Thanks to Panasonic's "Dynamorphous" recording heads, pictures held up well even when blown up on a big-screen projection TV and when recording on the slowest (SLP) speed. Hi-fi soundtracks (of action flicks and new concert video compilations) came across full bodied and clean.
The onscreen operating menu is another big help in getting the show up and running. It works smoothly with Panasonic's Light Tower remote, which hosts big buttons that glow in the dark when you hit the Light Bulb button.
Trick play features are decent on this economically priced VCR. We loved the 1 Minute button, which skips through a 60-second commercial in just eight seconds while offering video scanning onscreen. The PV-9451 has only one fast-forward/reverse speed and one slow-motion speed. In addition, this VCR offers index searching and scanning that pauses at the start of each recording segment on a tape. You can also call up an onscreen program index that shows the time, date, channel, and type (optional) of every timed recording made on a tape, as long as the cassette is in the machine. You can record brief index notes at the opening of tape segments.
We have one minor complaint about this VCR: Panasonic's fine-edged recording/playback heads for the SLP mode are excellent if you are watching a slow-speed recording, but they sometimes mistrack when you are watching super long play (SLP) recordings made on older decks. However, standard play tapes--including prerecorded rental tapes--were excellent.
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Although connecting the PV-V4520 was very routine, we found the coaxial cable TV inputs and outputs to be difficult to access with our fingers, making it hard to tighten down the cable company's painstaking CATV terminals. There are no front-panel audio-video inputs on this VCR. Since it's a hi-fi model, however, the PV-V4520 does provide a pair of standard audio input and output jacks on the rear, along with a composite-video in and out. Once you connect the VCR to your TV, you simply turn it on and automatically enter the setup mode. If you need to reset the VCR, the owner's manual gives clear instructions on how to proceed using the onscreen guide and remote control. In less than five minutes, you can manually reset the clock and the language for the onscreen text, as well as the TV output channel (3 or 4), antenna, and automatic channel tuning.
The remote control is intelligently designed to stand up on a tabletop or shelf. It has a backlight button that enables you to see the most important keys (Play, Stop, Rewind, and Fast-Forward) in the dark. Since the remote accepts codes from multibrand TVs, cable set-top boxes, and satellite receivers, you'll definitely want to program it to operate the channel and volume control functions. The remote's buttons are intuitively laid out and simple to use, with the exception of the channel and volume keys, which are rather small.
Most of the PV-V4520's features are geared toward recording, beginning with the VCR Plus+ guide, which, if set up properly, makes it relatively simple to command the VCR to tape programs while you're gone. After configuring the VCR setup for TV only, satellite receiver, or cable set-top box, you must look up the VCR Plus+ two-digit codes in your local TV listings and assign them to their respective channels using the remote control and onscreen menu. This is a rather cumbersome process when compared with today's hard drive TV recorders; however, Panasonic's PV-V4520 VCR is considerably less expensive and you don't have to worry about memory management.
The PV-V4520 has a number of advanced recording features that used to be found only in more expensive S-VHS models. Program End Search places an invisible index mark at the end of each recording on a tape, making it easier to find multiple shows you've recorded. This VCR also has a Zero Search tape counter locator, which enables you to find the location of a specific segment on a tape.
We did not care for the Commercial Skip feature. Contrary to its name, Commercial Skip does not automatically sense the beginning and end of advertisements. It's basically an automatic fast-forwarding device that works in 1-, 2-, and 3-minute increments. We found that 30-second increments would be more useful, since commercial breaks often run shorter or longer than one or two minutes.
We did like the auto start, rewind, tape eject, and power off features, which are great for lazy, late-night movie sessions because they make it easy to crawl off to bed without rewinding the tape and shutting off the VCR.
If you're primarily interested in a hi-fi VCR that simply plays back VHS cassettes, the PV-V4520 probably isn't for you. If you're hooked on VHS "time shifting," however, this is an ideal deck for recording new tapes and watching old ones. The PV-V4520 is a solid performer from a reliable VCR manufacturer with one of the best customer satisfaction ratings in the business. --Eric Gill
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