Memorex MVR2031 VHS VCR
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- VCR Type: VHS
- Number of Video Heads: 4
- Audio: Hi-Fi Stereo
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The lone survivor!
Pros
Excellent picture quality and good sound for a monaural unit
Cons
Flimsy; needs larger remote buttons and menu that can be accessed without remote
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Orion built this VCR, but it's more durable than Orion-branded products. That helps the Memorex reputation, and it's good for you as well. Buy one if you can find one!
We used to have quite a few VCRs in our house, from a cheap Orion my wife bought to an expensive Sony that I bought.
Today, however, with the VHS tape seemingly going the way of the dodo, this Memorex is the lone survivor of its species under our roof. And it's been the best of all of them.
While it isn't as full-featured as the Sony 4-head Hi-Fi Stereo model I had, it holds its own. The four heads mean a clear, crisp picture and little distortion. I found out that the Memorex is actually manufactured by Orion ... I wondered, since when I first used the remote on this one, the Orion (which I still had at the time) also turned on. Hmmm ...
Despite its humble origins, I'm quite pleased with the use and life I've gotten out of this VCR. As I mentioned, it has outlasted the Orion. And trust me, this one has gotten LOTS of use. My three-year-old son is the owner of many "Thomas the Tank Engine," "Blue's Clues" and many other videos still on VHS. You can't find those any longer, except at thrift shops and garage sales, and to replace all of those with DVDs would cost a fortune. So a dependable VCR is a MUST.
Plus, I'm not into the whole DVR thing yet, so when I want to record something, I like having a VCR that is easy to set up for later recording.
This one isn't super-simple, but it's not impossible to use, either.
The main problem I have is the menu. It's simple on the screen, but the remote's tiny buttons make quick navigation difficult. Everything is done with the following buttons: MENU, ENTER, CANCEL, +, and -. And when I say they're tiny, they're darn near microscopic.
And if you lose the remote, forget it. You won't be setting ANYTHING. I'm kind of a remote control packrat, but sometimes a remote falls into the wrong hands (think the hands of the kids here). They like to use a remote and then lose it. Fun stuff.
The only other issue I have with the Memorex is that it just seems flimsy compared to earlier VCRs, especially my first one. It was a Panasonic top-loader with the wired remote (yeah, it was a few years ago!). The thing weighed probably 30 pounds. This one might tip the scales at five pounds, maybe. But such is the way all electronics have seemingly gone in the past few years. Mass, bulk and solidity have given way to light weight, small size and flimsiness. Oh well, at least it didn't cost what the Panasonic did. It was well over $300 new; this one was $55.
OK, so maybe being smaller and lighter isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Nor is being cable-ready. We have one television that isn't, and have used this VCR as a makeshift cable box to make it so. With the digital transition coming, that's handy.
Today, however, with the VHS tape seemingly going the way of the dodo, this Memorex is the lone survivor of its species under our roof. And it's been the best of all of them.
While it isn't as full-featured as the Sony 4-head Hi-Fi Stereo model I had, it holds its own. The four heads mean a clear, crisp picture and little distortion. I found out that the Memorex is actually manufactured by Orion ... I wondered, since when I first used the remote on this one, the Orion (which I still had at the time) also turned on. Hmmm ...
Despite its humble origins, I'm quite pleased with the use and life I've gotten out of this VCR. As I mentioned, it has outlasted the Orion. And trust me, this one has gotten LOTS of use. My three-year-old son is the owner of many "Thomas the Tank Engine," "Blue's Clues" and many other videos still on VHS. You can't find those any longer, except at thrift shops and garage sales, and to replace all of those with DVDs would cost a fortune. So a dependable VCR is a MUST.
Plus, I'm not into the whole DVR thing yet, so when I want to record something, I like having a VCR that is easy to set up for later recording.
This one isn't super-simple, but it's not impossible to use, either.
The main problem I have is the menu. It's simple on the screen, but the remote's tiny buttons make quick navigation difficult. Everything is done with the following buttons: MENU, ENTER, CANCEL, +, and -. And when I say they're tiny, they're darn near microscopic.
And if you lose the remote, forget it. You won't be setting ANYTHING. I'm kind of a remote control packrat, but sometimes a remote falls into the wrong hands (think the hands of the kids here). They like to use a remote and then lose it. Fun stuff.
The only other issue I have with the Memorex is that it just seems flimsy compared to earlier VCRs, especially my first one. It was a Panasonic top-loader with the wired remote (yeah, it was a few years ago!). The thing weighed probably 30 pounds. This one might tip the scales at five pounds, maybe. But such is the way all electronics have seemingly gone in the past few years. Mass, bulk and solidity have given way to light weight, small size and flimsiness. Oh well, at least it didn't cost what the Panasonic did. It was well over $300 new; this one was $55.
OK, so maybe being smaller and lighter isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Nor is being cable-ready. We have one television that isn't, and have used this VCR as a makeshift cable box to make it so. With the digital transition coming, that's handy.
