Samsung VR9160 VHS VCR
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- VCR Type: VHS
- Number of Video Heads: 4
- Audio: Hi-Fi Stereo
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one of the better VCRs for the money
Pros
easy to program timer, lots of features, low price
Cons
mediocre special effects, slow index scan, no rear line inputs (VR9260)
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
One of the better late model VCRs, especially at its price. Its the one I chose after extensive research.
I spent a lot of time researching my VCR purchase, because I wanted some specific features that used to be common but are being left out of the newer VCRs to keep the price down. Specifically, I wanted:
1) quick to program for timer recordings (really bad on most VCRs these days if you don't use "VCR plus")
2) time remaining on the tape indicator,
3) an informative front panel display that could show the tape counter, etc, not just the clock and play mode.
A feature I would like to have had is direct time search, where you can enter a time in H:MM format and the machine automatically FF or REW exactly that far. Strangely, I found this feature most commonly on the cheapest and off-brand VCRs, which typically lacked some or all the other "must have" features.
Most of the other features I wanted, like index scan, are still on every VCR, so were not a factor. The Samsung VR9160 and VR9180 (same as VR9160, except for jog/shuttle dial on the remote and front panel) were the only ones I could find that were quick and easy to program, had time remaining, and had a more than four digit front display that showed elapsed time in H:MM:SS format.
Unfortunately for me, I could not find any store that had these in stock - seems that every online store that sells Samsung does not actually stock them, but gets them direct from the manufacturer's warehouse. So I ended up buying the new model, VR9260, which seems to be the same as the VR9160, with two major exceptions: 1) the front panel display has only four digits now, so elapsed time is only displayed in H:MM, no seconds. The first digit shows revolving segments that indicate forward or backwards tape movement (if you've seen the Sony SLV-N77 or SLV-N88, it uses a very similar
display); 2) the new model has no line input on the back of the unit, only a coax antenna input/output and a line output. The only line input is on the front, great for a camcorder, not so great for a permanently installed input. This was an unhappy surprise when I received the unit, but luckily I don't keep a line input connected to my VCR anyhow. With the lowered content, the price came down about $10 to $20 from the VR9160, which sold typically for $90-100.
So, how is the VCR? It's really not bad for $80.
Positives:
+ The picture quality is quite good, even in SLP speed.
+ operation of the unit is very smooth and quiet.
+ ease of use and programming is above average.
+ time stamp. This rare feature puts the date, time and channel information on every recording, making it easier to identify your taped programs.
+ commercial skip, advances in 30 second increments.
+ a button on the remote that rewinds about 15 seconds and then continues playing. Great for when you FF a little too far past a commercial. A rare feautre.
+ most of the controls are accessible from the front panel, so if you do lose the remote, you are not totally out of luck, you can still access menu features, like programming the timer. Also very rare.
+ infinite backup of settings, including timer, in case of power failure. Relatively rare, a great feature.
+ completely automatic setup that really worked.
Extra feautres that are nice, but mostly useless:
+ the tuner can read and display the data information that some channels include in their broadcasts, like station call letters and name of current program. Unfortunately, it does
not store this info on recordings.
+ picture sharpness control lets you choose Auto, sharp soft, or standard. I leave it in auto.
+ auto power off. You can set it to turn itself off if it hasn't received any user inputs for one or two hours.
The negatives, aside from missing the rear line inputs:
- the special effects are not very clean - FF scan, REW and pause are all noisier than on most VCRs I've used, but this is not of much importance to me anyhow, I don't really care how clearly I can see the commercials I am skipping, and I rarely if ever use freeze frame.
- the index search winds the tape much slower than just using the FF or REW, so if the program you want is more than a hour away from the current spot on the tape, it takes a long time to get there. By contrast, the regular FF and REW are quite quick.
- can't recall the channel number on the front panel when recording or just watching TV using the VCR's tuner - you have to use the on-screen display. Minor annoyance.
- no cable box control, but none in this price range have this.
- the remote could use larger buttons, but that is nitpicking. Overall, the remote is pretty decent
I have not had it long enough to say if it is very durable, but I don't have any reason to believe it will be any worse than average in this respect.
The only other VCRs on the market at this time I would consider buying are the Sony SLV-N88, about $130, and the Sony SLV-N99, about $150. These models have a dial on the front panel that make programming a breeze, a really great idea. The more expensive one has a more informative front panel display that can show seconds, and a circuit that supposedly improves playback images, though I haven't seen that with my own eyes. Both of these are much more expensive than the Samsung, and I have never had particular luck with Sony electronics lasting a long time. All the other models either lack important features or take too long to program the timer. Models from RCA and Sharp came close, but lacked the time-remaining feature. They were both very easy to program, and also had direct time search. The top of the line RCA even has cable box control. You may want to check these out if the remaining time feature is not important to you.
Conclusion: most manufacturers are taking out content to keep prices down. Very few have a decent front panel display, and most are just awful to program if you don't use VCR plus, which I've never liked. This VCR has more features than most, and doesn't reek of cost cutting quite as bad as most of the others on the market today. If you can still find a VR9160 or VR9180, buy it. If you don't need the rear line input anyhow, the VR9260 gets my nod as the best pick from a somewhat sorry lot of choices.
1) quick to program for timer recordings (really bad on most VCRs these days if you don't use "VCR plus")
2) time remaining on the tape indicator,
3) an informative front panel display that could show the tape counter, etc, not just the clock and play mode.
A feature I would like to have had is direct time search, where you can enter a time in H:MM format and the machine automatically FF or REW exactly that far. Strangely, I found this feature most commonly on the cheapest and off-brand VCRs, which typically lacked some or all the other "must have" features.
Most of the other features I wanted, like index scan, are still on every VCR, so were not a factor. The Samsung VR9160 and VR9180 (same as VR9160, except for jog/shuttle dial on the remote and front panel) were the only ones I could find that were quick and easy to program, had time remaining, and had a more than four digit front display that showed elapsed time in H:MM:SS format.
Unfortunately for me, I could not find any store that had these in stock - seems that every online store that sells Samsung does not actually stock them, but gets them direct from the manufacturer's warehouse. So I ended up buying the new model, VR9260, which seems to be the same as the VR9160, with two major exceptions: 1) the front panel display has only four digits now, so elapsed time is only displayed in H:MM, no seconds. The first digit shows revolving segments that indicate forward or backwards tape movement (if you've seen the Sony SLV-N77 or SLV-N88, it uses a very similar
display); 2) the new model has no line input on the back of the unit, only a coax antenna input/output and a line output. The only line input is on the front, great for a camcorder, not so great for a permanently installed input. This was an unhappy surprise when I received the unit, but luckily I don't keep a line input connected to my VCR anyhow. With the lowered content, the price came down about $10 to $20 from the VR9160, which sold typically for $90-100.
So, how is the VCR? It's really not bad for $80.
Positives:
+ The picture quality is quite good, even in SLP speed.
+ operation of the unit is very smooth and quiet.
+ ease of use and programming is above average.
+ time stamp. This rare feature puts the date, time and channel information on every recording, making it easier to identify your taped programs.
+ commercial skip, advances in 30 second increments.
+ a button on the remote that rewinds about 15 seconds and then continues playing. Great for when you FF a little too far past a commercial. A rare feautre.
+ most of the controls are accessible from the front panel, so if you do lose the remote, you are not totally out of luck, you can still access menu features, like programming the timer. Also very rare.
+ infinite backup of settings, including timer, in case of power failure. Relatively rare, a great feature.
+ completely automatic setup that really worked.
Extra feautres that are nice, but mostly useless:
+ the tuner can read and display the data information that some channels include in their broadcasts, like station call letters and name of current program. Unfortunately, it does
not store this info on recordings.
+ picture sharpness control lets you choose Auto, sharp soft, or standard. I leave it in auto.
+ auto power off. You can set it to turn itself off if it hasn't received any user inputs for one or two hours.
The negatives, aside from missing the rear line inputs:
- the special effects are not very clean - FF scan, REW and pause are all noisier than on most VCRs I've used, but this is not of much importance to me anyhow, I don't really care how clearly I can see the commercials I am skipping, and I rarely if ever use freeze frame.
- the index search winds the tape much slower than just using the FF or REW, so if the program you want is more than a hour away from the current spot on the tape, it takes a long time to get there. By contrast, the regular FF and REW are quite quick.
- can't recall the channel number on the front panel when recording or just watching TV using the VCR's tuner - you have to use the on-screen display. Minor annoyance.
- no cable box control, but none in this price range have this.
- the remote could use larger buttons, but that is nitpicking. Overall, the remote is pretty decent
I have not had it long enough to say if it is very durable, but I don't have any reason to believe it will be any worse than average in this respect.
The only other VCRs on the market at this time I would consider buying are the Sony SLV-N88, about $130, and the Sony SLV-N99, about $150. These models have a dial on the front panel that make programming a breeze, a really great idea. The more expensive one has a more informative front panel display that can show seconds, and a circuit that supposedly improves playback images, though I haven't seen that with my own eyes. Both of these are much more expensive than the Samsung, and I have never had particular luck with Sony electronics lasting a long time. All the other models either lack important features or take too long to program the timer. Models from RCA and Sharp came close, but lacked the time-remaining feature. They were both very easy to program, and also had direct time search. The top of the line RCA even has cable box control. You may want to check these out if the remaining time feature is not important to you.
Conclusion: most manufacturers are taking out content to keep prices down. Very few have a decent front panel display, and most are just awful to program if you don't use VCR plus, which I've never liked. This VCR has more features than most, and doesn't reek of cost cutting quite as bad as most of the others on the market today. If you can still find a VR9160 or VR9180, buy it. If you don't need the rear line input anyhow, the VR9260 gets my nod as the best pick from a somewhat sorry lot of choices.
