Price Paid:  $179.00 from Sears

Summary:
I purchased a 4621, which I suppose is a replacement for the 4620. My review is mainly negative, though I allow for the possibility that I just got a lemon.
The picture quality was very poor - lots of video noise and lines. I wasn't able to load commercially prerecorded movies, and it took many tries to load blank tapes for recording (some just wouldn't load).
The remote had far too many tiny buttons and was not the least intuitive (though this is not uncommon).
As these were significant failures, I returned the unit and got a JVC 3910U (replacement for the 3800U, I think). I was immediately satisfied with the quiet loading of this unit and the quality of the picture, though it is not as good as my previous JVC SVHS deck; but it was much more expensive and had more features.
There are some good reviews of this product below, but when a unit is this defective right out of the box, I am disinclined to repurchase the company's products. Oddly, I have an early generation GAOO TV that has been brilliant in performance and reliability.
In shopping for, and researching VCRs, it became clear that there isn't as much interest in producing reliable, good-quality examples of what is purported to be a waning technology.

Strengths:
Commercial Advance

Weaknesses:
Picture quality, tape loading

Similar Products Used:
JVC 3910U

Price Paid:  $200.00

Summary:
I swear I must have bought the last P V V4660 Panasonic on this earth. Great picture, sound, and I love the true time amount of tape left. I like this on a VCR above most other things. I also use it to get to the end of the last movie I taped and the start of the next. Why all VCRs don't have this is beyound me. Such a help. I wanted to buy 2 more of these machines and I've hunted all over the net and eveyone is out of stock. I really like this VCR and want more of them. Why they would take out of production a great machine is a puzzle. All I've read about it is praise. I feel lucky I got one of the last ones.

Strengths:
Picture, sound, true time tape counter, price.

Weaknesses:
Can't get them anymore. I want two more of these and can't locate any.

Similar Products Used:
Samsung VCR. Older model

Price Paid:  $180.00 from The Wiz

Summary:
I was quite excited to replace a 10-year-old Panasonic PV-4160 with a new model. The old Panasonic (stereo, Hi-fi) got moved upstairs to replace a mono VCR. I researched for a long time and settled on the Panasonic PV-4660. Purchased it locally for $180.

Setting up:
Auto clock set is nice but not a big deal.
VCR Plus Gold is nice, but not a big deal because we have a TV with TV Guide + (Sure wish someone other than GE/RCA would include Guide + again. We have it on a 1996 JVC TV.) I still don't understand why the VCR offers to download daily or weekly. This "feature" screws up the TV's ability to control the VCR, since the VCR requires acknowledgement of a success message after the download when the VCR is first turned on.
Channel captioning is manual, awkward, and too limited: Only 35 channels or so can be labeled.
The buttons on the remote are all similar, small and the labels hard to read. BTW, I'm not farsighted. The jog works poorly. The remote sensor was more forgiving of distance and angle on the old VCR. The Universal ability is not strong enough to displace the TV remote, and the VCR requires too many special buttons for the TV's universal remote to be sufficient.

Daily Use for time shifting:
Commercial advance is the coolest thing since TV Guide+. It does not work on tapes from other VCRs.
Program Index is cool, but doesn't work after ejecting the tape. It also seems to get screwed up if you watch things out of sequence.
The machine allows you to label each program recorded. Doing this is difficult with the remote. Ideally, this machine would grab the title from Guide +. Even if you add a title, it's not shown in the Program Index; you only see it when playing that program. It doesn't show up till 5-10 seconds after the program started, which is 3-8 seconds after I figured out the title myself.
Unfortunately, we really miss a feature from the old VCR: the ability to fast forward or rewind by a given quantity of time. This machine's rewind/FF is too fast to skip 30 minutes accurately. Program End Search is the only practical option, but doesn't work in reverse, and is awkward to activate.
Automatic tracking does not work well. Often needs manual correction.
Tape position indicator is cool.

Daily use for rental videos:
Movie advance / trailer skip is not practical. It's too difficult to navigate the menus with the remote, and the payoff is minimal. I can do fine with the FF button.
Fast Rewind is a nice touch.

Video Quality:
Overall, sound and video quality is good. It may or may not be better than other VCRs.

Summary:
This machine has a lot going for it. The biggest weakness is the lack of a Time Search command. The other features have diminished value when swapping tapes amongst VCRs. Unfortunately, this is what we do, so the VCR may go back if I'm within the return period.

Strengths:
Commercial Advance, Fast Rewind

Weaknesses:
Poor remote design, menu structure, incomplete design of features, incomprehensible manual.

Price Paid:  $200.00 from Toronto

Summary:
I bought a Toshiba 804 super VCR few months ago. I used it for recording programs using SVHS-ET format, but its picture is terrible. When you playback tape, you can see lines showing on your 53" monitor. Shame on Toshiba.

So bad such a machine, I decide to buy another one. I went back to Panasonic as I have used a Panasonic since 1996. I am afraid that Panasonic is going to phase out Metal head, it make me to get a new Panasonic 4660 for $300 CDN during boxing week.

As expected, its recording is super and clean. I am very satisfied with its features, such as on-screen display, auto play, rewind. And most important, its metal head is one of the best feature in the market.

My wife used it for daily recording. It is rated number one from my wife and me.

The only thing I missed is the spatializer feature. It is not available anymore. If you look for excellent surround effect with two speakers only. It is the thing. Plus, its remote is so dummy looking and its look is just look like a stone. Why make the remote in China as I found that remote from China is so awfully looking.

Anyway, I still choose Panasonic as it is the best.

Strengths:
This VCR is too good to list its benefits. Video playback and reording is top of the notch

Weaknesses:
Its remote needs to be changed as it is one of the dummy looking.

Similar Products Used:
Panasonic 4 metal head, Mitshubishi, Sony HF792, Toshiba 804

Price Paid:  $165.00 from Good Guys

Summary:
I've gone through 3 VCR's in the last couple of years. My old Sony finally died. Decided to plunge into another expensive VCR, so I opted for the JVC SVHS model. The picture was completely horrible! It is now sitting in a bedroom collecting dust. The other was a cheap Phillips which ate a couple tapes, so....
I went and picked up a Panasonic. This model by the way is the V4640.
The picture is surprisingly clear. Of course it doesnt beat out my DVD player, but for a VCR it's not bad.
The money spent on this unit $150 +tax is definitely worth every penny.

Strengths:
Good picture quality, FAST rewind, price

Weaknesses:
Big remote with an annoying rewind/forward dial at the bottom.

Similar Products Used:
Sony, JVC, Phillips/Magnavox