Panasonic PV-V4612 VHS VCR
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- VCR Type: VHS
- Number of Video Heads: 4
- Audio: Hi-Fi Stereo
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Panasonic PV-V4612S 4-Head VHS Hi-Fi Stereo VCR With Commercial Advance And VCR Plus+
Pros
Low price, excellent picture and sound quality, commercial advance, features, expected reliability
Cons
Could look better
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
The Panasonic PV-V4612 is a solid performer with excellent feature set and low price.
The VCRs are getting cheaper and cheaper as other electronics do. At the same time, they get new (or previously expensive) features. The Panasonic PV-V4612 is an excellent value at less than $100.
It has a feature that makes viewing time shift recordings so much more pleasurable - ?Commercial Advance?, which, unlike some cheap imitations, automatically marks commercials during recording and skips them during playback. This way, the process is automatic, unlike Sony?s ?Commercial Skip?, which allows you fast forward 30 seconds by pushing a button (they should have named it ?30-Second Skip? instead).
I have always liked Panasonic VCRs better than other brands. My Panasonic SD11AM spent a couple of years in almost constant operation (duplicating video) and never gave me any problems. I still use a Panasonic VCR bought 5 years ago... The ?Consumer Reports? magazine named Panasonic VCRs the most reliable in their reliability survey.
Reliability is not the only area where they outperform competition ? the functionality and picture quality are also areas where they excel.
Performance
The V4612 features 4 video heads, Hi-Fi Stereo sound with MTS stereo reception. The picture quality is excellent (at least in realm of VHS) with crystal-clear still picture and slow motion. The picture in EP/SLP mode looks worse (due to video noise), but still better than I have seen from other VCRs.
Of course, the picture quality of any VHS VCR is no match for DVD or even SVHS.
There are no problems with digital auto tracking, unlike the ones I have seen with some Sony VCRs and some JVC VCRs in LP mode. By the way, the V4612 allows you record in LP speed, which majority of VCRs won?t let you do.
You can fit 2 hours on a T-120 tape in SP mode, 4 hours in LP mode and 6 hours in SLP/EP mode. As the amount of time that fits on the tape increases, the tape travel speed decreases and picture quality gets worse.
Rear Panel
The rear panel has an A/V input and an A/V out (composite video and stereo audio) as well as an RF in and an RF out.
Front Inputs
In addition to rear panel inputs, the VCR has front A/V inputs. Speaking of the front panel, I think it could look better.
Auto Clock Set
The auto clock set uses radio signals to set and keep the accurate time (if you connect the VCR to the antenna or analog cable) and here it works well, unlike some JVC VCRs I have seen (they seemed to struggle with time zone).
VCR Plus+
The VCR has a VCR Plus+ feature that allows you program the recording by entering a special code found next to the program in TV Guide and other similar listings. I have never used VCR Plus+ since I find the regular onscreen programming quite easy.
The V4612 also has onscreen programming where you specify the channel, speed, start and end date and time. It is very easy to use, unlike JVC VCRs I have seen.
Commercial Advance and Movie Advance
The Commercial Advance marks the beginning and end of each commercial block after the recording has been made and allows you skip through them during playback. The Movie Advance allows you skip the previews and go to the beginning of the movie.
Video Head Clog Sensor
The VCR can detect when the video heads become clogged and show the message on the screen requesting you clean them (with a special cleaning cassette).
Tape Position Display
The tape position display can be shown on the screen, which graphically indicates the current tape position in regards to the beginning and the end of the tape. You can also see the remaining time on the tape in hours and minutes.
Remote Control
The supplied remote control is multi-brand and can control this VCR, TV and DBS/Cable Box of different brands. The buttons are backlit and logically placed. The remote even includes an [Eject] button.
Bottom Line
The Panasonic PV-V4612 is a solid performer with excellent feature set and low price.
It has a feature that makes viewing time shift recordings so much more pleasurable - ?Commercial Advance?, which, unlike some cheap imitations, automatically marks commercials during recording and skips them during playback. This way, the process is automatic, unlike Sony?s ?Commercial Skip?, which allows you fast forward 30 seconds by pushing a button (they should have named it ?30-Second Skip? instead).
I have always liked Panasonic VCRs better than other brands. My Panasonic SD11AM spent a couple of years in almost constant operation (duplicating video) and never gave me any problems. I still use a Panasonic VCR bought 5 years ago... The ?Consumer Reports? magazine named Panasonic VCRs the most reliable in their reliability survey.
Reliability is not the only area where they outperform competition ? the functionality and picture quality are also areas where they excel.
Performance
The V4612 features 4 video heads, Hi-Fi Stereo sound with MTS stereo reception. The picture quality is excellent (at least in realm of VHS) with crystal-clear still picture and slow motion. The picture in EP/SLP mode looks worse (due to video noise), but still better than I have seen from other VCRs.
Of course, the picture quality of any VHS VCR is no match for DVD or even SVHS.
There are no problems with digital auto tracking, unlike the ones I have seen with some Sony VCRs and some JVC VCRs in LP mode. By the way, the V4612 allows you record in LP speed, which majority of VCRs won?t let you do.
You can fit 2 hours on a T-120 tape in SP mode, 4 hours in LP mode and 6 hours in SLP/EP mode. As the amount of time that fits on the tape increases, the tape travel speed decreases and picture quality gets worse.
Rear Panel
The rear panel has an A/V input and an A/V out (composite video and stereo audio) as well as an RF in and an RF out.
Front Inputs
In addition to rear panel inputs, the VCR has front A/V inputs. Speaking of the front panel, I think it could look better.
Auto Clock Set
The auto clock set uses radio signals to set and keep the accurate time (if you connect the VCR to the antenna or analog cable) and here it works well, unlike some JVC VCRs I have seen (they seemed to struggle with time zone).
VCR Plus+
The VCR has a VCR Plus+ feature that allows you program the recording by entering a special code found next to the program in TV Guide and other similar listings. I have never used VCR Plus+ since I find the regular onscreen programming quite easy.
The V4612 also has onscreen programming where you specify the channel, speed, start and end date and time. It is very easy to use, unlike JVC VCRs I have seen.
Commercial Advance and Movie Advance
The Commercial Advance marks the beginning and end of each commercial block after the recording has been made and allows you skip through them during playback. The Movie Advance allows you skip the previews and go to the beginning of the movie.
Video Head Clog Sensor
The VCR can detect when the video heads become clogged and show the message on the screen requesting you clean them (with a special cleaning cassette).
Tape Position Display
The tape position display can be shown on the screen, which graphically indicates the current tape position in regards to the beginning and the end of the tape. You can also see the remaining time on the tape in hours and minutes.
Remote Control
The supplied remote control is multi-brand and can control this VCR, TV and DBS/Cable Box of different brands. The buttons are backlit and logically placed. The remote even includes an [Eject] button.
Bottom Line
The Panasonic PV-V4612 is a solid performer with excellent feature set and low price.
