If you can find a Panasonic AG-1330 commericial VCR, I highly recommend them. Built like a tank, with an excellent quality transport made mostly of metal. Very basic and bare bones - we use them in a university environment where they receive heavy use, and of the over 40 deployed in the field, none has ever been on my bench (aside from someone loading bad tapes into them). The only drawback - they're mono!!
-Richard
-Richard