Picture quality

Very tough to program. Many may want to send it through the air - after several attempts to get it to work fail.

Purchased this vcr because my magnavox finally ran it's course. Wish I had taken my magnavox to the repair man. The slv-n81 leaves much to be desired. It's abilities, as advertised, don't match the reality once you get it home. "Commercial Pass" is a joke. You can do the same thing "it" does with your FF button. The auto clock and VCR+ gold feature are shaky at best. The manuel provided is very vague. It tells you what to do - but does not tell you what to do if what you did does not work. In some circles this vcr sells for 300 dollars. I feel bad for anyone who paid that price. I bought mine from Overstock (refurbished) at 109$. I spent 1 week fiddling with it to get what I wanted, that is the vcr to do as it advertised. It works OK now -- vcr+gold, the clock and the quality of picture - OK. But the time I had to put into it -a lot of disappointment there. Most of us have had several VCR's - this one - it just requires way too much effort. Use caution when buying on-line. What they say - might not be what you get.

Similar Products Used:

maganox hi fi vcr, sanyo,samsung

Hi-Fi audio it seems to be Ok; RR it seems that is working on old VHS from blockbuster. The case it seems to be more solid than the analog Panasonic family.

Low picture quality (color, sharpness, contours etc) comparing with other similar products from the same price range or below; To expensive (like any other Sony products); Fake ("Manual") commercial skip. This means that you have to press one time the button to start the skip and ONE MORE TIME TO STOP IT. It is not like the full commercial skip from Panasonic, where you have to press only one time the button to start the commercial skip and it knows where to stop.

Bought SLV-N81 (300 CAD, tax included) to copy VHS cassetes. Result: lot of red and green! Anoying copy protection mechanism. Blah! After a while I''ve found a very old Sanyo (mono) on the street, which is working much better in picture quality than the brand new Sony SLV-N81. Old Sanyo from the street beats new Sony N81 from Eaton Centre in picture sharpness, contour definition, colors! I''ve tried to change cables, but still is not ok. And is becoming to hot. Now I am copying VHS between two old VCR and I am playing them on the new Sony N81 with satisfactory results (picture colors ok, sharpness low, audio mono). The future is for DVD, for sure. Sony N81 is my last VCR. This year I will buy a DVD burner. Steve.

Similar Products Used:

Mitsubishi 107CH Mitsubishi U52 Sanyo LL4533

Fast rewind. Not available on my old GE.

picture quality

My 13 year old GE HiFi stereo has a malfunctioning audio head. The video head was replaced last year, so it was replace time. I played some existing movies on the SLV-N81- the quality is good. I recorded (SP) off a channel with excellent detail and the playback is not as good as I was getting with my old GE. That silver color stands out, maybe too much. I will probably play with it some more and then return it, even though the price was right. My old GE was able to record/playback at a quality rivaling today''s DVD, so I may not be able to replace it very easily.

Similar Products Used:

GE HiFi Stero with many extra video features

I just had for a little while, but its working pretty good. I still have to observe it. Right now I haven't encounter those bad reviews I've read. Well see. For now I'll give it a five star.

wega looks

price

The price is too much I think, for this level of VHS, maybe because of its looks. Match with all wega TVs. The performance is so so. But its OK.

I have one, and its ok, works good, pictures fine,
like the dude says, its only a VCR.

solid video reproduction and great stereo sound

slow rewind

This is a follow up to my previous review. I am taping all my favorite shows on this VCR so I can watch them later. The picture is great, matched with my new WEGA XBR-400 TV. The audio also rocks, as it is hooked up to my 777-ES receiver. This VCR will serve your needs plentiful if you are a sony fan and have a sony set-up. There are no weaknesses, except that it is a VCR and not a DVD player.

Side note--Even when I use my backup VCR, which is non-stereo, and I playback on the N80, the picture is still high quality.

I do not understand the bad reviews, but maybe they just have bad systems. No complaints here. High rating!

I agree with Linn's comments below. I returned my Sony for a Panasonic 4640 which basically blows away the Sony both in picture quality and audio quality. The Sony is pretty but the Panasonic can be had for about $50 less and has way better performance. Most of the consumer reports mags and HIFI mags also rate Panasonic the best and I can see why.

Picture quality

Very slow rewind/FF especially on short 30min and 1hr tapes

This description is actually for SLV-N70 which is essentially the same but lacking some convience features that I didn't need. Well, this machine is a solid choice. Not an exceptional value, but very solid. Picture quality is very sharp. I like APC and Reality Regenerator. RR has to be turned off for some older multi gen tapes. I especially like the time display and ergonomics. If you make a recording off another VCR the copy looks even sharper than the original albeit with a little bit more noise. Not bad, Sony.

Similar Products Used:

AKAI, Panasonic, Mitsubishi VHS

Looks cool

Lets not forget this is a VCR, not a DVD player, we dont expect too much clarity, sharpness or whatever its is, because the videotapes we are renting does not give you that much clarity or sharpness either. This VCR is just a machine that we need to play our rented tapes. To be honest, those expensive VCRs and the ones that you buy in Kmart produces the same picture clarity, Well your TV matters sometimes. The reason I bought this one is too much my System and Wega TV. So in fairness to sony-slv-n80, give it a break and don't put it down.

Similar Products Used:

Mostly sony VCRs