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It would occasionally give me a picture after flipping channels or turning the machine on and off a few times. I tried changing cables, making sure the channel was set right, but nothing happened. I bought this vcr and after a few months, the picture output was gone. I could get a picture on the tv when the vcr was off, but not when it was on, even on videos. Was a good machine when it worked.
We cleaned it with a cleaning tape, etc. but it never worked right after that. We only watched a couple tapes a week with it, so its lifetime is about 35 tapes. The VCR gives an average quality picture, but broke within four months of light use (after the 90 day warranty expired, of course). The picture suddenly went bad on one tape, and after this other tapes we tried were almost unwatchable. You get what you pay for, so I guess I shouldn't be suprised by the low quality.
It had a tendency to be picky about which kinds of cassettes it would accept, and more often than not, would just spit them back out. It finally broke down after less than two years, not accepting any cassettes at all, but still managing to chew up the tape inside. I had a lot of problems with this VCR. Grrrrrrrrr.
It was simple to hook up and get started with. It records at 3 speeds (lp, sp, and slp) and does a pretty good job even at the SLP mode. In a couple of years I'll probably be buying a dvd recorder but in the meantime I needed an inexpensive (yet reliable) vcr. This fit the bill. The rewind is a little noisy but no big deal.
That was ruled out, too, because then I'd have two DVD players and one VCR. The new remote is quite a bit smaller. Hey, I remember a time when VCRs didn't rewind at all; luckily all three of mine have had this feature. Neither speed gives DVD quality.The manual is more like a folding road map rather than an actual book. Besides, I'm still getting VHS tapes as presents, and I have a fair amount of tapes that I still enjoy. One, it wasn't locally available, only online; two, I decided against stereo VCRs in general because it would be too much hassle to unplug my DVD player's audio output to run the VCR's stereo. You'll need to know this.
I think it's dumb to spend that kind of money on a gadget when there are people who can't eat, or are having their civil liberties taken away, etc. One was an Emerson that lasted nine years. I really don't expect that kind of longevity out of this one, due to the fact that I will have gone digital and high definition before the next nine years is up. Next was the Panasonic PV-4308 that lasted nine years also.
There's some lag time if you use the one-touch, it's not quite as immediate as I'm used to.I listen to my TV through stereo headphones, so I really don't pay attention to the noise level. It would be nice if I could get my DVD player's remote to work on the VCR, but alas, no record button.The rewind is downright frightening. They do have a black one, a model readily available at the discount electronic retailers, but it doesn't review very well. Recording is still possible in three speeds: sp, lp and slp. The factory set it up to look for cable channels, and you end up with way more channels than you need.This is only the third VCR I've had in eighteen years. As usual the best quality is the fastest speed. The one everyone likes is the PV-V4623, but I ruled it out on three counts. I also didn't like the fact that I couldn't find any that were as low profile as my DVD player, which is also why I don't like the TiVos and other DVRs.
The record is slow on the uptake. I have yet to find one that doesn't take up any room or is as slim as my trusty JVC XV-N50BK DVD player. A mono VCR hooks up through the antenna and plays the sound through the TV tuner. Panasonic's PV-V4523 VCR is readily available at the discount electronic retailer, but nobody likes it. I'm puzzled that JVC would drop the ball on their video equipment when everything they make is top drawer, but I decided not to chance it. Outside of the whirring sound it makes when rewinding, I'm not sure how to grade on that. All VCRs are fat.However, I'm not prepared to spend an exorbitant amount on a PVR or DVD recorder yet, even though I can afford it. I don't have to go to the back of my set and pull plugs out every time I want to watch a different format.
It's sure a different animal from my former Panasonic VCR. For the longest time, I enjoyed not having a VCR at all. I haven't fully studied it yet, other than to read how to hook it up and how to reset the channels. I'm not sure what it's doing yet; it would speed up and then slow down, stop, then start again until it was through. If you don't have cable, make sure to tell the VCR this after the auto channel setup.
Yes, the color was the first consideration. And then there's that color problem: no black.So, I went and got the V4022 on Saturday in time for the Grammys and CBS Sunday Morning. My three-year-old JVC 20" TV is black, my 6-month-old JVC slim DVD player is black, and so I wanted a black VCR to go with them.My nine-year-old Panasonic PV-4308 died (well, OK, I killed it trying to force-feed a video) right after Christmas. But I guess the most important reason I didn't get either is number three: neither one of them comes in black.I even considered one of those space-saving combo units that's half DVD and half VCR. So, I finally decided to buy another one.Why didn't I buy a JVC unit, since it would be compatible with the equipment I have.
I stuck with a name I knew.Why not get a stereo unit for not much more. But until then, until I have to change to a silver HDTV, I expect this Panasonic V4022 will last as long as I need it to.
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