Help a polecat out.
About a year ago I bought an inexpensive Toshiba vcr/dvd combo. Guess what? It turned out to be a piece of crap. Tape unit works fine, dvd player stutters and freezes. After going on line and asking around, I learned that Toshiba is basically a very bad brand when it comes to dvd players.
I was given a Panasonic vcr/dvd combo. Guess what? It turned out to be a piece of crap, too. Same problem. Tape unit works fine, dvd player stutters and freezes.
I don’t have a lot of money, but I’m thinking it’s just not worth fooling around with bottom-of-the-line models any more. Can somebody out there recommend a unit running from $200 to $300? What makes and models have you been happy with?
No Toshiba. I’ve sworn off Toshiba for life. Maybe Panasonic, too.
I have always stayed away from combos because I have never know anyone who had one who didn’t regret buying it. Look at it this way: one of the two components is gonna go on the fritz eventually, and when it does you have have to junk the other, working component because it’s attached. Both people I know who currently have combos can only use one half of it: one’s VCR half is fritzed, the other’s DVD player half is bustit.
I say stay away.
I have one of these combo units, bought it after my VCR died and I gave my working DVD player to my parents. It’s an Allegro, made by Zenith. The DVD player is awesome, but the VCR component sucks. It can’t record in any speed but SP (two hours per tape) without extreme jumping picture the entire time, ruining the recording. Of course, it can’t play any of my old VHS tapes either, since I usually recorded in SLP to fit two movies on each tape. I am very frustrated with it… but I bought it in December 2004, and these things aren’t built to last either.