Panasonic PV-V4624S 4-Head Hi-Fi VCR, Silver
One Touch Nightmare
I bought this VCR based on the recommendations of other users and review sites.  It probably works great for them, but I found it problematic.<br /><br />I own a Harmony Remote.  I would give those five stars, but not even a Harmony Remote can compensate for the problems with this VCR.<br /><br />My main frustration stems from their One Touch Recording.  This is the feature where you press Record a few times to have it record for 1/2 an hour, 1 hour, or other length of time.  On my current RCA vcr, I then turn the VCR off and it continues to record.  This is wonderful because my Harmony Remote turns off all my devices at once.  If I am recording, I hit Off.  If I am not recording, I hit Off.  My current RCA VCR handles this fine.<br /><br />Not so with the Panasonic!  Hit off and the recording cancels!  So sorry!  Your recording setup is meaningless!  (In case you can't tell, I really did not like their method.)<br /><br />It would have been nice for there to be an option to cancel recording or not.  However, I'm a geek and I like my electronics configurable.<br /><br />My secondary annoyance was with their programmed recording setup.  In my current RCA vcr, I type in the numbers.  You can't do this with the Panasonic.  You must use the arrow keys to scroll through the numbers for date, hour begin, minute begin, hour end, minute end, and recording mode (SP, SLP).  It takes three times as long.<br /><br />I also did find the fast forward/rewind annoying as other users have.  It is quick, but ends up taking more time than if it was the normal speed of my other VCR.<br /><br />I considered giving this two stars because it has some cool features, such as index search, rapid fast forward/rewind, and tape remaining.  But then I called their tech support.<br /><br />Tech support is a big part of any product.  If you are having trouble using it, this can make it so much better.  In this case, it only made it worse.  First I sent an email that was never replied to.  Why bother giving that method to contact them if it gets nowhere?  Next I called them and we spent five minutes filling out my contact information - no, it's spelled R-A-Y-M-O-N-D - to get a simple question answered.  Maybe it wasn't such a simple question; he had to look it up.  However, I apparently was expected to know how their One Touch Recording worked prior to purchasing their vcr.  Sorry, but number one rule of business is to keep your customer happy.  Since I'm going to have to eat the shipping costs and restocking fee to return this, I'm not too happy with Panasonic and tech support gave me no reason to be any happier.<br /><br />Perhaps this vcr would work for you, but I found it completely inadequate.  I spent extra money to get a better vcr, but $40 models I've had in the past have been better.ed to.  Why bother giving that method to contact them if it gets nowhere?  Next I called them and we spent five minutes filling out my contact information - no, it's spelled R-A-Y-M-O-N-D - to get a simple question answered.  Maybe it wasn't such a simple question; he had to look it up.  However, I apparently was expected to know how their One Touch Recording worked prior to purchasing their vcr.  Sorry, but number one rule of business is to keep your customer happy.  Since I'm going to have to eat the shipping costs and restocking fee to return this, I'm not too happy with Panasonic and tech support gave me no reason to be any happier. <br /> <br />Perhaps this vcr would work for you, but I found it completely inadequate.  I spent extra money to get a better vcr, but $40 models I've had in the past have been better.