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| Samsung SV-5000W Worldwide VHS Format VCR | 
 enlarge | Brand: Samsung
Category: CE
Buy New: $904.00
Buy New from $904.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  (47 reviews)
Sales Rank: 22959
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Warranty: 1 year warranty
Shipping Weight (lbs): 9.5
Dimensions (in): 11.8 x 17 x 4
MPN: SV-5000W
Model: SV-5000W
UPC: 036725350007
EAN: 0036725350007
ASIN: B00004TEUK
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Worked well for about 5 years; plan to buy another now it's died February 27, 2006
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
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 a late 2008 Update! February 1, 2006
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
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.
2005 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.
2008 UPDATE: The "snow" problem finally hit permanently about a year or so ago. My collection of PAL cassettes is so small, with most having been replaced by DVD or media-file equivalents, that I haven't raced to get the thing fixed (for my limited purposes, I can't see where it would be cost effective anymore). Not chucking it, may indeed fix it some day, but I would say nonetheless and on balance I got less use out of this machine than expected for the price -- even refurbished, less than what's listed here. Given its frequency of use (as opposed to calebdar age), it lived about as long as cheaper "off-brand" electronics (the kind you buy on impulse just knowing they'll only fill a temporary gap) do. And with that said, two more notes.
Note #1: In 2001 I bought a dirt-cheap Broksonic Hi-fi stereo VCR. One of those aforementioned "off-brands." And yet ... the darn thing is a warhorse. Three speeds, excellent picture, great sound, and despite clunky load-sounds and a poorly designed remote, it's maybe the best VCR I've ever owned. I bought another, even cheaper, off eBay for my lady friend's house and that one has proven just as sturdy. I mention this because Broksonic ALSO makes a universal VCR (albeit supposedly only for the South American market). I don't know if it's Hi-Fi stereo or not, but if you can find a way to purchase the unit from them, I daresay it'll outlast and outperform the Samsung. Look up Broksonic on the web.
Note #2: I've owned three Samsung products in my lifetime:
-- The Worldwide VCR under discussion;
-- a 2006 DVD Recorder (with a tuner I never used);
-- and a pre-millennium GX three-point surround TV set, 12 inch screen (designed, I am told, for gamers, batwing doors over the screen; flip them open and they're the left and right speakers; looks very cool).
The TV has some inherent imperfections I didn't notice right away and won't catalog here, but I made allowances as it has been (and for a while will remain) a decent bedroom set of its type -- and it's still fully functional; though that's likely because all it needs to do is power on. I don't use the tuner and there are no moving parts within.
The DVD Recorder was finicky about blank disk brands (and types) out of the box, and though the manual warned that it would only support certain brands, it became even more finicky with time, eventually refusing to record on any disk of ANY brand (the deterioration was fast enough that I came in six weeks under the wire on the Tiger Direct protection plan, which gave me a full refund, so I was lucky).
Thus assessing all three products side-by-side, given their different functions and dates of manufacture (spanning about a decade), I'd have to say, in the end, Samsung products just don't deliver the goods. The designs are inelegant, the electronics range from imperfect to unreliable, and they don't stand the test of heavy use over the long haul.
 After all these years November 29, 2005
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This VCR is simple to use and robust. The conversion quality is ok, probably better than with most other multi-standard in this price range and definitely better than my region-free DVD player, which produces pauses that are noticeable during fast movements.
I have owned this VCR for 5 years now. I returned the first one under warranty for what I thought was a defect, but I now know was the Macrovision protection of my Sony VCR - I looped the signal through the other VCR before it reached the TV. The replacement has served us well for a long time - until my 2 year-old daughter force-fed it a Finding Nemo DVD. The DVD survived, the VCR did not. It does not load/unload cassettes properly anymore. I have been trying to figure out what the problem is, but the mechanics is complicated and fragile. I gave up and I am trying to replace it, only to find out that the sV-5000 is still the best choice out there. I will buy another one.
 Taped 60 tapes and then a $135 repair job... August 5, 2005
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
I bought this to help convert 250+ PAL VHS tapes to DVD. It was a bear to figure out how to set up - I am somewhere in the middle when it comes to technical know-how but this one was beyond me.
I gave up and let it sit for a year and a half - a very expensive paperweight. Finally got it working, and 60 tapes in it turned to nothing but snow.
Needless to say for the $300 price, I was NOT happy. 3 days and a $135 repair job later, I'm back in action. I have 150 tapes to go, and I am hoping and praying this thing lasts on me. I honestly don't expect it to...
I am definetly dissapointed in this one. Seems like it needs a lot of massaging to get it to work right, and when it does work, it doesn't last. Unit runs hot - very hot. I leave it right by the A/C to help keep it cool. Blocking it with anything will most likely result in a very crispy unit!
A soultion of the snow problem April 10, 2005
11 out of 13 found this review helpful
I've experienced the snow problem and have tried several methods.
Head cleaning: Not solved.
Reset: Not solved.
Unplugged the Samsung VCR for 12 hours: YES! The snow has completely disappeared!
Thanks to the tip by J.L. Alberti.
Follow up:
The same snow problem occured after multiple tests.
Unplugged the cord for a minute and the picture returned to normal.
Heating was not related with the problem. Digital noise on the conversion process might cause the snow and it could remains in the VCR.
So whenever you see the snow, unplug the cord and let it sit for about 30 seconds to a minute and try again.
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2006 Monster Bargains | | |
