Panasonic PV-V4522 4-Head Hi-Fi VCR

Rating:
Summary: died in 2 months
Review: The machine seemed fine for the first few weeks, then got harder and harder to get a tape in. Eventually, it just stopped accepting them at all. Luckily the store took it back. After three VCRs in one year, I am considering the possibility of copying all my tapes to CD and just using DVD.

Rating:
Summary: Reliable? No way.
Review: The reviews of people who have owned this brand for less than 6 months are as good as first impressions go. I had a misfortune of owning this brand beyond its warranty and lo and behold it broke soon thereafter (The tape eject/pull mechanism stopped working). So I took a peek inside. I saw an incredibly flimsy looking plastic wheels, pulleys, and levers. It is no wonder the thing broke. Planned obsolescence is king with consumer electronics nowadays (I own a Sylvania VCR that is 13 years old, yes it's noisy but it still works!)
If you want a VCR that will last beyond its warranty period, look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: Bad experience
Review: The subject Panasonic PV-V4522 will not feed tapes into the machine without repeated attempts

Rating:
Summary: Panasonic PV-V4522 VCR
Review: This is a very reliable and reasonable VCR for the money. I did a lot of research on different models and with this model, I got the most for my money. They only thing it didn't have was VCR+ which I did not want, because I have digital cable and didn't want to have to look up all the codes in the tv guide. I wanted simple on screen set up and programming with auto set up and the option to skip commercials during playback.

Rating:
Summary: junk
Review: This is junk. Quit working after 4.5 months--repair shop said that every Panasonic made in 2002 had a bad carriage assembly. Had a 1990 Panasonic which lasted 12 years.

Rating:
Summary: I need Help
Review: This item is terrible. How do I return to Circuit City.

Rating:
Summary: Randomly stops during play, poor warranty
Review: This product is so cheaply made. It broke down within 6 months, randomly stops and it is getting worse. Right now, it is almost impossible to play a movie since it stops every 2 minutes or so.
So being an electrical engineer and a handyman in general, I tried to give the repair a shot myself. After a simple diagnosis, one of the plastic gear components that uses friction to drive the rotation was slipping and causing the tape to stop. It is almost built to break-down overtime, since it relies on the friction between 2 plastic plates to drive the gear.
So don't be blinded with the panasonic "good name", their newer VCRs are very cheaply made.

Rating:
Summary: Randomly stops during play, poor warranty
Review: This product is so cheaply made. It broke down within 6 months, randomly stops and it is getting worse. Right now, it is almost impossible to play a movie since it stops every 2 minutes or so. The warranty is only good for 90 days, after that, labor is not covered. I gave the authorized service center a call and was told that for this type of issue, the labor charge would at least be $60-70. Ask yourself, who would pay $60-70 (at least) while you can buy a new VCR with that amount.
So being an electrical engineer and a handyman in general, I tried to give the repair a shot myself. After a simple diagnosis, one of the plastic gear components that uses friction to drive the rotation was slipping and causing the tape to stop. It is almost built to break-down overtime, since it relies on the friction between 2 plastic plates to drive the gear. Cheap cheap cheap.
I gave the panasonic warranty center another call, hope they can give me the part needed so that I can fix it myself. This time, I was told that the parts are NOT COVERED unless I go through an authorized repair center (which I have to pay the $60-70 dollars minimum). Poor poor poor warranty service.
So don't be blinded with the panasonic "good name", their newer VCRs are very cheaply made. And their warranty is next to zero after 90 days.

Rating:
Summary: Planning to return it
Review: This VCR is quite noisy when it plays/records. The sound of the motor is a little annoying. planning to return it

Rating:
Summary: no different than previous one I had
Review: Well where do I begin. My VCR was bought to replace an existing one of the same brand PV 7450 HiFi. My old one would have sound problems, similar to static, if I tried to play something that was recorded in HiFi, but doesn't sounds that way in mono. I currently have a 4661 I use as well that hasn't had any problems. Both machines were nicey and so was this one. When I got this one, I was surprised to find out that the sound was just as static sounding and, if not, noisier than the 7450 I replaced. I'm anxiously waiting for DVD recorders to come down in price.