this $1500 TOTL wonder is one of the most uniquely beautiful VCRs ever made. how many TOTL S-VHS models do you know of with a woodgrain veneered top bonnet? very unique indeed. it is also built like a tank, with the most solid transport block i have ever seen in a VCR, period. the cage is made of HEAVY STEEL, not the light metal sheet that VCR transport cages are usually constructed of. i have made S-VHS copies of the "Steel Angel Kurumi" Anime, using the PIONEER DV-09 DVD player as the source. the resultant tapes were STAGGERINGLY close to the original DVD, in both sound and picture. further, most every video i have played back through it looks sharper than in any other VCR i have ever owned, incuding the much-lauded MITSUBISHIs. BTW, i have taken the rather awkward looking stock pedistal-like isolator feet, and replaced them with a set from a DENON CDP. with thick pads from the otherwise worthless (IMO) 1990 SONY SLV-R5UC S-VHS. JVC has made "better" S-VHS models than this, such as the HR-S10000U, but this is still a unique model that stands alone...