is actually one big circular button that is somewhat hard to deal with. The super fast ff/rr is a good feature, but it is too fast when zipping through commericals or when trying to stop at a certain point. I find programming the VCR for timer recording sort of annoying. It isn't hard, but I wish it was set up differently.

I know it sounds like am am griping too much. I have no problems with the way this VCR performs. My complaints are personal preference issues. I definitely recommend this VCR.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Junk, August 9, 2001

By 

"ahwazusa" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony SLV-N51 4-Head Hi-Fi VCR (Electronics)

I have owned Sony VCR's in the past and wanted to replace a 4 year old model with this one. What a piece of crab this is (actually all of Sony's new models are junk, since I replaced this with slv-n81 and same story!). The picture quality is really bad even when recording is from digital cable. Rented video's do not look very good either. If your looking to buy a vcr stay away from this year and last year's models. Ever since Sony moved it's production to Mexico, their quality has gone down dramatically. Sad!!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Never Again, December 12, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Sony SLV-N51 4-Head Hi-Fi VCR (Electronics)

I had a cheap (...) VCR for 7 years that survived two toddlers and countless hours of Disney replays. When I finally had to replace it, I looked for another inexpensive VCR that would stand up to more abuse from kids. I decided to spend a few extra bucks to get a Sony because of their reputation for high quality equipment. BIG MISTAKE!!! Within 6 weeks I started having problems with it. The audio went out completely, the picture was snowy on every tape, and it even started chewing up tapes. I got a huge hassle from Sony Customer Service. They tried everything possible to avoid honoring the warranty. When I finally received a replacement (ten weeks later), it didn't last any longer than the first one. So here I am again, waiting for them to send me another machine. It will be a long time before I even consider buying a Sony product again.