Panasonic PV-8451 VCRs Reviews

Summary:
ACTUALLY ITS A 1994!!! I've had this VCR for several years and still am greatly pleased wiht it. I recently had to take off the cover and clean the head manually because I lost the picture. I figured that what do I have to lose. Either I need to buy a new VCR ar I can salvage this one. I had most definately got my moneys worth out of it. Anyway, 20 minutes and a few Q-tips and alcohol later, it was good as new once more. Of course I paid quite a bit for it back in 1994.($400) But it was one of the best at the time. The only drawback is the difficulty setting up the VCR+ system. But who really uses that anyway? Now I see these retail for less than $150 so I sould say this is a great value

Strengths:
Stereo, Coax and 2 sets of Hi-Fi RCA inputs. easy on screen progamming.

Weaknesses:
VCR+ difficult to setup, but who cares?

Price Paid:  $94.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
I highly recomend Panasonic, if you are looking for a high value vcr. Now you can get a hi fi Panasonic for under 100 bucks. That is not bad at all. This vcr will give you a great picture if you use good cables. Cables make a big diffrence in picture quality. If you are Picky you can always go for the higher end Panasonic vcr. You can't get picky with this vcr, consdering the price. I use this vcr every single day,and the picture still looks great. I Paid $94 for this vcr, it has already given me what I paid for it. I have nothing negative to say about this vcr. Now i'm thinking of buying a Panasonic DVD player. Check out the PV-30 it has great reviews. I high recomend Panasonic for video.

Summary:
Unit is ok but next time I think I will spend the extra money for the mitsubishi.

Strengths:
Good picture quality and easy menu system.

Weaknesses:
Difficult to tell if machine is on or off. If tapes are worn has problems tracking hifi or normal. I live in an area with lots of RF and unit cant hold onto ch 2 cable signal.

Similar Products Used:
I don't remember the model number but I think Mits makes a better product electronically but not mechanically.

Summary:
Overall, I can't say anything bad about it.
Its been a really good purchase and I'm glad I bought it.

Strengths:
Very clean picture. Plays all tapes, new and old really well. Considering I use the VCR to play or record almost everyday, the picture is still very clear as the first day I got it. The only degradation of quality I see in picture is due to the poorness of VHS tapes with repeated use in general.
It has a really good tuner. The tuner in the VCR is way better than my old Sony 27" Trinitron.

Weaknesses:
Sometimes the sound will repeatedly switch from Hi-Fi to Normal when playing certain movies resulting in a cracking sound when it flips back and forth. Don't know if its the tapes or the VCR. Ejecting or stopping the tape and then playing it again usually does the trick though to bring it back to playing Hi-Fi stereo all the time.

Similar Products Used:
None

Summary:
I liked this VCR so much I bought a second one at Best Buy on a manger's special for $120, to use in the basement system. Overall I bought 2 of these for less than the price of the garbage JVC VCR player.

Strengths:
Ease of use, reliability, ability to play poor quality tapes

Weaknesses:
will be switching to DVD soon for the promised improved sound and picture.

Similar Products Used:
JVC - HRDX64U - was replaced with the Panasonic. The JVC was a lousy VCR that could not play sound except for brand new tapes. JVC would not stand behind their player even though I paid over $300 at the time. I won't buy ANYTHING that has the JVC brand on it.