If you need a VCR then be quick as they'll not be around for much longer. DVD recorders are quickly replacing them. In fact I recently bought a DVD recorder myself! So why did I also buy one of these? Very simple. I've got lots of tapes with home movies and all my favourite films I've recorded off the telly over many years. So I still want to view them.
In my time I've bought quite a few VCR's both cheap and not so cheap. Some of them were less than impressive, others simply dreadful. However I'm glad to report that the Panasonic NVHV61EBS has turned out to be a real winner.
So what does this recorder offer? Well for a start it has a good quality silver finish, which is very popular at the moment. It has two Scart connectors so you can get your recordings to your TV with minimum loss. In addition it has the usual remote, black bodied in this case with a metal silver front. To my mind its a little old fashioned looking, but it works very well and seems pretty robust.
Tuning is undertaken automatically on first switching on and the clock too is set without any human intervention. In fact in the first few minutes the NVHV61EBS takes care of all the settings you will ever need unless you move to another district or gain more TV stations.
However the real question with any recorder is how good are the recordings? On that front you can relax, the NVHV61EBS is as good as I've ever seen on a domestic VCR. In fact I thought a lot of my video tapes were clapped out until I recorded on them using this machine. The recordings were amazingly good. Clean, sharp and precise. And it gets better, press pause. Not a twitch, line or sparkle anywhere. Absolutely wonderful. Slow forward is just the same, solid pictures, no colour drop, twitches or lines. Very, very impressive.
Another feature of note is the one called 'Jet Rewind'. This spins the tape from one end to the other in just 43 seconds. It may sound like a tiny turbine running up to speed but its not that loud or unpleasant. There's no stress on the tape either, it slows down automatically and stops very gently. Well done Panasonic.
Other features are well known to most VCR owners. VideoPlus is used to record your TV programmes. As a bonus the onboard clock is set and adjusted automatically via TV broadcast so you don't have to worry about your timed recordings being late. The clock is always accurate. The front display is bright, clear and easily read from a distance. Easy on the eye and good to look at.
Finally you might say that there are many cheaper VCR's than the Panasonic NVHV61EBS and you'd be right. However in my opinion many of them are pretty awful, rubbishy pictures and ropey remotes. Not worth the hassle. Yes you'll pay more for this beauty but remember this. Long after you've forgotten how much it cost you'll still be admiring the beautiful recordings this machine produces. It will give you hours of pleasure. Take my advice, if you need a new VCR, this one is among the very best.
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