VCRs Reviews

The reviews below are assigned ratings by ConsumerSearch. These ratings are based on credibility in testing, evaluating and identifying the best VCRs. See our ratings criteria

For recommendations of best VCRs, see our Fast Answers page, which summarizes what these reviews say. A longer summary and analysis appears in our Full Story report for VCRs. Our Where to Buy page contains information on retailers and VCRs prices.

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VCRs Reviews Reviewed
Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	VCRs Ratings Comments on Reviews
1. Amazon.com	VCRs Contributors to Amazon.com As of Jan. 2008		It is hard to find standalone VCRs here because they are lumped in with DVD/VCR combo models, but several VCRs are rated here with a lot more reviews than at Epinions. The Aiwa HV-MX100 Hi-Fi Multi-System VCR is the top rated VCR, but with only six reviews. All the owners praise the fact that this Aiwa player can play multi-region tapes. The Sony SLV-N750 gets 45 reviews, the most of any VCR, but only three stars out of five. This is also a good place to find reviews of DVD/VCR combo players.
2. Consumer Reports >> Details/Subscribe	VCRs Editors of Consumer Reports Dec. 2002		In Consumer Reports' last VCR report, editors note that even though DVD players are preferred for viewing prerecorded movies, VCRs are still easy to use for transferring camcorder footage and recording TV shows. Unfortunately, few of the tested VCRs included here are currently available.
3. CNet.com	VCR reviews Darren Gladstone July 31, 2002		Only the Panasonic PV-D4762 DVD/VCR combo is reviewed here. It's a detailed and favorable review, but with no other write-ups to compare, we're at a loss as to guessing how CNet thinks this combo unit stacks up against others. And, the review is very out of date.
4. Sound & Vision Magazine >> Details/Subscribe	LG- LRY-517 Universal DVD/VCR Ken C. Pohlmann As of Sept. 2005		Like many publications, Sound and Vision magazine has pretty much eschewed reviewing VCRs in favor of DVD players. There's one test report here for the LG LRY-517 Universal DVD/VCR combo player. Mr. Pohlmann writes that the LG model is “the first to both play and record DVD-RAMs along with DVD-R/RWs, DVD+R/RWs, and even DVD+R DLs (double layer). It can also play DVD-Video discs, audio CDs, and CD-R/RWs as well as read JPEG, WMA, MP3, and DivX files.” This is a lengthy and comprehensive review, but we wish there were more recent reviews here.
5. Consumer Guide.com >> Details/Subscribe	VCR Best Buys Editors of ConsumerGuide.com As of Jan. 2008		Consumer Guide has narrowed its Best Buys in this category to one model, the JVC HR-S9911U, which has been discontinued. The two Budget Buys are the Sony SLV-N750 and the Panasonic PV-V4624S. The write-ups don’t effectively explain why these choices stand out above other VCRs. The reviews consist mostly of a discussion of features and no models appear to be tested.

VCRs Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	VCRs Ratings Comments on Reviews

6. AudioReview.com	VCRs Contributors to AudioReview.com As of April 2003		With few exceptions, the more expensive VCRs get better reviews on this consumer-opinion site. Like Epinions, owners rate their own VCRs, but since the focus here is on audio components, readers posting to the site are more targeted and a bit more reliable than those at Epinions. The JVC HR-S4600U, JVC HR-S9800U and Sony SLV-M20HF receive the greatest number of positive comments. Reviews are very out of date.
7. Epinions	VCRs Contributors to Epinions As of Jan. 2008		Only six VCRs are reviewed here. The top rated VHS or S-VHS models only get one review each, while the lower rated models get the most reviews. The Samsung SV5000W VHS/S-VHS and the Sony SLV-N750 VHS/S-VHS both get an overall rating of just 2.5 out of five stars and about a dozen reviews each.