Electronics

Samsung SV-5000W Worldwide VHS Format VCR
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Samsung SV-5000W Worldwide VHS Format VCR

Average customer rating:

Still goin' strong!
Great Product
Cheap crap (better than expensive crap, though)
Worked well for about 5 years; plan to buy another now it's died
Your Most Accurate Assessment ... ? And Note Important Update!

Samsung SV-5000W Worldwide VHS Format VCR

Manufacturer: Samsung
ProductGroup: CE
Binding: Electronics

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VCRs & TV Servers | Refurbished & Used | Special Features | Electronics Features | Electronics

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Accessories:

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Product Features:

Worldwide NTSC, PAL, SECAM playback
4-head Diamond video system with stereo sound
High-speed rewind and digital auto tracking
S-VHS playback capability
Luminescent universal remote control included

ASIN: B00004TEUK

Amazon.com Product 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 period. Digital special effects (noiseless still/slow, strobe motion, and image changing) enhance your favorite recorded programs.

This worldwide VCR will play and convert NTSC, PAL, and SECAM tapes on any monitor. The 181-channel MTS tuner also acts as a worldwide TV-signal receiver. Audio dubbing allows you to record audio over existing images, which is handy for layering narration over your video tapes.

Convenient features include V-chip parental control technology, digital auto tracking, a high-speed rewind mechanism, front audio-video jacks, and a six-hour backup if the power goes out. A luminescent, universal remote with jog/shuttle controls is included. Samsung offers a one-year warranty on parts, 90 days on labor.

Product Description

Allows use of NTSC or PAL or SECAM video formats / Dual Volt Capable / HiFi Stereo / 4 Heads 1-Month/6-Event timer Quick-Start Mechanism and high-speed fast-forward and rewind Digital Auto Tracking FL Display Real-time Counter Tape-Remaining Display Front and Rear A/V inputs Wireless remote control with jog/shuttle control (includes 2 AA batteries) Dual-volt power supply Also includes A/V connecting cable and AC plug

Customer Reviews:

Still goin' strong!.......2007-02-12

I've had mine for a couple years now & it still works as good as the day I bought it! It'll play any VHS tape you throw at it!

Great Product.......2007-01-10

We love these VCR!!! After living in Europe for more than 7 years, we had a big collections of video tapes that our daughters wanted to watch and were impossible to do so. We are very happy the system works perfect!!! Good item for those who need a multisystem VCR like us.

Cheap crap (better than expensive crap, though).......2006-06-18

There is a reason all the other converter VCRs cost over a grand.

We got our FIRST SV-5000W for two purposes: a) watch PAL tapes; b) convert NTSC home videos to PAL for relatives overseas.

Regarding purpose A, we were relatively satisfied. Overall, however, the picture quality (on non-converting playback) from this unit, at 300+ bucks, is lower than from our regular VCR, which is 8 years old, cost $80, and get this, wears the brand Admiral. But anyway, it works OK on the playback.

b) It sucks making tapes, however. We were feeding NTSC Hi8 video into it straight from the camcorder, and the PAL recording quality was attrocious, as if it were only half-converting the signal.

So we took it to an authorized repair facility while still under warranty. No change. We sent it in to the Samsung facility in Jersey. When we got it back, it looked as if someone had literally taken a sledghammer to it. The box it came in was pristine, but the faceplate was smashed in. My theory--the repair tech figured it would be easier all around if we just got our money back. Which we did.

And then we had all these PAL tapes sitting around, so we bought another (albeit for $80 less than we'd first paid.) Same thing: playback was OK, recording unacceptable.

Recently, every tape we play is filled with electronic snow, and the warranty is over. Crap.

Worked well for about 5 years; plan to buy another now it's died.......2006-02-27

Original review, February, 2006.

I bought my SV-5000W four-five years ago (maybe even more), and had very few problems with it. It has never been in for repair. Sometimes there were problems with individual rental tapes (NTSC), but the conversions worked well. I was able to put together movies on computer (using an NTSC DV camcorder) and play them to the VCR for recording in PAL to send to relatives overseas with no problems. PAL tapes from UK, Australia, NZ, etc., worked very well. Stereo sound was another plus.

I never had the snow problem (other than on individual tapes) and never noticed a problem with the unit being particularly hot. I rarely cleaned the heads. As my main VCR, it worked very well, also acting as the tuner for the whole system. A later DVD player plays through the VCR to the TV, allowing non-NTSC DVDs to be converted as well. I don't have much need for SECAM-L, so I haven't missed that option, PAL being the big one for me.

Many of the neat features were not used much by me. I preferred editing material on computer, then sending it to the VCR for recording on tape. Direct burning of a DVD has become the common approach now, but my parents don't have a DVD player and want videos of the kids, so....

I was very happy with the VCR, but last week (while I was away), the VCR died. It appeared to be producing some snow or something, so the cleaning cassette was put in by my kids. It's still in there! A discussion with the local repairer suggests about $250 and 2-3 weeks' wait. I seem to recall paying over $500 for the VCR originally, and the price seems to have dropped 50% or so since then. At the time, it was the best option available for a multi-format VCR (given price and other machines available). Most retailers had never heard of such a machine, and anything comparable was several hundred dollars more again, plus the need for a video converter after that.

I think I will simply buy another VCR the same (the SV-5000W). Looking at the reviews, there do seem to be problems, but we'll just have to hope for another good one. The VCR's use will decrease a bit with DVDs becoming more common in our house, but we still need to convert video back and forth from time to time.

Looking at another on-line store, it appears that the SV-5000W is being discontinued, although it is still in stock at this time. There appear to be few other VCRs (if any) that allow you to play almost any video on whatever TV you have, a big attraction for the SV-5000W. The need for an external video converter (or a multi-system TV), in addition to the VCR, adds to the price significantly, as these are another couple of hundred dollars (or perhaps rather more for a TV).

In summary, I had several years of good service from the unit and am prepared to buy another one, especially as there appears to be no other VCR with a built-in video converter, and when you add the cost of a decent one to a multi-system VCR, the SV-5000W is rather cheaper.

Update in May, 2006. I did buy this unit, installed it and it has worked flawlessly since. Recommended if you can get one!

Your Most Accurate Assessment ... ? And Note Important Update!.......2006-02-02

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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