Rating: 
Summary: Good features, but major annoyances
Review: This high-end VCR has many advanced features,such as jog and shuttle on the remote, flying erase heads, S-VHS, etc. It produces a fine picture, and has very good tracking with old tapes.
The annoyances, particularly for editing:
(1) Unlike even simple VCR's that I have had in the past, this machine has no tape counter on the VCR's display. The counter is available only on screen, in "Play" mode only at regular speed, and in "Fast Forward" without picture.
(2) The speed controls are different from any other VCR's:
(i) Pushing the Pause button a second time does not put it back into Play, but into Frame Advance.
(ii) The shuttle feature is also nonstandard: it goes from Slow Forward directly to Slow Reverse, rather than through Pause.
Rating: 
Summary: very good machine
Review: I don't have this machine . But I've owned several JVC VCR's with svhs and ET recording which are great for your library of family videos.
I used to transfer my 8mm videos to svhs for my family videos until my video camcorder died on me and now I have a DV8 camcorder but I still transfer for a svhs back up copy ( you never know when that camcorder is ready for it's final resting ground ).
A little something to remember about when transfering to DVD.
From what I've learned is DVD video uses compression technology to reorganize the the original data to a more smaller amount of data . Sort of like pouring 10 oz of milk into a 1 oz glass.
Each transfer of your DVD video to the next loses data because of this compression technology.The only formats that capture and don't lose the digital data are DV8 , DV , and D VHS . I just thought you'd like to know this information when transferring your home videos. Hopefully in the future as the DVDs hold more data they won't have to rely on compression.
Good luck in your videos , DON
Rating: 
Summary: A must-have with HDTV - but some features lacking
Review: Ever since I bought my Samsung 50" DLP HDTV a few months ago I've been on a quest to upgrade my DVD player and now my VCR player as well. To be brief, if you have an HDTV, and you intend to still keep using VHS cassettes, then you must have this VCR.
Only recently I learned that an S-VHS (Super VHS) VCR gives you a resolution of 400 lines, as opposed to your standard VCR which gives you 230 lines of resolution. Obviously, for a standard TV you might not notice much difference. But for an HDTV, the difference is amazing! Here's a summary of my experience with this VCR:
Pros:
1) Super Video Quality. I tried recording a TV program on a standard VHS cassette (in fact the cassette is very old, recorded over many, many times). Remember, this VCR allows you to get the S-VHS quality even when recording on a standard VHS cassette - you don't have to buy an expensive S-VHS cassette (although it should give a little better quality). When I played back the recorded program, it was unbelievable! The picture was clearer than what was broadcast on TV - now that's impressive!
2) I mentioned it above, but it really is an additional bonus - the fact that you can record S-VHS quality on a standard VHS cassette. You do have to change the default setup to enable this 'ET' mode (that's what JVC calls it).
3) The '24Hr Jog Dial' - I really like this feature. With this you can setup to record a TV program within the next 24 hours. You don't have to turn on your TV. All you do is set the start time, the end time, and the channel using the jog dial on the VCR. Very neat feature.Cons:
1) When playing a tape, the display on the VCR will NOT show the counter. In fact, the display NEVER shows a tape counter at all! If you want to see the tape counter, you have use the OSD (On Screen Display) and then you can see the counter on the TV - that's annoying!
2) Auto clock doesn't work with cable - They actually warn you about this when you try to set the Auto clock. When I first got the VCR, I left it in for a few hours before finally giving up. I had to set the time manually. By contrast, my Sony VCR can set the time in less than 5 minutes using its auto clock.
3) No memory backup - if you have any programs scheduled to be recorded, even a 1 second power glitch will make you lose everything! For a VCR this expensive, they could have added a simple battery backup! On a side note, I thought it important to mention that when playing tapes that are NOT recorded with S-VHS (like my older Disney movies), the output is not at 400 line resolution, it's at 230 lines. But the picture quality is as good as you'd get with any other high quality VCR. In other words, to avail of the S-VHS quality, you must have a tape (movie, etc.) already recorded in S-VHS to get the full benefit. Side note no. 2 - Also remember that when you record in S-VHS mode on a cassette with this VCR, you may not be able to display it on another VCR that does not support S-VHS. I have that problem with my other Sony VCR - it cannot display S-VHS recordings (looks very fuzzy). But that's a fault of the Sony VCR of course, not this JVC one. So, in summarizing, there definitely are some annoying facts about this VCR. But you may forgive and forget when you see the picture quality it's capable of producing - near DVD quality! I would recommend buying this VCR - but only if picture quality is absolutely essential.
Rating:
Summary: A must-have with HDTV - but some features lacking
Review: Ever since I bought my Samsung 50" DLP HDTV a few months ago I've been on a quest to upgrade my DVD player and now my VCR player as well. To be brief, if you have an HDTV, and you intend to still keep using VHS cassettes, then you must have this VCR.
Only recently I learned that an S-VHS (Super VHS) VCR gives you a resolution of 400 lines, as opposed to your standard VCR which gives you 230 lines of resolution. Obviously, for a standard TV you might not notice much difference. But for an HDTV, the difference is amazing! Here's a summary of my experience with this VCR:
Pros:
1) Super Video Quality. I tried recording a TV program on a standard VHS cassette (in fact the cassette is very old, recorded over many, many times). Remember, this VCR allows you to get the S-VHS quality even when recording on a standard VHS cassette - you don't have to buy an expensive S-VHS cassette (although it should give a little better quality). When I played back the recorded program, it was unbelievable! The picture was clearer than what was broadcast on TV - now that's impressive!
2) I mentioned it above, but it really is an additional bonus - the fact that you can record S-VHS quality on a standard VHS cassette. You do have to change the default setup to enable this 'ET' mode (that's what JVC calls it).
3) The '24Hr Jog Dial' - I really like this feature. With this you can setup to record a TV program within the next 24 hours. You don't have to turn on your TV. All you do is set the start time, the end time, and the channel using the jog dial on the VCR. Very neat feature. Cons:
1) When playing a tape, the display on the VCR will NOT show the counter. In fact, the display NEVER shows a tape counter at all! If you want to see the tape counter, you have use the OSD (On Screen Display) and then you can see the counter on the TV - that's annoying!
2) Auto clock doesn't work with cable - They actually warn you about this when you try to set the Auto clock. When I first got the VCR, I left it in for a few hours before finally giving up. I had to set the time manually. By contrast, my Sony VCR can set the time in less than 5 minutes using its auto clock.
3) No memory backup - if you have any programs scheduled to be recorded, even a 1 second power glitch will make you lose everything! For a VCR this expensive, they could have added a simple battery backup! On a side note, I thought it important to mention that when playing tapes that are NOT recorded with S-VHS (like my older Disney movies), the output is not at 400 line resolution, it's at 230 lines. But the picture quality is as good as you'd get with any other high quality VCR. In other words, to avail of the S-VHS quality, you must have a tape (movie, etc.) already recorded in S-VHS to get the full benefit. Side note no. 2 - Also remember that when you record in S-VHS mode on a cassette with this VCR, you may not be able to display it on another VCR that does not support S-VHS. I have that problem with my other Sony VCR - it cannot display S-VHS recordings (looks very fuzzy). But that's a fault of the Sony VCR of course, not this JVC one. So, in summarizing, there definitely are some annoying facts about this VCR. But you may forgive and forget when you see the picture quality it's capable of producing - near DVD quality! I would recommend buying this VCR - but only if picture quality is absolutely essential.
Rating: 
Summary: Deeply disappointing
Review: I bought the HR-S5902U for the flying erase head feature and used it to record on regular VHS tapes in SP mode. I did not use quasi S-VHS.
I have a slew of complaints. First, the remote does not have an insert edit button, so to use the flying erase head the VCR must be within reach.
Everything recorded on the HR-S5902U had slight waves over the picture when played back. The waves did not appear when monitoring another VCR's playback through the HR-S5902U, or when playing tapes on the HR-S5902U recorded on other VCRs.
Tapes get chewed up in rewind search mode, sometime only after a few seconds. This is common in many VCRs, in fact the only brands I've owned that didn't chew up tapes in rewind search were made in Japan Panasonics and an old Magnavox that responds to Panasonic remotes (no coincidence?).
Every time there is even a very brief power outage or flicker, the HR-S5902U lost all the settings including the clock. All my other VCRs retained their information during brief outages.
The reason I am writing in the past tense is there was a power outage last week. This one lasted a few minutes. All of the three other VCRs connected to the same surge protector power strip as the HR-S5902U came back on (although the outage was long enough they needed to be reset). The HR-S5902U remained dead when the power returned, nothing on the display. I took it to a JVC authorized service center. Damage due to power surges are not covered the warranty. Repair would be $200+.
Rating:
Summary: Rebuttal to a Previous Review
Review: I just had to write this. An earlier review of this VCR gave it one star because the picture wasn't as good as one would get with a DVD. Well, DUH!!! It doesn't matter what kind of plug is in the back of the machine - composite out, S-Video, or component out - VHS is still VHS. It will never match the resolution of DVDs. And that goes for ALL VCRs. Betas are a bit better than VHS, but even they can't match the resolution of DVDs. There are professional video tape machines that come close, but no consumer video cassette machine has that much resolution. Never has; never will. Therefore, it is not fair to give this product one star just because you do not understand the technology. This appears to be a fine machine otherwise. As Bugs Bunny once said, "What a maroon!"
Rating:
Summary: Rebuttal to a Previous Review
Review: I just had to write this. An earlier review of this VCR gave it one star because the picture wasn't as good as one would get with a DVD. Well, DUH!!! It doesn't matter what kind of plug is in the back of the machine - composite out, S-Video, or component out - VHS is still VHS. It will never match the resolution of DVDs. And that goes for ALL VCRs. Betas are a bit better than VHS, but even they can't match the resolution of DVDs. There are professional video tape machines that come close, but no consumer video cassette machine has that much resolution. Never has; never will. Therefore, it is not fair to give this product one star just because you do not understand the technology. This appears to be a fine machine otherwise. As Bugs Bunny once said, "What a maroon!"
Rating:
Summary: Very good high quality VCR for the price.
Review: I would have given it 5 stars but there are two things about it that I did not like. I have an older RCA TV and had a fantastic RCA VCR that I used as a tuner for years. The two worked great together as the clock on the VCR displayed time while the TV showed the channel as well as when you shut the VCR off it would stay in the mode it was in last. I could not find an RCA VCR worth a hoot especially in black so I bought this. I could not find a code on the JVC remote that would change its program to operate the TV (none of the codes for RCA or any other brand worked). When you turn it off it goes from the VCR to the TV mode so if you do not turn on the VCR first (if you are using it as a tuner like I am) and hit the VCR/TV button to switch back to VCR mode you get a blast of snow and static from your TV till you switch it. In VCR mode it displays the channel not the time, I have not been able to figure out how to get them to swap. Other than that the set up was easy and automatic even off of broadcast TV. The quality of the playback is great. I have not recorded anything yet. Reading the manual is a plus before using it.
Rating:
Summary: corrections to my previous review "A must-have with HDTV.."
Review: I've learned a few more things since I wrote my last review. The following are corrections to my previous review:
1) Memory backup - Apparently there is some sort of memory backup, even though the manual clearly states there isn't. Quite by accident I unplugged the VCR and then plugged it back in. I was sure I'd have to re-program the timer to record my favorite programs, but I was pleasantly surprised - the VCR remembered all my previous programs! In experimenting further, I disconnected power for almost 5 minutes and the programs still remained in memory afterwards! I didn't test further than that.
2) Auto clock - I figured out why the auto clock won't work for cable. When the unit is without power for a while (I think the manual says 10 minutes), it defaults all the settings. The default settings for the tuner preset is 'air' not 'cable'. That's why they advise cable users to set the clock manually. However, the first thing you should do after a long power failure is to set the tuner to 'cable' and have it scan all channels. You should now be able to power off the VCR and auto clock should work (for me it took about 30 mins though, but it got it eventually!). So this is good news. If there's a power failure for a short time (say 5 mins), the auto clock should eventually set the clock and your programs set for timer recordings should still be there! I think the JVC now deserves a 4.5 star rating and so I'm giving this review a 5 (my other was a 4).
Rating:
Summary: Re: "What a maroon!"
Review: If you're going to post a review advocating a product that costs 3 times the normal cost of a vcr, then you must be super stu..., I mean a super genius. If a porduct boost super picture, but does not really have that great of a picture, then does it make any sense to buy it when there are cheaper and BETTER vcrs? DUH. I guess some amazon review writers are just brain dead (less).
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