Price Paid:  $150.00 from best buy

Summary:
This VCR is not worth the money, I believed that sony was a big name company with great products, all my japanese friends praise them constantly, I found out that this machine is made in Malaysia and has nothing to do with Sony Japan. you might as well say that they paid for the name and nothign more, Sony America has put out a lot of diapointign products as of late I have gone throught 5 of thier VCRs in the last 6 monthes, sometimes only haveing them for a night before returning them to the store the next day. The onlyplus is the menue system and the on screen display.

Strengths:
Easy to use menue, nice on screen display

Weaknesses:
Slow rewind, noisy playback, horible recording quality

Similar Products Used:
Panasonic, Quasar, Mitsubishi, Sony, Sharp, Toshiba, RCA, Zenith

Summary:
It is a very good vcr for unprofessional use. It has 4 heads and VCR+ . None of the fancy feautures though.

Strengths:
Easy to use, High quality picture, Good value

Weaknesses:
See none

Price Paid:  $125.00 from frys

Summary:
this player may not have the best vidio quality but is the best for reliabilty my kids have droped it pushed tapes in it and who knows what when i m gone.i just wish the rest of my audio eqipment was that tough.not a bad player for the money.

Strengths:
quick and easy

Weaknesses:
vidio quality not the best

Similar Products Used:
jvc

Summary:
I must have gotten the cream of the crop. Others who reviewed this unit have said that their VCR buzzes and whirs, and that the video/sound quality has been lacking, but so far I've been completely satisfied. The sound quality is great,and video plays well. Also, the on-screen menus are well designed, and easy to follow (unlike Panasonic VCR's I've had). Also, the fact that Sony included VCR+ on one of their less expensive models impressed me. Perhaps best of all, the unit runs silently and has for several weeks now. After I purchased mine, a friend went out and got the same unit, and had the same positive reaction as me. I purchased mine at Sony Sound Center for $105 after struggling with my Panasonic model from this year. I believe it was a great buy.

Strengths:
4 Head Hi-Fi stereo AND VCR+ for a very very good price

Weaknesses:
none so far

Similar Products Used:
Sony VCR's, Panasonic VCR (comparable model)

Summary:
I liked everything about this unit except the sound quality, which was pathetic. The first unit I bought would introduce flutter and garbage into the audio (just the stereo; the mono was fine).

I returned it, and the second unit had sound problems as well. A high-pitched howl would pop up from time to time, and one channel would fade away and return, and this was on quality, commercially recorded tapes that perform flawlessly in my older Hi-Fi units.

So, I was 0 for 2 on this model when I gave up. I really hated returning it, because I liked almost everything else about it. However, I put a lot of importance on the sound quality, and for that reason, my ratings will be low.

Strengths:
Video quality, ease of use, well-thought out features

Weaknesses:
Sound quality

Similar Products Used:
Panasonic PV9450, other 4-head Hi-Fi units