The Bottom Line: Once you get through the setup, you never worry about the TV standards again. Put any tape in an watch it. Picture quality is excellent

How I got to Samsung SV5000W multi standard VCR:

I am from Europe and was looking for a multi standard VCR, to be able to show the movies from home to the kids.
You don't get them in any retail shops and the search for the right unit is very confusing.
Well search no further ! This is the multistandard reference unit !
Multistandard VCR doesn't mean the same for every VCR.
Some will play several standards, but the output signal is in it's original format.
So: US NTSC tapes would be coming out in NTSC signal, European PAL tapes would be coming out in PAL signal, which means your NTSC TV wouldn't display them.
Some PAL recorders can actually play NTSC on a PAL TV (pseudo NTSC).

Not with this unit, as it has a built in converter. With a simple push of a button on the front you can put the signal out in every format you want and therefore can use it with every TV you own You can chose from Through ( no conversion), PAL-N, PAL-M, NTSC and SECAM via a button at the front of the unit. If you play tapes it will automatically convert to the standard you have chosen. If you record it will automatically convert to the same standard.

Conversion works fine and copying PAL tapes from my digital camcorder into NTSC format yields very good results. Copying tape to tape is acceptable, but the original always looks somewhat less noisy. This does show in direct comparison, but you wouldn't know if it wasn't direct.

Macrovision: So you want to copy that original Disney Movie and convert it into PAL (NTSC) for your family at home or friends overseas ? No such luck. The recorder has macrovision copy protection enabled, which will scramble the picture when you try to copy from either a copy protected tape or a copy protected DVD. To copy the latter you need a DVD player with macrovision disabled (check the net, there are patches available). You can however play copy protected tapes and also convert those to the different TV standard for display on your TV. Some of the tapes will also actually convert and copy, but no guarantees

Remote Control: Big unit but has jog dial for picture exact dialing, and 5 button navigational cross for the menus.

I've operated the unit for 2 years now and no complaints !
Definitely recommend it for the world traveller.

The basics features

Digital auto tracking, One-touch recording/playback, Tape position display, Jog control, On-screen menu, S-VHS playback capable, Showview, Shuttle control, Video noise reduction Timer Backup 6 h Playback Speed SLP, SP, LP Multi-Language Menu English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese Program Guide VCR Plus Parental Lock Yes Programmable Events 6 Programmable Months 1 month Recording Speed SLP, SP, LP

Auto Tape Speed , Channels 181 channel(s) Channel Coverage VHF:2-13, UHF:14-69, Cable:1-125 Number of Heads 4 Display Fluorescent Color(s) Metallic silver Search Modes Index search , HIFI, 110-240V power input

Connectors

Coaxial (RF) Connectors 1 x RF input - rear, 1 x RF output - rear Composite RCA Connectors 2 x composite video/audio output ( RCA phono x 3 ) - rear, 1 x composite video/audio input ( RCA phono x 3 ) - rear, 1 x composite video/audio input ( RCA phono x 3 ) - front Other Connectors Total (Free) / Type 1 x SCART ( 21 PIN SCART ) – rear

Setup was a bit complicated, but once it is running it works just fine.

Who should buy this unit ? People that have a single standard TV and want to watch movies from overseas. This unit as it performs its own signal conversion will work with any TV you own.

Who should not buy it ? People that want to copy macrovision protected tapes. Watching is fine but copying is tough. People who don't watch overseas tapes.

Price ? Well you can get TWO VCR for this units price , but then you do need a dual standard TV.
Alternatives: SV7000 from Samsung, which is way higher priced and sports a supposedly even better converter.