The Remote:

As anyone can tell you, 99% of the time we use CE equipment like the SV7000W, we operate it through a remote. The remote which ships with this VCR is fairly standard although it does include several options so that the input and output signals can be configured if necessary. Generally, the VCR seemed to choose the input signal of its' own accord, despite our attempts to change it. The output signal however could be changed to whatever signal standard we wished - thought with out a TV to support those signals there isn't much more to see than static.

As this VCR takes the signal from the VHS tape and digitally manipulates it to whatever the output signal is designated as, there are several effects that can be toggled on or off, including a "strobe effect", picture sharpness, variable playback speeds, an Art effect (alters picture contrast), automatic tracking, and the good old VCR+ system.

Picture Quality:

We tested the picture quality of the SV7000W by playing back two VHS tapes encoded with different broadcast standards onto an NTSC television. One tape was encoded to NTSC specifications, and the other to PAL. Since the images were digitally transferred from the source VHS tape we noticed no changes in picture quality on our television.

The images of both the PAL and NTSC tapes came through very clearly on our NTSC television so the effect of going between the two encoding standards was seamless.

Conclusions:

The SV7000W is a high-end VCR capable of playing any VHS tape anywhere in the world on any broadcast system. The versatility of this devices is quite astounding when one considers how the analog VHS tape is digitally manipulated into the various standards.

The unit is designed to be operated primarily from the remote control, and the absence of great many buttons on the front bezel reinforce this. The flip of cover is used to conceal all traces of buttons and the fake walnut sides give it a classy look. Considering the retail price hovers around $900CDN we would really expect no less.

On one last final note, the fast forward and rewind operations of this VCR are incredibly fast. During our tests, we were able to rewind/fast forward a 160min tape in about 2 minutes time. Rewinding can often generate a lot of noise from the VCR, but we found the SV7000W to be quite quiet during this operation. Additionally, the VCR throttles back the speed at which the tape is being rewound to prevent any accidental tape breakage by an abrupt stop.

The market for a VCR capable of playing tapes from anywhere in the world, to any type of broadcast system in the world is obviously a very specialized area. For the large set of features in the SV7000W you can expect to pay a pretty penny. But when all is said and done, the appearance and feature-set are there to support the multi-encoding compatibility. The SV7000W is a very innovative product and one which we are awarding the PCstats Editors Choice Award for its' sheer versatility.