Samsung SV-5000W Worldwide VHS Format VCR
cheap audio, video, ultimate electronics for sale
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List Price: $499.99
Features
• S-VHS playback capability
• Luminescent universal remote control included
• Worldwide NTSC, PAL, SECAM playback
• 4-head Diamond video system with stereo sound
• High-speed rewind and digital auto tracking |
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Samsung SV-5000W Worldwide VHS Format VCR description
The Samsung SV-5000W four-head hi-fi incorporates a patented, long-life Diamond Head video system for optimum recording and playback. Six-language onscreen programming (English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and Italian) simplifies the setup and recording process. The programmable timer lets you record up to six broadcasts over a one-month per ... review details
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Samsung SV-5000W Worldwide VHS Format VCR Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥ |
Your Most Accurate Assessment ... ? And Note Important Update!
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I say this assessment is the "most accurate" only because -- having read all previous reviews here, good, bad and middling -- I can categorically state that nobody's wrong and everybody's right. Here's the deal:
The Samsung SV-5000W is a complicated but comprehensive unit. It does all the tricks it's supposed to. Once you figure out how to set it up (not altogether easy, ESPECIALLY if it's in a daisy chain of devices; being a "worldwide" model it has different protocols) it's a pretty impressive and useful "toy." But here's the problem:
Quality control on this product line clearly doesn't much exist. Based on prior reviews, and my own experience, you have as good a chance of getting a functioning unit as a lemon. My tale?
Without checking prior reviews I somewhat impulsively bought the SV-5000W from an eBay "Buy it Now" vendor located in NYC. It was weird out of the box. I did experience the chronic "snow" in the video (described by others) but there was even more disturbing stuff -- the onscreen counter display showed numbers that had nothing to do with the actual location the tape was at; somehow the unit even demagnetized and corrupted a couple of cassettes. I was about two weeks into the purchase and that last was the definitive clue: It wasn't that I hadn't mastered its unusual operations, it wasn't that I didn't understand fully how it should work, whatever its complexities: the unit just sucked.
THEN I did my research and saw the furious mix of reviews. I called the vendor. His eBay listing had specified a NO RETURNS policy. But I brought the bad reviews to his attention, in addition to my own problems with the unit. I asked if he had another worldwide make/model ... I was happy to trade up. He did not: the Samsung was all he carried -- but he couldn't have been more reasonable. He said, "Let's exchange the one you have for another. If that one also doesn't work, you'll get a full refund." Well, okay.
I'm into the third year of ownership now and so far the replacement has held up. It goes long stretches without being used (I have other VCRs for normal use, so I try not to tempt the gods by taking it for granted) but when I do use it, it gets a fair workout. And it does a very decent job.
Update: Shortly after posting the text above, I too experienced the snow problem. The way to correct it is to effect a partial reset: Eject your tape, go to the front panel and hold down the PAUSE and STOP buttons at the same time for ten seconds. Turn off the machine for ten seconds. Turn it back on. (Note: A previous reviewer mistakenly identified the reset pair buttons as PLAY and STOP. When this didn't work for me, I re-examined the panel and realized that PLAY/STOP were rather far apart, whereas PAUSE/STOP were contiguous "Twin" buttons: the most likely, design wise, for a "hold down together" protocol. And indeed this proved correct.) Head cleaning cassettes should not be used to clear the snow problem; however, used SPARINGLY they can sharpen the picture when the resolution becomes grainy. I discovered this by accident. I tried head cleaning for the snow before I learned the reset steps. It of course did nothing to clear the snow ... but on my test cassette (a PAL version of the miniseries SHOGUN) the colors and definition became immediately more vibrant.)
To address a question posed by an earlier reviewer: this is not the model to buy if you need to view or convert tapes from the SECAM-L format (used in France). The SV-5000W has only one converter onboard, which handles the more common NTSC/PAL/SECAM play and convert variations. But SECAM-L is different from straight SECAM, and requires an entirely separate converter. The more expensive SV-7000W model has the second converter built in.
One more caution: The onboard clock runs fast and tends to pick up a minute or so each month. So you have to periodically reset it if you plan on using it for off-broadcast recording. |
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Samsung SV-5000W Worldwide VHS Format VCR home electronics.