Rating: 
Summary: Great value.
Review: Bought and returned Sanyo and Panasonic VCRs before trying the
Sony SLV-N500. Both VCRs returned had problems with tracking
tapes recorded on other machines. No tracking problems with this
Sony (Ditgital Tracking). Plays every tape flawlessly (SP & EP).
Super fast rewind and fastfoward. Remote is not fancy, but easy
to use. Digital display on front of VCR, which are missing on
a lot of VCRs in this price range.
Rating: 
Summary: DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!
Review: I bought this VCR primarily for the purpose of playing my previously recoded VCR tapes as my original unit (also a Sony) was wearing down after about 10 years of great service. However, I am finding that this new Sony VCR does not like to play these old tapes if they were recorded in the extended play mode. I am having a hard time getting the tracking consistently right. What makes it more difficult is that there are no tracking buttons on the remote, so I actually have to go to the unit for corrections (its good that it gets me off the coach, but it's a hassle). My old Sony VCR had tracking buttons right on the remote, but unfortunately that remote is broken or I'd try to use it instead.The unit seems to record programs just fine and those programs playback with no problem even in extended play mode. It's just disappointing that it doesn't like extended play shows that were recorded on other VCRs, even other Sonys (even my third VCR, a very cheap Panasonic, doesn't have any problems). This is probably a decent VCR to have until DVD recorders become a little more affordable.
Rating: 
Summary: OK to Get Until You Transition to DVD Recorder
Review: I bought this VCR primarily for the purpose of playing my previously recoded VCR tapes as my original unit (also a Sony) was wearing down after about 10 years of great service. However, I am finding that this new Sony VCR does not like to play these old tapes if they were recorded in the extended play mode. I am having a hard time getting the tracking consistently right. What makes it more difficult is that there are no tracking buttons on the remote, so I actually have to go to the unit for corrections (its good that it gets me off the coach, but it's a hassle). My old Sony VCR had tracking buttons right on the remote, but unfortunately that remote is broken or I'd try to use it instead. The unit seems to record programs just fine and those programs playback with no problem even in extended play mode. It's just disappointing that it doesn't like extended play shows that were recorded on other VCRs, even other Sonys (even my third VCR, a very cheap Panasonic, doesn't have any problems). This is probably a decent VCR to have until DVD recorders become a little more affordable.
Rating:
Summary: Terrible VCR
Review: I bought this VCR to match my other Sony components. I assumed that the Sony name meant something. I had two other VCRs that stopped working which didn't surprise me since they were very cheap no name brands I purchased at Walmart. I hoped that if I bought a Sony VCR it would be my last. I was very wrong. After a month and a half the VCR started ruining tapes. Note that this is long enough to be out of warranty. Sony will let you send it back to get repaired, but the cost of doing so exceeds the price of a new VCR. DO NOT PURCHASE this item. You will be sorry you did.
Rating:
Summary: 3 months use out of an $80 VCR
Review: I bought this VCR to replace a cheap $60 Magnavox that began having issues after 6 long years. As far as I knew Sony still had a good reputation in electronics, and perhaps it does, but the Sony SLV-N500 I bought was and is a horrible VCR. Besides being of relatively chintzy construct, its remote and accompanying options were poorly designed and annoying to use. I resigned myself to lame design because I don't use my VCR that much anymore anyway and I figured I'd "get over it." Then I began having increasingly serious problems with the audio when viewing tapes. It actually began the very first time I used this VCR to record; on playback, it sounded like I was getting interference from a talk radio station. It didn't correspond to anything on TV at the time, so I figured there had been some issues with the cable reception as it had been recording -- our cable company isn't that great. Then I had a few uneventful viewings, just enough that I stopped worrying about that first event and consequently didn't notice/care that return policy deadlines and warranties were expiring. The first time I decided to watch a movie on VHS (as opposed to a TV show I had taped with the VCR), I discovered the interference was back. It was so obtrusive this time that the talk radio was louder than the movie dialogue. After checking, rechecking, and fiddling with all my cords and cables and settings for the third time, I swapped out the Sony with my old Magnavox, on which the movie played just fine. Needless to say, I did not get my money's worth on this Sony VCR. I found it disappointingly substandard in design and features even when it seemed to be working properly; now, three and a half months after purchase, it doesn't even work well enough to serve its primary function.
Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT!
Review: I brought this VCR 2 weeks ago and loved it. The signal reception is extrodinary. I use a computer monitor to watch TV and video and the C-video output is amazingly clear. Everything is well built, including the box case and control. In a word, the quality is simply there.
Rating:
Summary: 3 months use out of an $80 VCR
Review: I give this VCR 5 stars because of the things I do like. The programming is easy, it has an excellent picture. Most of all it allows to Video lines, so I have my DVD and Gamecube plugged in through my VCR instead of having RF adapters hooked to my TV. The rewind/ff speed is exceptional. I also like all the slow motion/commercial skip options. Now for my gripe, it's the remote. It does have a horrible remote. It's touchy and the batteries are used up so quickly I need to have stock in Duracell or Energizer. Also the commercial skip button is finicky and won't work half the time or if you accidently hit the very stupid VCR/TV sliding button it won't work. All this said, I still give it 5 stars because of the ease of use and I used this thing to record hours of video from TV and it would play on any VCR tried on. This is a big thing for me. I made the mistake of replacing it with a JVC also reviewed on amazon and it was a horror. I will be buying this SOny model again!! For me the cons aren't even a consideration. This is my favorite VCR and I don't use that statement lightly.
Rating:
Summary: Electronics are your own choice, but here's what I think
Review: I give this VCR 5 stars because of the things I do like. The programming is easy, it has an excellent picture. Most of all it allows to Video lines, so I have my DVD and Gamecube plugged in through my VCR instead of having RF adapters hooked to my TV. The rewind/ff speed is exceptional. I also like all the slow motion/commercial skip options. Now for my gripe, it's the remote. It does have a horrible remote. It's touchy and the batteries are used up so quickly I need to have stock in Duracell or Energizer. Also the commercial skip button is finicky and won't work half the time or if you accidently hit the very stupid VCR/TV sliding button it won't work. All this said, I still give it 5 stars because of the ease of use and I used this thing to record hours of video from TV and it would play on any VCR tried on. This is a big thing for me. I made the mistake of replacing it with a JVC also reviewed on amazon and it was a horror. I will be buying this SOny model again!! For me the cons aren't even a consideration. This is my favorite VCR and I don't use that statement lightly.
Rating:
Summary: DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!
Review: I've had this piece of junk barely a week. It only tapes the Lifetime channel in SAP mode no matter how many time I check to confirm that everything is set for English. (I don't even speak Spanish - or anythin besides English.) I tried other VCRs with this television and everything is fine - only the Sony has this problem. BUt their Tech Support wouldn't help me and said I'd have to take it to a repair shop and pay to have it fixed. IT IS ONLY A WEEK OLD! DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS JUNK, SONY SUCKS!
Rating: 
Summary: minor (missing) features make a big difference
Review: It plays a tape. It records. The rewind/ffwd function is amazingly fast with a good display of how far you've gone in the tape, which makes it very easy to set up a tape to record in the right spot. The front AV inputs make recording home movies onto VHS tapes for our family very easy. The "commercial skip" feature takes a while to get used to (it's just a 30sec scan forward), but is nice now that I have it. Setting the time and timer for recording is easy on the onscreen display, although the clock/display on the front of the device shows the time only if the VCR is off or if there is no tape in the VCR. Since I like to keep a cued tape in the VCR "just in case," I do not get to see the clock. Since I'm not thrilled with the VCR already, this irks me. I would not buy this model again because of the remote control. First of all, it seems very finicky about being pointed just right and it goes through batteries like no other remote control I have used. Second, you have to press Enter after your channel selection before it will change the channel. Given that not every push of the button is received by the VCR right away, I've been frustrated pushing enter several times only to have my channel selction disappear from the display because too much time had elapsed. The buttons are small and not grouped well so I actually have to look at the remote before pushing a button. I think I could deal with these problems if there was a "previous channel" button so I could just flip between two channels, but there is no such button! It drives me nuts. In my experience Sony tends to make reliable products, so I can expect to be grousing about this VCR for years.
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