Good picture quality

We've had the SLV N50 for about one year. Paid about $130. Average quality. One minor annoyance - If you use a remote controller other than the original, you need to hold the fast forward and reverse buttons when shuttle searching. The original remote will one-touch lock in either direction, but not a universal remote. The unit performed well for the year, but that was all. It just puked big time, and would cost about $75 to replace the main controller chip. VCR's are very inexpensive now, but this one didn't last. I've bought several makes over the years, and always could get at least four years of solid use from them. I guess I expected better quality for a Sony. I'll never buy another one.

A bang for the buck considering its playback.

You get what you paid for. Squashed on screen graphics (Menu looks very good), no clock on OSD, and/or when you put a tape in the VTR, the clock is missing,only the position of the tape is availible to see.

This VTR had a very resonable price, I tried different models before I purchased this one back in September 2000. The menus look clear, tuner is alright, but not a perfect one. But it has a "Fine Tuning" control, which makes up the shortfall in reception. Can play in reverse! (if you know how to on the remote controller) it is really worth the price, too bad the sound is muted. The VTR also decent in the recording quality, plays great, but for how long? A nice VTR, but severely stripped. This model is also known as the "SLV-AX10" for the discount stores with the different paint scheme. May be worth the price if you search around.

Similar Products Used:

Sony SL-J7 (Japanese Betamax of 1979), Sharp VC-M701U (1987), A generic Funai VTR (1997)

Picture Quality

I have had this vcr for 1 year now and the picture quality is great!

The machine is not the quietest of machines and not the fastest to record on whim if you see something on TV and want to record right away (8 seconds) once you push record.Overall the picture quality is what I am after and it fits the bill.

Similar Products Used:

JVC

Good picture quality and sound.

Confusing for beginers

It is a great all around VCR, but if your for the best, this isn't that, but it is guality for your buck!!!

Strong recording quality, both EP and SP. Still frame forward and reverse.

On screen displays only show up in TV video mode. Automatic picture tuner can be annoying at times. Dinky remote.

I'm actually quite pleased with the SLV-N50. It demo'd quite nicely, the picture was crisp and the recording quality all show up nicely. It's a cheap model that does it's bedroom VCR job admirably. I'm really impressed with the clarity of the still frame pausing, and being able to step forward/back easily.

I don't have any huge complaints. The remote is rather small and ponderous to say the least. I can't count the number of times I've had to turn the light on at night to find a particular button. All part of the learning process I suppose. As for the automatic picture fine tuning, or whatever it's called, it can be annoying if you don't set your programs to record one minute earlier than it actually starts - or you'll miss a good 10 - 20 seconds of the beginning. And if you just hook up the unit through coax, you don't get on screen displays - what's that all about?


Anyway, good cheap unit that does it's job without much hassle.

Similar Products Used:

Hitatchi

Good overall.

Display on vcr will not show current time while machine in play or record.

Just a quick comment to all the people who said that the vcr takes too much time to record. If you were to read the manual you would know that the actual vcr comes on approx. 30 seconds before the time it is set to record. This feature allows recording to begin exactly on time as the motor is already turning at the actual recording time. I would also like to state that I have recorded hundreds of hours of television with this vcr and have had no problems to date. Very good value for the money.

Similar Products Used:

Too many to list.

Nice crisp picture in all modes, Great Sound quality, quiet, Front & Rear A/V jacks, fast in rewind/FF, auto clock set, REALLY neat On Screen Displays!!! Great price too!

HORRIBLE remote, cant display clock while playing tape, tuner's picture quality is less than stellar, stiff tape insertion&ejection, menu can be annoying to navigate through, and tracking, and tracking and TRACKING!!!!!

Where to start...I wanted a reliable unit to replace my 5 year old Magnavox which started to show signs of head deterioration. Cant say I blame it considering the exhaustive work its done for me. After recently buying a DVD player I really didnt want to spend more than 150 bucks on a VCR, and the choices under 150 arent all that impressive to me: GE/RCA (NO WAY!!!) JVC, Philips Magnavox (which received horrible reviews on this site). I strongly considered Zenith and Samsung before choosing this one. I was a bit wary upon leaving the store due to a Sony lemon I bought about 5 years ago (which my Magnavox replaced). But, I still know people who live and die by Sony's reliability and own Sony vcrs that are 10+years old, and my Sony stereo receiver has given nothing but flawless performance for 8 hours a day for the past 5 years, so I figured I'd give Sony the benefit of the doubt that they can improve their product. I swore that if this unit goes bad I'll never buy another Sony video product again, so for now the jury's still out. For the money ($123) I paid I am thrilled to death, had I paid over $200 bucks I would be a little peeved. Anyway, that aside, here's my take on this unit.

Set-up is incredibly easy and as long as you have a PBS station you dont have to worry about setting the clock. It even adjusts itelf (supposedly) for Daylight Savings. We'll see in October! Auto Programming the stations takes FOREVER. The tuner picture quality isnt so great either, so if you experience poor record quality I assume the tuner is to blame. The one cool thing about the tuner though is that it has on on-screen display that tells you what show you are watching and what station (ABC, CBS, etc) without having to program it to do so. How does it do that?!?!?! Definitely a cool feature for those of us who dont subscribe to TV guide, but the sub-par picture quality kind of ruins it. Another drawback is that you cant display the clock while playing a tape. The only things the display panel will show with the power on is the channel, time elapsed and time remaining. Cant figure out why Sony did that.

The menus are simplistic but annoying to use. Every choice leads to another little submenu, and you have to select your choice, then UN-select it then hit menu again to get out of the menu. My Magnavox had easier menus to navigate through and you could quit at any time by hitting the QUIT button (WOW...what a concept huh?) I like the fact that it has a sharpness control for the tape picture, this accounts for the nice clear pictures this unit displays.

So how does the thing play? Hands down, the best of any VCR I've ever owned. Picture and sound are stellar, and you'd be hard pressed to find anything better in any price range! Holds up very well to my DVD! Recording quality is nice also, though I dont do alot of recording. One thing I find peculiar though about this units picture quality, is that during Fast search and pause in the EP mode, you get horizontal snow lines like a 2 head unit. Its not as noticable on SP but still not as good as the other 4 heads I've owned. After double checking the specs in the manual, this is indeed a 4 head unit, so rest easy!

Inserting the tape is quite a task at times. Its VERY stiff and it feels like I'm cramming the tape into the VCR at times, and im afraid of causing it damage.

TRACKING, TRACKING TRACKING!!!!! : This unit has an Auto Picture Control feature (APC), which makes the unit adjust continuously to the quality of the tape. I wish you could turn this off. You cant. Especially on EP tapes this thing adjusts the tracking continuously, and when adjusting can cause stereo sound to cut out for a split second, which when listening to surround sound is annoying. The best way I found to stop this is to hit the tracking button on the unit, causing it to switch to manual tracking, and then it wont adjust for the most part. The tracking is definitely this unit's weak spot. When you insert a tape, it has taken up to 20+ seconds to get the correct picture quality (excrutiatingly slow on EP), so meanwhile you put up with almost 30 seconds of fuzz and lines while the thing adjusts. This doesnt happen as often on pre recorded home videos, but still does once or twice per movie.

Which leads me to the remote, which you cant adjust the tracking on. You can only adjust it on the front of the unit. Its a mixed blessing I guess, in case you lose the remote, but still would be nice to have both. You expect more from a Sony I guess. The remote is skinny and long, and despite claiming to control all TV's, it only works for channel up/down, volume, power, and tv/video. There's not even a MUTE button! Only has codes for about a dozen brands of tv's. The VCR control buttons (play, Rew etc) are incredible tiny and poorly labeled. This is typical of Sony, they think it'll make you buy their overpriced TV's so you can have the remote work completely for everything. Um, no Sony...I just bought a "One for All" remote which is much better and controls everything.

The front and rear A/V jacks are also a very nice addition.

So overall I'm satisfied with this unit for the price. For 123 bucks you cant beat it, but again you expect more from a Sony. Although, if its solely tape picture and sound quality and nothing else that you are after, this is your best bet. If you are after bells and whistles (some of which I miss having on this unit, like DISPLAYING THE CLOCK!) I would probably go for the SLV-N60 or consider getting another brand altogether. But for the money I'm happy, quirks aside. But they could have done better. I know this was long but I'm VERY critical of these companies who take our hard earned money, I hope you find these observations helpful in making your decision.

Similar Products Used:

5 year old Hi Fi Magnavox VRT562-AT01, Hitachi, one prior Sony "lemon" (SLV-565HF)

Good features for entry level product, good picture.

Quality

I purchased this based on Sony's reputation. Plays tapes just fine but I didn't really try out the record feature until it was out of the 3 month labor warranty. Too late did I discover that it recorded erratically. One time it would be fine, the next I'd get audio but no video. I bit the bullet and took it to my local Sony repair center. For $45 he was able to determine that it would cost about another $100 to fix. So I've got $175 into this thing and it won't record (or I can't depend on it to record when I want it to.) I will write a letter to Sony but do not expect a response. Will be shopping for another brand for replacement.

Similar Products Used:

Replaced 14 yr old JVC

none

everything!!!

What a piece of junk!!! The tracking problems listed below are all true. This thing has NO features, along with lousy picture quality. I wouldnt wish this heap on my worst enemy. Heed these warnings and stay away from this paperweight! Its on the way back to the store right after I'm done typing.

Similar Products Used:

RCA and Toshiba

Excellent picture, good sound, simple easy to use remote, and the price/performance ratio is outstanding

Poor tuner, but really not that big of a issue

I Bought this VCR to go along with my Samsung TXH1970 19" TV in my small home theater setup. I considered some other brand names like Panasonic and JVC, but none could match the performance and features of this VCR. The Sony reputation for their outstanding TV's and VCR's also sold me a little bit.

The picture is crystal clear and the sound is very good from this VCR. I have it hooked up to my Denon AVR-1601 reciever and the HT performance is outstanding. Movies look detailed and the resolution is very good. Home theater is very enjoyable with this VCR. It has lived up to the reputation I expected from a Sony, would buy it again in a second.