Panasonic PV-V4611 VHS VCR
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- VCR Type: VHS
- Number of Video Heads: 4
- Audio: Hi-Fi Stereo
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...But Can It Record?
Pros
Lots of features, three tape speeds, good price
Cons
Poor playback and recording quality, impossibly short cable, awkward remote
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
Though it has many features for the price, the PV-V4611's poor recording and playback quality make it a VCR worth avoiding.
The PV-V4611 is the full-featured VCR from Panasonic that has received a great deal of praise for cost, reliability and quality. For just under $100, this VCR offers VCR Plus+, three recording speeds (SP, LP and SLP), 4-head stereo recording, auto clock set and front/rear A/V jacks. This is an excellent price for the features and specs provided. But how does it stand up to everyday use? Unfortunately, not very well.
THE GOOD
The PV-V4611 certainly doesn't fall short in feature design. The time is displayed on the front panel of the VCR until you actually play a tape, at which time you can access it through the VCR's on-screen display. Also, many basic features, including the TV/VCR toggle, are accessible on the front of the VCR, preventing the user from having to fish around for the remote.
The inclusion of three, rather than two, recording speeds is a novelty in today's retail market. Panasonic's PV-V4611 includes SP (2-hour), LP (4-hour) and SLP (6-hour, also known as EP) recording speeds, providing the user with the maximum options available. VCR Plus+ and Auto Clock Set (which did not work) are there for those who prefer not to program their VCR, and front/rear A/V jacks with two (2) line inputs allow the user to hook up a DVD player, game system, or camcorder with ease.
Since the PV-V4611 is a stereo VCR, you do not lose the sound information on a stereo broadcast, and 4-head recording allows for perfect pauses in SP and SLP mode (LP speed, when available, usually does not do so). Finally, the inclusion of a Universal Remote allows you to control both television and VCR with one device.
THE BAD
Unfortunately, the PV-V4611 falls short in the most important area of all - recording and playback quality. Even when recording a direct A/V input signal, the resulting playback in grainy and super-saturated. For some reason, the VCR brightens the picture, highlighting white areas and muting the rest of the colors. When added to the graininess of the recording, the end result is a far less than acceptable picture. There is a manual tracking feature that may help, but any good VCR should be able to play back its own recordings without the need for manual adjustment.
The Universal Remote included with the PV-V4611, while very comprehensive and full-featured, is also awkward and cumbersome. It is designed to stand up on end, and is therefore very bulky. The buttons are amazingly tiny, especially the channel and volume controls, which are placed curiously far from the playback controls. The remote can be illuminated by pressing a button, but this feature, as well as the ability to stand the remote on end, seems frivolous and unnecessary. Panasonic would have been better served to spend time developing a remote that is well-designed and easy to use.
Finally, if you plan to buy a PV-V4611 VCR, be prepared to either reconfigure your entertainment center or pay extra for a decent-length connector cable. The Panasonic PV-V4611 comes with a 3-foot long cable that makes connecting your VCR to your television extremely difficult, even when the two are side-by-side. According to Panasonic, this is the standard-length cable for all their VCRs, and they will not replace it with a longer cable.
SUMMARY
The PV-V4611 has excellent features, but this fails to make up for the VCR's inferior recording and playback quality, poorly-designed remote and prohibitively short connection cable. A VCR that does not play back or record video well is usually not worth picking up, and the PV-V4611 is no exception to this rule.
Considering the number of VCRs available for $100 or less, unless you are willing to sacrifice quality for features and spend extra money for a decent-length connection cable, you should probably skip the PV-V4611.
THE GOOD
The PV-V4611 certainly doesn't fall short in feature design. The time is displayed on the front panel of the VCR until you actually play a tape, at which time you can access it through the VCR's on-screen display. Also, many basic features, including the TV/VCR toggle, are accessible on the front of the VCR, preventing the user from having to fish around for the remote.
The inclusion of three, rather than two, recording speeds is a novelty in today's retail market. Panasonic's PV-V4611 includes SP (2-hour), LP (4-hour) and SLP (6-hour, also known as EP) recording speeds, providing the user with the maximum options available. VCR Plus+ and Auto Clock Set (which did not work) are there for those who prefer not to program their VCR, and front/rear A/V jacks with two (2) line inputs allow the user to hook up a DVD player, game system, or camcorder with ease.
Since the PV-V4611 is a stereo VCR, you do not lose the sound information on a stereo broadcast, and 4-head recording allows for perfect pauses in SP and SLP mode (LP speed, when available, usually does not do so). Finally, the inclusion of a Universal Remote allows you to control both television and VCR with one device.
THE BAD
Unfortunately, the PV-V4611 falls short in the most important area of all - recording and playback quality. Even when recording a direct A/V input signal, the resulting playback in grainy and super-saturated. For some reason, the VCR brightens the picture, highlighting white areas and muting the rest of the colors. When added to the graininess of the recording, the end result is a far less than acceptable picture. There is a manual tracking feature that may help, but any good VCR should be able to play back its own recordings without the need for manual adjustment.
The Universal Remote included with the PV-V4611, while very comprehensive and full-featured, is also awkward and cumbersome. It is designed to stand up on end, and is therefore very bulky. The buttons are amazingly tiny, especially the channel and volume controls, which are placed curiously far from the playback controls. The remote can be illuminated by pressing a button, but this feature, as well as the ability to stand the remote on end, seems frivolous and unnecessary. Panasonic would have been better served to spend time developing a remote that is well-designed and easy to use.
Finally, if you plan to buy a PV-V4611 VCR, be prepared to either reconfigure your entertainment center or pay extra for a decent-length connector cable. The Panasonic PV-V4611 comes with a 3-foot long cable that makes connecting your VCR to your television extremely difficult, even when the two are side-by-side. According to Panasonic, this is the standard-length cable for all their VCRs, and they will not replace it with a longer cable.
SUMMARY
The PV-V4611 has excellent features, but this fails to make up for the VCR's inferior recording and playback quality, poorly-designed remote and prohibitively short connection cable. A VCR that does not play back or record video well is usually not worth picking up, and the PV-V4611 is no exception to this rule.
Considering the number of VCRs available for $100 or less, unless you are willing to sacrifice quality for features and spend extra money for a decent-length connection cable, you should probably skip the PV-V4611.
