Panasonic PV-V4525S 4-Head VCR, Silver

After my old JVC VCR at last died after well over 10 years of faithful service, I purchased another JVC. Alas, it never managed to synch up and was unalignable. Next I came to amazon and, after reading lots of reviews, settled on the PV-V4525S as the best bet for the money. Unfortunately, the unit had a real problem. The power circuitry held for just 5-6 seconds at a time. Impossible to set up. With rising frustration I found out how smooth the amazon return and replacement system worked. No sooner did I send the defective unit by USPS (at their cost), within a day I was informed that the replacement was on the way. Awesome. As for the replacement. Being on a cable box, the unit did not synch up to the time, but had to be manually set. No problem at all. After that, the first recording was excellent. The general fast forward stop problem, much commented on, seems just a minor annoyance, that in view of the good recording quality, I have no difficulty living with. The large clock, another deciding factor, that I was used to having on my old unit, is bright. I would like to have the convenience of being able to toggle AM/PM during programming, but WTH, nothing is perfect. Now for longevity. My fingers are crossed.

I had a previous Panasonic VCR model for 6+ years but it finally gave out. I didn't need a VCR-DVD combo unit (because I already have a DVD player), so I looked for a single VCR unit. The only Panasonic one I could find was the PV-V4525S model. I have had it for 4 weeks, and it performs very well. No problems setting it up and using it (because it is almost identical to my old unit). The pictures are sharp and clear. The only negative to the unit is that you can only program 8 shows at a time - i.e. it is the same as my old unit. If I get another 6 years worth out of it, I will be happy. (Why didn't I buy a DVD recorder? - because I have some old tapes that I want to watch again.)

First, I received this item about five days ahead of schedule - and I live in the state of Hawaii! Instructions to hook it up - mmm...mmm..."moderately difficult"...I will say that I understood how to hook it up with and without a cable box AFTER THE FACT. They're printed on the box! However, I used it the same day that I received it. It searches fast and it does overshoot the target (now I know what that means...). It has a commercial skip. It plays non-HDTV recordings very clearly. It stops at the point I press stop (while recording). It seems like I can view my videotaped soap operas faster than I did before. It gives you speed options to record (SP, SLP). It has a timer to set when recording. It has a display clock. I am enjoying this Panasonic (whose saying used to be "Just slightly ahead of time") VCR very much. Pameli.

SO FOR I CAN'T GET IT PLAY OR RECORD, DID NOT RECEIVE THE REMOTE THAT SUPPOSED TO COME WITH THE UNIT.,CANOT RATE THE PLAYER AS I HAVENT GOT IT TO RECORD OR PLAY I WANT THE REMOTE THAT WAS TO COME WITH THE VCR

I usually love Panasonic products, but this one I do not recommend. First of all, the terminology is tricky: I was trying to replace one that had commercial "advance," which turns out not to be the same as commercial "skip," which actually means nothing. It provides a button you can use to fast forward 60 seconds at a press to go through commercials. However, since commercials are not timed at 60-second intervals, you either wind up under or over shooting, and it takes a lot of presses to get it just right. Just plain FF is easier than this silly button. Which leads to the second major problem: the darn thing zips through FF and REW so fast that when you press the STOP button, you are 9 minutes away from where you wanted to stop. There is simply no controlling it any better than that. So you are wasting time trying to get to the place you want to be anytime by going back and forth, let along through the commercials. Finally, the manual is so skimpy as to be useless. I had to call the tech support number several times to find out how to accomplish certain procedures. They verified that yes, whatever it was, was not in the manual, if you can call it that. I am still trying to decide whether to go ahead and return this VCR or not. The shipping costs may not be worth it. The only thing you can say for it is that it is inexpensive. Oh and the picture quality is not as great as it is billed.

Watched my first VHS movie after an easy set up and switching TV to aux 2 setting. I used the plugs in the back. I like that it included a functioning remote and plugs to connect to the TV. Though I don't watch and record TV, I only watch movies from years of collecting. I felt it was worth the extra investment for a new new unused VCR that will last years as VHS die out and I did not want a reconditioned unit that others had issues. The movie was a very used oldie and it had clear image and sound. It pays to read the vendor and product reviews. If there are any issues, I will update this review.

It plays my tapes very well, but I can't find a way to record new tapes. The order should have included the instruction manual and the remote control device. I have my remote controller from a previous Panasonic VCR. It mostly works fine to play the tapes, but I don't know how to get the input from my Verizon box to the VCR for recording. Can you get the manual and remote from the previous owner or from Panasonic?

Excellent condition and fully functional