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1335 Review
50 Karma

Review on πŸ“Ό Panasonic PV-V4623S Silver 4-Head Hi-Fi VCR: Enhanced Video Quality and Sound by Jathan Louis

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Smart commercial advertising at a good price

I had a choice between Panasonic 4623S and Sony SLV-N700 and bought both to work side by side comparison . The Sony model is more expensive but has more features like VCR+, quasi-SVHS playback and a handy snooze button. The rewind speed is very fast and I prefer the Sony OSD. For example, the Panasonic model does not immediately display the time counter after pressing the rewind button; It takes a few seconds to show up, making it difficult to find a video from just a few minutes ago. Both are equally easy to program, but only Sony has a VCR+. In terms of video quality, the Sony model records and plays videos with excellent quality in both SP mode and EP mode, but the difference is small. Compared to Panasonic's SP, LP and SLP modes, these are the only two shooting modes available on the Sony model. The buttons on both remotes are tiny; Panasonic's remote control is backlit, but only on 4 navigation buttons. The Sony model has glow-in-the-dark remotes on each button, but some of the markings aren't placed directly on the buttons, making it pointless to have blank buttons that glow at night. Panasonic offers a Commercial Promotion (CA) that is different from commercial badges from other manufacturers. After recording, Panasonic rewinds the tape to mark the commercial. During playback, it will be fast forwarded automatically without having to touch the remote control. It almost always works, but occasionally skips commercials depending on the program and signal. The downside of CA is that it takes 15 minutes to mark a 2 hour entry. The Sony ad jumps forward just 30 seconds with each button press. Overall, Sony's wins in quality and functionality, but I've decided to return it and keep Panasonic, mainly for the commercial promotional function. For those interested, Sony is made in China and Panasonic in Indonesia.

Pros
  • 4 head HiFi VCR with commercial advertising, movie ads and universal tower remote control
Cons
  • unreliable