Samsung VR400G VHS VCR
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- VCR Type: VHS
- Number of Video Heads: 4
- Audio: Mono
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Samsung VR-400G 4-Head Child-Proof VCR
Pros
Cool design, features, kid-proof, sometimes displays channel names and program names
Cons
No stereo sound
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Based on cool design and features, this VCR is a good buy if you need one for your kids.
I got this VCR a year ago as a gift for my relative and glad to report that it still works fine. There was only one incident where the tape got stuck inside, which was caused by the defective cassette. It was easy to open the VCR and extract the tape. This happened more than half a year ago and the problem never reoccurred.
The VCR itself is almost completely translucent (except some narrow white parts), so you can see through the cover. You can see the video drum I described in my reviews on how VCRs work and what the Flying Erase Head is.
You can get VR-400G in several colors (I got Teal). The VCR is designed for children – the cassette compartment door cannot be opened by a finger, so kids cannot stuff their toys inside.
When I opened the box and pooled the VCR out, I tried to see if the door is locked (by the means of my right index finger), which it was. I connected the VCR, powered it up and tried again – the door was still locked. There was no "Unlock" button on the remote, so I tried to find the menu responsible for unlocking. No luck.
So I opened the manual and looked through. Nothing. And then I decided to try with actual video cassette. And it worked. Very smart solution – fingers and toys cannot open the cassette compartment door, but the cassette itself can.
The VCR has a key lock (so nobody can use it unless you push the TV/VCR button on the remote for 5 seconds) in addition to the cassette lock described above.
The VCR itself has buttons only for basic functions – power, eject, stop, rewind, fast forward, play. The design of the front panel is nice. The overall translucent look resembles Apple's iMac.
The rear panel has RF in and out as well as composite video in and out and audio (mono) in and out. The VCR has 4 video heads, but no Hi-Fi Stereo – so only mono sound can be recorded or played back.
The remote is also translucent, but with gray and white colors. It is quite small and does not have a direct-access numbered keypad, which is no fun if you use the VCR's tuner. You can also use the remote as a game controller for the included (very simple) games – a racing game and a shooting gallery.
The onscreen display (OSD) features an animated dog that barks through the VCR's speaker (you can barely recognize that this is barking, sounds more like a sound that comes from a frog). Good thing it can be disabled through the menu. The dog gets annoying (for me) after the first 45 seconds.
The OSD also features a tape position indicator (horizontal bar with a mark) and a tracking indicator (same design). The VCR uses 19-micron heads for better performance in the SLP mode. It can record at either SP or SLP (EP) speed (no LP).
When I paused a recording made on my Panasonic in SLP mode, there was a noisy horizontal bar close to the bottom of the screen. It would appear on the other frames also and would not go away even when I tried to adjust tracking/V-lock.
The picture quality was OK – I would say it was excellent, but it was good enough. But the coolest feature is its ability to automatically decode and display channel names (like TNN or Comedy Central) and even program names! When I played back the tape recorded on my Panasonic, it even showed the program name ("Planet's Funniest Animals").
Unfortunately, it happens sporadically and I haven't found the way to make a VCR display or hide the name. Sometimes it would display a program or channel name, sometimes it would not. Maybe it depends on the signal strength, maybe on the phase of the moon...
According to reliability data from "Consumer Reports" and my own experience, Samsung VCRs were very reliable, among the best.
Based on cool design and features, this VCR is a good buy if you need one for your kids.
The VCR itself is almost completely translucent (except some narrow white parts), so you can see through the cover. You can see the video drum I described in my reviews on how VCRs work and what the Flying Erase Head is.
You can get VR-400G in several colors (I got Teal). The VCR is designed for children – the cassette compartment door cannot be opened by a finger, so kids cannot stuff their toys inside.
When I opened the box and pooled the VCR out, I tried to see if the door is locked (by the means of my right index finger), which it was. I connected the VCR, powered it up and tried again – the door was still locked. There was no "Unlock" button on the remote, so I tried to find the menu responsible for unlocking. No luck.
So I opened the manual and looked through. Nothing. And then I decided to try with actual video cassette. And it worked. Very smart solution – fingers and toys cannot open the cassette compartment door, but the cassette itself can.
The VCR has a key lock (so nobody can use it unless you push the TV/VCR button on the remote for 5 seconds) in addition to the cassette lock described above.
The VCR itself has buttons only for basic functions – power, eject, stop, rewind, fast forward, play. The design of the front panel is nice. The overall translucent look resembles Apple's iMac.
The rear panel has RF in and out as well as composite video in and out and audio (mono) in and out. The VCR has 4 video heads, but no Hi-Fi Stereo – so only mono sound can be recorded or played back.
The remote is also translucent, but with gray and white colors. It is quite small and does not have a direct-access numbered keypad, which is no fun if you use the VCR's tuner. You can also use the remote as a game controller for the included (very simple) games – a racing game and a shooting gallery.
The onscreen display (OSD) features an animated dog that barks through the VCR's speaker (you can barely recognize that this is barking, sounds more like a sound that comes from a frog). Good thing it can be disabled through the menu. The dog gets annoying (for me) after the first 45 seconds.
The OSD also features a tape position indicator (horizontal bar with a mark) and a tracking indicator (same design). The VCR uses 19-micron heads for better performance in the SLP mode. It can record at either SP or SLP (EP) speed (no LP).
When I paused a recording made on my Panasonic in SLP mode, there was a noisy horizontal bar close to the bottom of the screen. It would appear on the other frames also and would not go away even when I tried to adjust tracking/V-lock.
The picture quality was OK – I would say it was excellent, but it was good enough. But the coolest feature is its ability to automatically decode and display channel names (like TNN or Comedy Central) and even program names! When I played back the tape recorded on my Panasonic, it even showed the program name ("Planet's Funniest Animals").
Unfortunately, it happens sporadically and I haven't found the way to make a VCR display or hide the name. Sometimes it would display a program or channel name, sometimes it would not. Maybe it depends on the signal strength, maybe on the phase of the moon...
According to reliability data from "Consumer Reports" and my own experience, Samsung VCRs were very reliable, among the best.
Based on cool design and features, this VCR is a good buy if you need one for your kids.
