Sony SLV-N500 4-Head Hi-Fi VCR
3 months use out of an $80 VCR
I bought this VCR to replace a cheap $60 Magnavox that began having issues after 6 long years. As far as I knew Sony still had a good reputation in electronics, and perhaps it does, but the Sony SLV-N500 I bought was and is a horrible VCR.<br />Besides being of relatively chintzy construct, its remote and accompanying options were poorly designed and annoying to use. I resigned myself to lame design because I don't use my VCR that much anymore anyway and I figured I'd &quot;get over it.&quot;<br />Then I began having increasingly serious problems with the audio when viewing tapes. It actually began the very first time I used this VCR to record; on playback, it sounded like I was getting interference from a talk radio station. It didn't correspond to anything on TV at the time, so I figured there had been some issues with the cable reception as it had been recording -- our cable company isn't that great. Then I had a few uneventful viewings, just enough that I stopped worrying about that first event and consequently didn't notice/care that return policy deadlines and warranties were expiring. The first time I decided to watch a movie on VHS (as opposed to a TV show I had taped with the VCR), I discovered the interference was back. It was so obtrusive this time that the talk radio was louder than the movie dialogue. After checking, rechecking, and fiddling with all my cords and cables and settings for the third time, I swapped out the Sony with my old Magnavox, on which the movie played just fine.<br />Needless to say, I did not get my money's worth on this Sony VCR. I found it disappointingly substandard in design and features even when it seemed to be working properly; now, three and a half months after purchase, it doesn't even work well enough to serve its primary function.