RCA VR646HF 4-Head Hi-Fi VCR

w/universal-remote, commercial advance, movie advance, vcr +, auto clock set,

In spite of its low price, the RCA offers 4-head video quality, stereo hi-fi sound, VCR Plus+, and on-screen trilingual programming, digital auto tracking, a real-time counter, and much more--features often found on more expensive VCRs.

The VR646HF manifests a minimalist design philosophy--simple and elegant. We took it out of the box, connected an antenna and TV (75-ohm RF connectors), and plugged it in. An initial setup menu automatically guided us through the setup process, but we chose to setup the unit manually.

We played a prerecorded tape and noticed mild interference--some lines brushing across the screen--but moving the VCR a few inches away from the TV cleared it up. The remote control is well-designed with intuitive function keys, and it worked well even when pointed away from the face of the VCR.

The on-screen programming menus cover the major functions and cover them well, but you may need the manual for the advanced features, particularly VCR Plus+ setup. The manual is exhaustive in its 72 pages of explanations.

If you want a great set of features, the most important being good 4-head quality picture and hi-fi stereo sound, then the VG4268 is an excellent choice.

Pros:

• Great value, many features for the price
• 4 heads for a clear picture
• Hi-fi stereo for great sound