features

video clarity (or lack of it)

My results have been pretty poor. I wish I had bought it locally so I could return it. I'll try and get it serviced, because I can't believe Panasonic would release a product with performance this bad.

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my older non-SVHS Panasonic has always worked great

As usual with Panasonic, good SP picture. Lots of hookups.

VERY noisy. Amazingly noisy for a Panasonic. And the buttons feel very cheap and unresponsive. I have seen $99 Walmart specials that were better.

Clunky, cheap and not worth the money. A big step backwards for Panasonic VCRs.

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JVC HR-S4500

Awesome picture quality at SP speed in SVHS mode, indistinguishable from DVD, better than standard VHS models in recording in standard VHS mode at all speeds. Lightning-fast rewind and FF. Commercial Advance is cool. So far it has held up well, although it''s still new. . S-video and RF cables are included with the VCR. The manual timer programming is easy, I doubt I''ll ever use VCR+Gold.

Picture quality is not as good in SVHS mode at SLP speed, picture in all speeds in SVHS-ET mode stinks, it is so full of video noise it looks like a very distant TV channel. Inital setup of the VCR is somewhat difficult, it has auto clock set but in my case it didn''t work right. It was also hard to get the VCR to tune in VHF/UHF air channels when first plugged in, even with an antenna. This VCR is not a good editor, there is no FEH or jog/shuttle, and the counter will only show on the TV screen for a few seconds if you press DISPLAY on the remote, it does not show on the unit''s LCD display. Also, it has front A/V jacks but only for composite video, so every time I want to hook up my Hi8 camcorder using its S-video terminal I have to drag the VCR out of the TV cabinet and disconnect the DSS reciever. Commercial advance is a neat feature, but it only works off DSS and not off VHF/UHF air channels. Also, it doesen''t always fast forward through all the ads. I''m not sure how the VCR detects commercials, but sometimes it gets it wrong and stops FF-ing in the middle of the commercials, or continues into the program. Index search doesen''t seem to work right, it always overshoots or st

I was looking to get a Super VHS VCR for the purpose of being able to record off DSS and my Hi8 camcorder with less loss in picture quality than regular VHS. There were only three models of SVHS in any of the local electronics oulets, a Mitsubishi something, a JVC HR-S3900U, and the Panasonic PV-VS4821, which I chose because it was the most expensive, and, in general, more expensive equals better quality. I have had mixed results from this VCR. It works well overall but some charachteristics are disappointing to me. I think it was a mistake to purchase for me because it''s not a good editor, but I would recommend it if you have a TV with S-video input and a high-quality source such as DSS, Hi8, or DV, and want to dub and record shows but not edit. Be prepared to shell out extra cash for SVHS cassettes, because ET mode stinks with a capital S. There is a way to get around that, though. The VCR uses a mechanical sensor similar to the write-protect sensor to tell if you''ve put in an SVHS tape. If you look carefully at the bottom of an SVHS cassette, you can see a small hole in the groove that runs along the edge of the cassette that a VHS cassette doesn''t have. Drill that hole in a VHS cassette, and the VCR thinks you''ve put in an SVHS cassette and will do a regular SVHS recording instead of an ET one. The result is almost indistinguisable from what you''d get with a real SVHS cassette.

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Panasonic Standard VHS PV-9451, very similar, see my review of that one. Sony SLV-751HF VHS more than 10 years old, SL-HF-600 Betamax more than 15 years old.

Nice silver finish

Poor cheap construction

I'm adding onto my last review. I have returned my Panasonic vcr as I was not impressed with it and its quality and construction. I exchanged it for a JVC HR-S5910 which is almost the same price, but $30 cheaper. With that unit you also get frlying erase heads and insert editting which the Panasonic doesn't have. I did however give up the picture noise filtering going JVC. The JVC 5910 compared to the Panasonic 4821 was like this:

As far as the picture quality, I'd say the JVC actually had a better picture. On the JVC it wasn't so gritty looking, yet it was still sharp.

The JVC is a more refined machine as in not so clunky and noisy like the Panasonic. The menus are also easier to read on the JVC.

The ET feature seems about the same on both Panasonic and JVC as far as picture sharpness is concerned. I have to do more testing to see if the calibration on the JVC does actually help.

The JVC was slower to use like tape loading (which isn't a bad thing really), and rewind. But its more quiet to use as well.

So if it were me I'd go JVC as their units seem to me better built for your money. I did not notice the picture quality drop that many have said about the JVC 3800 that the 5910 (and 3910) are similar to. More testing between my JVC 9800 and 5910 may show exactly the differences.

I would take back the Panasonic 4821 after seeing all this.

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Others from previous review plus JVC HR-S5910

Tape Transport, SVHS ET

Color (Silver uggg!), NO front S-video input

Bought this machine but returned it a couple weeks later as it could not compare with the older models 4820 and 9670 (see reviews). Added to this it is only available in silver which did not match with my existing system.

Still the picture is better than the JVC and it does have the SVHS-ET feature but lacks some of the features of its predecessor (4820). Believe the 4820 is a better buy.

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Panasonic 9670, 4820, JVC 4800,

None

Featherweight construction, crappy transport, poor picture quality, poor recording quality, cheesy display, this is Super VHS?

Bought this at Sound Advice, tried it out for a couple days, returned it and got a Mitsubishi HS-U776 instead. I already have a JVC 9600 top of the line S-VHS VCR, and wanted another one to dub tapes. The JVC has a great picture and tuner but the transport is not built to handle heavy duty use, even though it is the top of the line model. The new Mitsubishi that I got to replace the Panasonic is the best value I've found for $230. It has much better construction and it has a much better transport. You can notice this right away. The picture quality is much better than the Panasonic and it is truly a Super VHS deck. The Mits has a better display and remote as well. The tuner is far superior to the Panasonic's too. The Panasonic is a piece of crap and I was happy to get the Mitsubishi instead.

Similar Products Used:

JVC 9600 S-VHS, Mitsubishi HS-U776 S-VHS

I'm not seeing any.

Read previous reviews - everything. I should have listened to them. I didn't think this machine could be THAT bad, but it is.

I should have paid more attention to the previous postings here which called this machine a cheap piece of crap. It certainly is. I didn't think Panasonic could make such a bad machine because I've owned previous VHS and SVHS models and they have been superb. What is going on with Panasonic? This machine should have the "Acme" or "Brtand X" name on it and not Panasonic. It feels like it is built of cardboard. I have used it for 2 weeks now and that's too late to send it back, so I'm going to junk it and find another brand to buy - and never buy Panasonic again.

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JVC 9600 & previous Panasonic models

Well I replaced my Panasonic PV-V4660 (great vcr) with this new PV-VS4821. There's good, bad and ugly parts about the VCR.

The Good is that the quality looks great on SVHS and VHS (haven't tried that ET-VHS yet), Commercial/Movie advance work great, Tape FF/RW is very fast, has most of the bells and whistles, and it has a very easy interface to setup programming.

The bad is that Panasonic is no longer using DynAmorphous heads on their VCR, but the clairity is still very good. Panasonic has also gotten rid of the ablity to name recorded programs, it can still catagorize them (comedy, drama,etc), but no longer can you name the programs (simpsons, reddwarf,etc)- a small gripe. There's also no s-video input on the front (asinine).

As for the Ugly, this panasonic has a small display windown with bright green letters, the 4660 has about 2-3 times as much room with a much dimmer blue color. The VCR is also a bright silver, the 4660 was a dull silver/grey and matched my other componants better. Oh well, I'm not brand loyal anyways...

Overall the VCR performs and functions great, I'd recomend it to anyone looking for a SVHS VCR. I've forgiven Panasonic for their retarded color scheme and think this VCR will provide me with many hours of taped shows and movies. 5 stars for value and 5 for overall.

High picture quality, both in playback and s-vhs recording

SLP recording

To all readers: Please don't let be fooled by all these negative reviews. This is a great product. Let me explain why.

I'll just get to the point: Why would you buy a S-VHS VCR in the first place? Because of the enhanced picture quality, the superiority of S-video over standard composite. And this is just what this product delivers. All recordings I have made so far in S-VHS mode look wonderful, maybe not exactly like DVD, but close. The quality is way, way higher than you can get on any other "standard" VCR. Normal VHS recordings look very good too, and are of the best I've seen. This unit also lets you record in "S-VHS ET" mode, which is basically making a S-VHS recording in a standard VHS tape, which looks very close to S-VHS.

Playback quality is simply EXCELLENT. Both original tapes and recordings look awesome. Even some recordings that I made with my old Sharp VCR looked remarkably well when I played them on my new Panasonic, I was really impressed.

The only weakness I've found is that recordings made in SLP mode (both VHS and S-VHS) are somewhat poor, not as sharp and beautiful like those made in SP mode. They look acceptable, in my opinion.

It also has its bells and whistles, like commercial and movie advance, lighted remote control, etc., which is all useless, in my opinion, but most people seem to like that kind of stuff.

I'm very satisfied with the picture quality of this VCR, which is what matters the most. Don't be fooled by perfectionists that complain about the remote, or the color(of the unit), or the lack of some useless feature.
You want a perfect VCR? then go spend $1000 - $2000. If you are just looking for a VCR that delivers great picture quality in both recording and playback, look no further. And at this price, you can't go wrong.

Similar Products Used:

Sharp VCR, old Panasonic

I got the first one in September. After 1 week of normal use, the unit started to make a large hissing sound when playing or recording a tape. I returned it and got another one. Had it for 3 weeks. It never made any noise, but was not happy with the picture quality. I have digital cable with S-Video out and S-Video input on my TV. I tried recording on SVHS tape as well as good quality VHS tape. The SVHS recordings were better, but image was not quite as good as the origional and looked pixelated. My 5 year old normal Sony VHS VCR recorded better. I took the Panasonic back and got a Mitsubishi HS-U795. It was marked down to $250, but origional cost $550 when it came out in '99-2000. The Mits VCR makes the Panasonic look like "My First Sony". Image quality is amazing. Playing back store-bought tapes and TV shows recorded on SVHS tape looks close to DVD quality.

If you can find the HS-U795, buy it. It has been discontinued and will be replace later this year. If you can not find anyone with a HS-U795 left in stock, consider the HS-U776. It does not have as many picture adjustments as the 795 and does not have the 3D-Y/C filter, but would still probably be better than the Panasonic 4821.