JVC HRS5965

VHS EP is a a good way of having somewhat better resolution records on
inexpensive media (I would still recommend regular S-VHS tapes - much
lower noise). LP works fine, esp. on good tapes.
I never had any problem with playback of the tapes recorded on other decks
(here, however, sometimes you can be surprised that those tapes sometimes
look better than the ones you record on this one...)
I am perfectly happy with audio.
If you are looking for a nice video for time shifting than this one will
do; nice consumer machine.
cons: no front connectors for camcorder;
defnitelly not an editing deck nor high end VCR:
problems with colour: some VCRs are able to deal better with saturated
objects (colour bleeding); large blue and red objecs tend to flicker
(those belongs to the (VHS) system and is not particular to this VCR,
however more expensive models are able to cope with those better).

For those (still) comparing VHS with digital (DVD recorder):
DVD recorder in all modes wins hands down. You will notice the biggest
difference with purity of colour and low levels of noise; you will also
find that picture is much more stable (esp. on a big screen).

Since VCRs are very easy to use, and tape does not require any action
before re-recording, I find VCRs convenient for time shifting (news etc.)
DVD recorders with HDD are as good as VCRs in this respect, yet the price
is much higher.
Regural DVD recorders will let you record your DVD-R one time only, and
once it is full you will have to use a new one;
DVD-RW you can use many times, yet you will have to erase them before
re-recording.