Panasonic PV-V4521 4-Head Hi-Fi Stereo VCR
Good Solid Unit, W/Some Features Not Found On Other VCRs!
I've owned several different Panasonic Video Cassette Recorders over the years, and I've been pleased with the quality of all of them.  This unit, like all the other Panasonic VCRs I've had, includes a feature that I believe is exclusive to Panasonic units [I've never seen it on other brands], and one I like a lot: the SAP/Hi-Fi button! This feature allows you to toggle between the Hi-Fi settings and mono, without having to use the tracking buttons. I find this most useful, to check the quality of a particular tape's hi-fi soundtrack vs. the mono sound on the tape.<br /><br />Another thing I like about Panasonic machines is actually the LACK of a particular feature. And that is: \\"Auto Tracking\\". (NOTE -- The technical data for this unit *does* state that \\"Auto Tracking\\" is included on this machine. However, it must be a slightly different variation of auto-tracking than other brands possess; because this unit doesn't drive me up the wall.)<br /><br />I don't know about you other video-philes out there, but I can't stand the auto-tracking feature on some of today's VCR recorders!  I recently purchased another brand of VCR that had auto-tracking, and found myself making a very quick return to the store for a refund! The auto-tracking is probably OK with some (or most) pre-recorded videos that you might buy.  But as for my experience with tapes I've recorded myself (on different machines), the auto-tracking was extremely aggravating at best! It never would \\"center\\" the audio track properly, and I'd end up listening to the sizzle of a slightly off-center sound track on every tape! And manually adjusting the tracking didn't help either, because \\"auto tracking\\" would take over again in about 1 minute, and adjust it improperly again!!  Made me shout: \\"Give me my Panasonic back!\\"  So I did get another Panasonic.  No funky auto-tracking.  It's just not needed, especially for your homemade tapes in SLP/EP mode.  Much better to manually do the tracking yourself, if needed.<br /><br />So, overall, I'm very happy with Panasonic products. One fairly small complaint about this unit would be that it's too noisy during playback. The machine many times makes a groaning (or whining) type of noise. This can, at times, be quite annoying. However, it doesn't seem to do it all the time. And only on playback of tapes recorded in SP mode (EP playback is quiet, at least on my machine). And during recording mode, these noises are not evident either.  Just playing back.  Kind of curious.  But not enough of a drawback to keep me from purchasing Panasonic machines in the future.<br /><br />BTW...If you're interested, my Panasonic VCR previous to this one [which unfortunately died of old age after several years of excellent operation; no machine is going to last forever] also had this strange \\"groan\\" to it during playback. But, after several months, it just suddenly stopped making these noises altogether, for some unknown reason!  Hopefully, this current unit will follow along those lines!I'm very happy with Panasonic products. One fairly small complaint about this unit would be that it's too noisy during playback. The machine many times makes a groaning (or whining) type of noise. This can, at times, be quite annoying. However, it doesn't seem to do it all the time. And only on playback of tapes recorded in SP mode (EP playback is quiet, at least on my machine). And during recording mode, these noises are not evident either.  Just playing back.  Kind of curious.  But not enough of a drawback to keep me from purchasing Panasonic machines in the future.      BTW...If you're interested, my Panasonic VCR previous to this one [which unfortunately died of old age after several years of excellent operation; no machine is going to last forever] also had this strange \\"groan\\" to it during playback. But, after several months, it just suddenly stopped making these noises altogether, for some unknown reason!  Hopefully, this current unit will follow along those lines!