Sharp VC-H965U 4-Head Hi-Fi VCR
Fool Me Twice....
I've been looking for a solid, reliable VCR to replace my 12-year-old Magnavox (which I loved). Panasonic VCRs are known for their reliability, so my first purchase was a Panasonic PV-V4623S. The features and user interface were great, except that it made more noise during operation than a Boeing 747 and was annoyingly slow to respond to the remote controls. I returned it. I purchased the Sharp VC-H965U after reading the enthusiastic reviews on this site (thanks, guys). Right out of the box it had a problem: During fast rewind, the tape counter would &quot;slip&quot;, requiring a tedious manual search to locate recorded programs. This happened almost every time. The remote has three times as many buttons as other VCR remotes, and their use is not always intuitive. The back-light for the display is turned off when the VCR is off, making the clock all but impossible to read. The user manual is not available on Sharp's web site. The VCR costs more than competitive units. This is the second Sharp consumer electronics product I have owned in my life, and I haven't been happy with either one. I'm returning this VCR.