Sony SLV-N750 Full Chassis 4-Head Hi-Fi VCR
Sony is OK but all VCRs have been cheapened lately!
If anyone shopped for a VCR today and tried to compare it to \\"the one they used to have\\", that's a mistake in my opinion.<br /><br />Best Buy only sells 4 VCRs, ranging from $60 (Panasonic) to $80 (Sony). I bought the JVC for $70 and took it back after reading reviews here and on Epinions.<br /><br />This SONY had a grand total two very positive reviews. That's it TWO! And that was more than any of the others that Best Buy sells. What are we supposed to do if we need a replacement VCR? So, I bought the Sony, added $20 to the mix and got Best Buy's 2 yr. warranty.<br /><br />Now that I've used this Sony to record and playback and also to just playback a Blockbuster's rental, all I can say is that it works OK. Is it terrific?  No, it had flaws and has been \\"dumbed down\\" like all the other ones.<br /><br />No it doesn't have a TV-Out channel slide switch for Ch3-4. You have to set it and if you lose power, you have to set it again. No battery backup any more. But then, the new JVC and Panasonic worked the same way.<br /><br />The antenna-out cable connection is monaural, like the JVC I returned and most others. That stinks, of course, but they probably all have that restriction. If a person cares about getting stereo on their TV, they have to use the three RCA plugs for stereo and video. But then you can't watch a different program if you're taping, unless you ALSO hook up the RF out antenna wire. Gotcha! Better get an A-B switch or just live with monaural.<br /><br />I took advantage of the \\"Auto Tape Speed\\" feature and it leaves much to be desired. You have to configure the recorder EACH time you insert a tape to tell it the size tape you're using (T-120, T-160 ...) and then set your recording on \\"Auto\\". If it sees that your recording is too long for the tape it applies some mathematics and at some point switches from LP to EP so the whole program will fit. But, who wants to configure the VCR for the tape length each time ... and besides you don't even know the tape length unless you always keep the longer tapes in their original jackets ... many are marked ever so faintly on the cartridge ... life is too short to live that way.<br /><br />Finally, when it switches from LP to EP you could immediately see the drop-off in quality. On the Sony the picture became less sharp, although the sound didn't seem compromised. Is this a Sony problem? Probably not. I've always recorded everything using EP because we all jam stuff on our tapes. How many programs are less than 2 hours ... and that's without the President breaking in and taking a half hour from us. I don't even compare SP to EP quality since I don't use SP. This begs the issue of whatever happened to SLP which gave us 4 hour recording time?<br /><br />So far as I can see, you might as well buy this Sony with a 2 yr. warranty from the store and get on with your life. I've come to the conclusion that all VCRs today are probably compromised. Surely I wouldn't touch a combo DVD/VCR machine anticipating the VCR component will fail and I'll be adding a standalone VCR to the \\"stack\\" anyway and living with a crippled combo machine.<br /><br />If you really want to get yourself upset, buy a VCR based on any criteria which makes sense to you, like an Amazon or Epinions review, the brand you used to have and liked, a friend's recommendation, or price. Then when you go read more reviews and see the complaints registered against it, you'll probably be sorry you bought it (no matter what you bought).<br /><br />One bright spot is that the Sony has separate Stop and Eject buttons and can even eject from the remote. Not too many can do that.<br /><br />Good luck with whatever you buy. You'll need it. Just get an extended warranty so you don't have to buy another one every 91 days.<br /><br />-- Samow the tape length unless you always keep the longer tapes in their original jackets ... many are marked ever so faintly on the cartridge ... life is too short to live that way. <br /> <br />Finally, when it switches from LP to EP you could immediately see the drop-off in quality. On the Sony the picture became less sharp, although the sound didn't seem compromised. Is this a Sony problem? Probably not. I've always recorded everything using EP because we all jam stuff on our tapes. How many programs are less than 2 hours ... and that's without the President breaking in and taking a half hour from us. I don't even compare SP to EP quality since I don't use SP. This begs the issue of whatever happened to SLP which gave us 4 hour recording time? <br /> <br />So far as I can see, you might as well buy this Sony with a 2 yr. warranty from the store and get on with your life. I've come to the conclusion that all VCRs today are probably compromised. Surely I wouldn't touch a combo DVD/VCR machine anticipating the VCR component will fail and I'll be adding a standalone VCR to the \\"stack\\" anyway and living with a crippled combo machine. <br /> <br />If you really want to get yourself upset, buy a VCR based on any criteria which makes sense to you, like an Amazon or Epinions review, the brand you used to have and liked, a friend's recommendation, or price. Then when you go read more reviews and see the complaints registered against it, you'll probably be sorry you bought it (no matter what you bought). <br /> <br />One bright spot is that the Sony has separate Stop and Eject buttons and can even eject from the remote. Not too many can do that. <br /> <br />Good luck with whatever you buy. You'll need it. Just get an extended warranty so you don't have to buy another one every 91 days. <br /> <br />-- Sam