Sony SLV-N750 4-Head Hi-Fi VHS Recorder/VCR

Rating:
Summary: AVOID!
Review: Completely agree with the previous review...I also am on my 2nd one after returning the first due to INCREDIBLY poor tracking during playback. The color in the top 1/4 of the screen always looks terrible! I play the same tape in another VCR and it looks fine! Even when recorded ON THE SONY! The reviewer who says it works great must only be watching black & white movies! I'm taking this one back ASAP!

Rating:
Summary: Sony has lost their quality
Review: I am on my second VCR of this same model and am going to return it for a different brand, don't waste your money on this machine. It cannot record or play tapes correctly, my old Magnavox that was falling apart did better than this one.

Rating:
Summary: Sony has lost their quality
Review: i dont know what the other guy is talking about but this vcr was great and it works great and it is beautiful would have paid more for this item its great love it.

Rating:
Summary: i love it
Review: i dont know what the other guy is talking about but this vcr was great and it works great and it is beautiful would have paid more for this item its great love it.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Machine
Review: I have to honestly say that I don't know why everyone is giving this wonderful VCR such terrible reviews. This is honestly the best VCR I have ever had, and I have had VCRs of all prices, manufacturers, and models. The VCR is a fabulous price, the picture quality is always bright and sharp, and it has not given me a bit of trouble since I bought it. I knew that this VCR was perfect when I played a tape recorded on the RCA VCR in the living room. The RCA does not play nice with the other VCRs, and whenever I try to play a tape recorded on it in any other of my VCRs, the picture is full of ugly tracking, and the sound is full of crackles and pops. So, when I put a tape in the Sony that was taped on the RCA, the picture was beautiful, and the sound was crisp and clear. I can say without a doubt that this VCR can play any tape and make it look good and sound good. I highly reccomend this machine to anyone looking for a quality VCR.

Rating:
Summary: Expected more from Sony.
Review: I knew my expectations shouldn't be set that high for a lower priced VCR, but the poor playback quality and even poorer recording quality was way below my already low expectations. I tried several different combination of VHS tapes and recording speeds, including premium high grade tapes, but got the same poor results from recordings; fuzzy, blurred, dark, and even audio was sub-par. Playback of retail tapes while not as bad as the ones I recorded were the worst I have seen from any VCR. I thought perhaps the unit had a factory defect, but upon reading these other reviews I see that it is most likely not the case. The other complaint I have of this unit is the rewind and forward mode is very annoyingly loud. It also lacks VRC+ and s-video input/outputs. I really expected more from Sony. I am returning this unit pronto and doing my homework before purchasing another VCR.

Rating:
Summary: Expected more from Sony.
Review: I knew my expectations shouldn't be set that high for a lower priced VCR, but the poor playback quality and even poorer recording quality was way below my already low expectations. I tried several different combination of VHS tapes and recording speeds, including premium high grade tapes, but got the same poor results from recordings; fuzzy, blurred, dark, and even audio was sub-par. Playback of retail tapes while not as bad as the ones I recorded were the worst I have seen from any VCR. I thought perhaps the unit had a factory defect, but upon reading these other reviews I see that it is most likely not the case. The other complaint I have of this unit is the rewind and forward mode is very annoyingly loud. It also lacks VRC+ and s-video input/outputs. I really expected more from Sony. I am returning this unit pronto and doing my homework before purchasing another VCR.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome, but YMMV...
Review: I recently bought and am preparing to return a Panasonic VCR which had a bad tracking flaw on playing tapes that play perfectly on my other VCR, the Toshiba W522. In my review of the Panasonic, I stated that I should have spent some extra money for a Toshiba or JVC instead. So I went to Best Buy, but they did not have the JVC I wanted, let alone any Toshibas. The SLV-N750 was one of only two or three hifi VCRs they had and it looked nice, so I bought it. It was a bit more expensive than the Panasonic, but I figured spending the extra money wouldn't hurt. So far this Sony VCR is wonderful.
My review of the Panasonic VCR was at odds with others who gave it a high performance rating. Similarly, my review of this Sony VCR will be at odds with others which give it a low performance rating. This VCR plays many of my tapes perfectly, and I have some older, ex-rental tapes. The playback quality is awesome. So is recording, even in EP mode. No problems here. And under the category of personal preference, I really like how the on screen display works. Unless you press the display button on the remote, the OSD stays off the screen, a feature I find especially convenient.
What I am now thinking is that instead of spending the extra money on a nice looking Sony, what if I had bought the same Panasonic model again? Would it have been a success? It seems that with any model VCR, there are successes and failures. If I had bought a different SLV-N750, would I be giving it one star instead of five? It would be nice to believe in a brand's reputation, but "quality" seems to have lost its meaning. Sadly, it feels like there is no guarantee that home entertainment gear will work. You just buy it, and if it doesn't work, return it and hope that whatever you buy next will do better.
My SLV-N750 is a solid performer in my home entertainment setup. If you buy this VCR, I hope your experience with it will be just as good, but don't be disappointed if it's not. After all, in the modern age of home electronics, "your mileage may vary".

Rating:
Summary: Sony's SLV-N750 works fine for me.
Review: I was surprised to read all of the bad reviews on this site, the customer reviews on Circuit cities web page are a lot more positive. The Sony VCR I purchased has a very good picture, both on tapes that were previouly recorded and on tapes from this machine. I also bought all new connecting wires to make sure I get the best image. With my old wires my picture was not as clear as with the new wires. It is also best to replace all old wires, if you're having a problem with picture quality. That may be the problem, not the VCR.

No matter which VCR you buy, make sure you use the Audio/Video (AV) hookup, that way you get the best picture and sound quality. This is the best VCR that Best Buy and Circuit City sells. If you want a better VCR, buy a Mitsubishi or JVC in the $350.00-$450.00 price range online. Otherwise this VCR is a good choice (for $80.00 it fits the bill and does what I expect).


Rating:
Summary: Sony is OK but all VCRs have been cheapened lately!
Review: If anyone shopped for a VCR today and tried to compare it to "the one they used to have", that's a mistake in my opinion.

Best Buy only sells 4 VCRs, ranging from $60 (Panasonic) to $80 (Sony). I bought the JVC for $70 and took it back after reading reviews here and on Epinions.

This SONY had a grand total two very positive reviews. That's it TWO! And that was more than any of the others that Best Buy sells. What are we supposed to do if we need a replacement VCR? So, I bought the Sony, added $20 to the mix and got Best Buy's 2 yr. warranty.

Now that I've used this Sony to record and playback and also to just playback a Blockbuster's rental, all I can say is that it works OK. Is it terrific? No, it had flaws and has been "dumbed down" like all the other ones.

No it doesn't have a TV-Out channel slide switch for Ch3-4. You have to set it and if you lose power, you have to set it again. No battery backup any more. But then, the new JVC and Panasonic worked the same way.

The antenna-out cable connection is monaural, like the JVC I returned and most others. That stinks, of course, but they probably all have that restriction. If a person cares about getting stereo on their TV, they have to use the three RCA plugs for stereo and video. But then you can't watch a different program if you're taping, unless you ALSO hook up the RF out antenna wire. Gotcha! Better get an A-B switch or just live with monaural.

I took advantage of the "Auto Tape Speed" feature and it leaves much to be desired. You have to configure the recorder EACH time you insert a tape to tell it the size tape you're using (T-120, T-160 ...) and then set your recording on "Auto". If it sees that your recording is too long for the tape it applies some mathematics and at some point switches from LP to EP so the whole program will fit. But, who wants to configure the VCR for the tape length each time ... and besides you don't even know the tape length unless you always keep the longer tapes in their original jackets ... many are marked ever so faintly on the cartridge ... life is too short to live that way.

Finally, when it switches from LP to EP you could immediately see the drop-off in quality. On the Sony the picture became less sharp, although the sound didn't seem compromised. Is this a Sony problem? Probably not. I've always recorded everything using EP because we all jam stuff on our tapes. How many programs are less than 2 hours ... and that's without the President breaking in and taking a half hour from us. I don't even compare SP to EP quality since I don't use SP. This begs the issue of whatever happened to SLP which gave us 4 hour recording time?

So far as I can see, you might as well buy this Sony with a 2 yr. warranty from the store and get on with your life. I've come to the conclusion that all VCRs today are probably compromised. Surely I wouldn't touch a combo DVD/VCR machine anticipating the VCR component will fail and I'll be adding a standalone VCR to the "stack" anyway and living with a crippled combo machine.

If you really want to get yourself upset, buy a VCR based on any criteria which makes sense to you, like an Amazon or Epinions review, the brand you used to have and liked, a friend's recommendation, or price. Then when you go read more reviews and see the complaints registered against it, you'll probably be sorry you bought it (no matter what you bought).

One bright spot is that the Sony has separate Stop and Eject buttons and can even eject from the remote. Not too many can do that.

Good luck with whatever you buy. You'll need it. Just get an extended warranty so you don't have to buy another one every 91 days.

-- Sam