Rating: 
Summary: Newer Isn't Always Better
Review: A Sony VCR has had a place in my entertainment center for many years. I bought one of these in August 2003 to replace an SLV-N71, which I found was no longer available new. It was great - for about 4 months, just long enough to be out of warranty. At that point it had about 60 hours of recording time. It could no longer record a usable control track, so during playback the sound and picture would fade in and out. Doubly annoying is the fact that the picture would look fine while fast-forwarding or rewinding. This same problem was the reason I stopped using the SLV-N71 when it was about 2 years old.I found a repair shop that cleaned and aligned it for about $75. The resulting picture was better than when it was new! It was great again - until it had about 56 more hours of recording time. Then the same problem cropped up again. It seems that no one makes them like they used to. The electronics in the new ones are terrific. The high speed rewind in this one is [the best] ever. They weigh just a fraction of the older models. But they just don't last. My advice is if you have an old VCR, you're better off spending the money repairing that than buying a new one. The repair warranty is probably as good as can be had on a new one - and it [will] last longer anyway.
Rating: 
Summary: A very solid VCR
Review: Dunno -- I haven't had any of the problems the guy below me has had. Machine does not move when buttons are pushed. Pause is a tad slow to react, maybe it takes 1 second of video to actually stop, but this is a VCR, not a DVD player, it's the nature of the beast. Picture and sound quality in SP mode are excellent; in EP mode acceptable -- also in the nature of the beast. Recording timer easy to use and accurate, as is VCR plus. Time counters are clear and accurate. PLAY operation is silent and that's important -- trust me, a lot of new units are made with such lightweight metal cases that the sound of the spinning heads is crystal clear and grating. The only exception is during the ultrafast RW or FF, when the unit sounds like an express train, but then it doesn't matter. Two minor quibbles: first, I use the display as my living room clock, but this unit will not display the clock if you have a tape loaded when on. So if you use the VCR tuner as I do, and leave a tape in for timed recording as I do, you can't read the clock. If you're planning to watch a TV show at a particular time, this is a bit annoying. So sometimes I eject the tape, which leads me to Second, the remote's eject button does not re-load an ejected tape. Once you're used to the remote it's a pain to have to get up (you lazy bum) and manually push the tape back into the machine. Many older models would re-load this way, this one should too. That said, all in all I'm very satisfied and recommend this unit, especially at the price.
Rating: 
Summary: Sony quality is slipping
Review: I purchased the N700, hooked it up and recorded something from the TV on a brand new TDK tape. Unfortunately, the quality of the recording was terrible. The entire bottom third of the picture was extremely distorted.It could not be fixed with the tracking...it was almost as if the heads were defective. I had always trusted Sony but now I don't know who to trust. I know from experience that Panasonic VCR's are junk so is there a decent VCR left in this world?
Rating:
Summary: Tape-Eater!
Review: I purchased this particular VCR approximately a year ago and have used it primarily as a recording VCR and have enjoyed its uses so far. The only negative thing I can say about it is that when making a recording on this VCR and trying to play it back on my other Sony VCR in the living room, the tracking is a bit off but it adjusts itself soon enough which, for me, doesn't detract from the overall quality of this terrific VCR. One of the most important features in a VCR is the quality of the image and sound in playback mode and I've found the playback quality on this Sony VCR to be outstanding with "near" DVD quality in image and the Hi-Fi sound is as good as can be expected from a VCR; continuing to make me a Sony electronics customer. One feature that is highly important to most people is ease in programmability and it really couldn't be any easier with this VCR especially given for the automatic presetting on the clock and TV channels that is fed from your cable company. In just a few short steps, you can program this VCR to tape all your favorite shows, hit the power button and it's ready to do its job when the time comes. Also, for recording your favorite shows, this Sony VCR comes with the VCR Plus+® System; making recording that much easier, providing you have your local cable listing. Should you desire to run this VCR through your cable box, it easily sets up in that manner and works perfectly as well. Feature wise, this VCR has the majority of the bells and whistles one could expect and desire for a VCR in this price range. For parents out there that might be worried about young children accidentally hitting the power button and preventing a recording, this VCR possesses a child lock which eases that worry. Overall, I'd highly recommend this or any other of the line of outstanding Sony VCR's as this is my second Sony VCR and in the future, should I need another, I won't even look at another brand! {ssintrepid}
Rating: 
Summary: Sony SLV-N700 Hi-Fi VCR - A great buy!
Review: I purchased this particular VCR approximately a year ago and have used it primarily as a recording VCR and have enjoyed its uses so far. The only negative thing I can say about it is that when making a recording on this VCR and trying to play it back on my other Sony VCR in the living room, the tracking is a bit off but it adjusts itself soon enough which, for me, doesn't detract from the overall quality of this terrific VCR. One of the most important features in a VCR is the quality of the image and sound in playback mode and I've found the playback quality on this Sony VCR to be outstanding with "near" DVD quality in image and the Hi-Fi sound is as good as can be expected from a VCR; continuing to make me a Sony electronics customer. One feature that is highly important to most people is ease in programmability and it really couldn't be any easier with this VCR especially given for the automatic presetting on the clock and TV channels that is fed from your cable company. In just a few short steps, you can program this VCR to tape all your favorite shows, hit the power button and it's ready to do its job when the time comes. Also, for recording your favorite shows, this Sony VCR comes with the VCR Plus+® System; making recording that much easier, providing you have your local cable listing. Should you desire to run this VCR through your cable box, it easily sets up in that manner and works perfectly as well. Feature wise, this VCR has the majority of the bells and whistles one could expect and desire for a VCR in this price range. For parents out there that might be worried about young children accidentally hitting the power button and preventing a recording, this VCR possesses a child lock which eases that worry. Overall, I'd highly recommend this or any other of the line of outstanding Sony VCR's as this is my second Sony VCR and in the future, should I need another, I won't even look at another brand! {ssintrepid}
Rating:
Summary: VERY GOOD VCR
Review: I purchased this VCR soley for the purpose of transfering all my VHS tapes to DVD -R. I have a Panasonic DVD recorder that I hook this VCR up to. First and most importantly, I was interested in a VCR that produced a high quality play-back picture. Second and just as important, I required one that featured automatic "digital tracking" and automatic "head cleaning". This VCR accomplished all of these functions flawlessly, especially with high marks given on the play-back picture quality. Judging by the remarks made by others, I am not the only one with this opinion. As far as the other features available, I will not comment on since they did not concern me or I have not tested. However, this VCR is packed with numerous other features that can be attractive to other interested buyer. Furthermore, if any of these other features work as well as the one's I have experience with, then this may be the VCR for you. At less than $ 90.00 this is a great buy. GAC
Rating:
Summary: I like it
Review: I really like this VCR. It matches our Sony Wega TV and is very easy to operate. Purchased it about a year ago and no problems so far.
I have had trouble getting it to record with our DirectTV, but that could be me not hooking it up right, since the instructions to install with D-TV aren't very clear.
The commercial skip feature doesn't skip the entire commercial, which was one of the reasons I purchased it. It's actually much easier/faster to use the fast forward instead.
The fast forward and rewind features are very quick and smooth. It offers an on-screen display which is nice and easy to follow. If you have it showing while watching a show, it shows you how much more of the tape you have left. A great feature for when using an exercise tape!
Rating:
Summary: A good, features rich VCR
Review: I was deciding between the Panasonic 4623S and the Sony SLV-N700 and I bought both to do a side-by-side comparison. The Sony model is more expensive but it has more features such as VCR+, Quasi SVHS playback and a handy replay button. Rewinding speed is extremely fast, and I prefer Sony¡¦s on-screen display better. For example, after you press the rewind button, the Panasonic model doesn¡¦t display the time counter right away; it takes a few seconds for it to show up, making it difficult to search video just a few minutes prior. Programming is equally easy on both, but only Sony has VCR+. In terms of video quality, the Sony model records and plays with superior video quality in both SP and EP mode, but the difference is not huge. This is the only two recording mode available in the Sony model vs. Panasonic¡¦s SP, LP and SLP mode. Buttons on both remote controls are tiny; Panasonic¡¦s remote is illuminated but only on 4 navagation buttons. Sony¡¦s model has a glow in the dark remote on every buttons, but some markings are not directly printed on the buttons, rendering it meaningless to have blank buttons that glow at night. Panasonic features commercial advance (CA), which is different from commercial skip from other manufacturers. After recordings, Panasonic will rewind the tape to mark commercials. During play back, it¡¦ll automatically fast forward without having to touch the remote. It works almost all the time but sometimes it¡¦ll miss a commercial, depending on the program and signal. The down side of CA is that it takes 15 mins to mark a 2-hr recording. Sony¡¦s commercial skip only fast forward 30 sec per key press. Overall, Sony¡¦s quality and feature wins out, but I decide to return it and keep the Panasonic, mainly because of the commercial advance feature. For those who care, the Sony is made in China and the Panasonic is made in Indonesia.
Rating:
Summary: What a Piece of S**T
Review: I went and bought the VCR based on reviews that were mixed and right out of the box plugging it in I thought oh cool clock is set. Then I turned it on and within 5 minutes I was ready to pack it right up and take it back. You have to hit two buttons to turn it on, the tracking is not on the remote, tapes don't play clearly from older tapes, the display is distracting because of all the movement. All I can say is blech. Pack it up and take it back and see what else I can find. I know I will not get a Sony.
Rating:
Summary: WORKS FOR ME
Review: I've had this VCR since 2003, about a year now. It works fine. It records when programmed. It plays back. The picture is fine. If you want better quality picture: buy DVD. I use this VCR to record TV and play older tapes of recorded from TV documentaries and some store bought tapes. No problems. Only negatives: no random channel search. You have to use the up/down buttons to scroll through the channels. No biggie. Also fast forward/rewind are very fast so when you press stop the tape keeps moving for a while. Again, no biggie. Only reason I didn't give 5 stars is nothing is perfect.
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