Price Paid:  $88.00 from brandsmart usa

Summary:
to start let me say the screen is purified and detail colored,it has the best hi-fi stereo in the biz hits all the highs and lows,extended bass and i just added a s-video converter the screen is picture perfect and purest detail looks almost as good as dvds

Strengths:
great picture defined,bright,good managment{menu}also has in sound good highs,and lows with hard bass

Weaknesses:
basic control

Similar Products Used:
philips s-vhs,other sony's

Price Paid:  $130.00

Summary:
I'd done some product comparisons when my RCA VCR (about 9 yrs old) was on its last legs, and was rather disappointed. All the models I saw had lots of nice bells and whistles, but they didn't have the one thing I *really* wanted that my old one had -- a way to program directly from the front of the VCR. Apparently, with the ease of the new programming features (i.e. VCR+), that went the way of the do-do bird. Well, that's fine if you live somewhere that you can use it, but in Saskatchewan it's not an option. (Nor is auto time-set, or a host of other fancy TV features.)

When the RCA crapped out, I took one more look, and stumbled across the Sony SLV N50/60/70 series. Wow! Just what I was looking for! Not only that, but the reviews here were fairly positive. Based on that, I did some price shopping and found that I was able to get it for about US$130 at Sears -- which meant it had the Sears no-hassle return policy if I didn't like it. I bought it on the spot.

Needless to say, I have not returned it. It's been about 6 months now, and I'm more than satisfied with my purchase. The picture quality is excellent, especially considering that I'm pulling signal from the air and not from cable or dish. The auto-start feature for pre-recorded tapes is a big plus; my just-turned-three son has no problem putting in his favourite pre-recorded tapes and watching them if he's in a mood.

Lastly, and most importatly, it's got the programming wheel -- a small dial on the front panel of the unit that allows you to set up your programming almost instantly. (Push) spin dial to set date, (push) spin dial to set ontime, (push) spin set offtime (15-minute increments), (push) set channel, (push) to finish. Viola! You can set up a record-from-tv in about 5 seconds... or more than one, if you're so inclined.

Having said all that, there's a couple of things that would make this VCR just *perfect*. Firstly, the clock display goes off when you've got a tape inserted and the machine powered on. This is frustrating, as the VCR is the most visible time-keeper in our rec-room. A little "clock/counter" button (as I find prevalent on many VCRs) would have been a simple and much-welcome addition. Secondly, a way of saying "stop rewinding when you get to 0:00:00" would have been nice. There is a feature that allows you to FF/Rew to a specific point on the tape, but it's difficult to get to and not at all intuitive.

One of the reasons I went with the N60 was because it had the Commercial Pass feature. I'm not sure what I expected, but it wasn't this; FF when pressed, Stop/REW 5-10 seconds of screen time (because because it assumes you've missed getting it perfect)/Play when pressed again. I can do at least that well on my own (mostly due to the excellent and very intuitive design of the remote control), so this feature goes mostly unused.

Despite those minor shortcomings, I'm VERY pleased with my purchase, and would buy another in an instant.

Final note: I'd recommend *against* buying the N70; a comparison of features (from the SONY site, no less) showed that the only difference was auto head-cleaner... something that several video-enthusiast friends of mine said was not only a waste of money, but actively bad for the VCR. The little pads wear out in about a year, and if improperly affixed can fall off inside and gum up the works. It certainly wasn't worth an extra $40; go boy a $6 head-cleaner tape and remember to use it from time to time.

Strengths:
Quick-dial record setting, allowing you to set it without having to turn on the TV or find the remote: excellent picture quality: auto-start for pre-recorded tapes.

Weaknesses:
Clock not shown when tape inserted: 'memory' function (to rewind to where you started) confusing and difficult to use.

Price Paid:  $90.00 from brandsmart u.s.a.

Summary:
to start let me say this "to start" theres no match for this vcr's picture looks magnifecent doll, sound quality is purely great,with bass that rocks my room.as well as the next level of exellency all around.paid 88.00 and worth the 125.00 wou would pay on the net.truly amazing

Strengths:
incredible hi-fi stereo,unique design,league of its own in picture quality.

Weaknesses:
none at the price

Similar Products Used:
phillips(s-vhs),mitsubishi(775U)

Price Paid:  $130.00 from Sony Outlet

Summary:
If you want just to play vhs tapes,
maybe this is good for you. But beware
that this vcr is flawed in supporting
copyright protection.

If you connect the audio/video line out
of ANY DVD player (tried more than one
DVD player) to any of the
line inputs (L1 or L2) of this VCR, the macrovision
is actually ON which makes the video
unwatcheable. Macrovision should
only be turned on when recording that
is why it is a copyright protection
and should not be turned on when watching
a DVD thru this VCR.

My unit is not defective. I tried it
on another unit of the same model and
it had the same problem.

This problem is not true for other
VCRs that i have purchased recently.

I am using this setup since my tv only
has an RF input and no audio/video
inputs. To watch DVD, i have to connect
my player to the VCR, and connect the
RF out of the VCR to my TV.

Strengths:
easy setup

Weaknesses:
bad macrovision implementation; flawed design

Price Paid:  $160.00 from Future Shop

Summary:
Very good picture if hooked up with audio/video cables. I'm using acoustic research cables.

Strengths:
Very Good Picture and Sound

Weaknesses:
none so far