2 comments about JVC HRXVC28B DVD/VCR Combo , Black.

1. I bought THREE of these things over the last two years ... at least two of them from Amazon. (The actual model number was different -- XVC20U in black -- but it's basically the same combo deck they've been selling for several years now. Now they've added progressive scan and DVD burner, other than that it looks like the exact same thing that I bought.)
   
   They worked fine at first, but after a while, DVDs started freezing up on them. Oddly, I have absolutely NO trouble playing music CDs in the very same drives.
   
   DVD freezing has happens on ALL THREE of them, but it is worse on the unit I have used most. It seems to do it less when the machine or the DVD has cooled down. It gets worse over time. Lens cleaning with a disc-brusher, lens cleaning via taking off the case for direct contact cleaning, and air-pressured dusting -- all do no good.
   
   Anyway, thanks to JVC I have several hundred dollars worth of DVD players that don't play DVDs ... other reviews (under various model numbers) suggest there's not a chance JVC will make good on them.
   
   I have had, in the past, good luck with JVC TVs and car stereo units, and I try to stay loyal to brands, suppliers and what not. But I seriously doubt I will be making any other JVC purchases due to these things. I suppose JVC doesn't place much value on their brand or image or they wouldn't have dumped this stuff into the marketplace.
   
   It seems to be getting harder and harder to find companies that bother to make products that are actually worth what you pay for them. I suppose companies that rip-off customers and laugh their way to the bank must be part of the "new economy" I keep hearing about.



2. The player looks different then the picture shows, and the remote is HUGE. The instructions are hard to read. The product itself is great though, It is easy to use and playes everything great. I would buy this product. Another thing is it burns DVD to VHS very good, records TV programs great too.I have hadItfor 8 months and have had no trouble with it freezing. This is the product to get!!!!

No comments about KiSS DP-1100 DiVX-Certified Slimline DVD Player.

5 comments about Remanufactured Samsung DVD-HD841 HDTV-Compatible Upconverter DVD Player.

1. I've had this player for a year now and it's a real dud. It's got a terrible remote pickup, bad menus and worst of all, it resets some of its settings while your watching a DVD. Stay away from this disaster.



2. Earlier this week I received the factory referbished Samsung HD841. I have had a few days to use it and compare it to my other players, mainly my Philips 642, which have been excellent players for me. This Model does well. I don't understand why this model has such a rough reveiw. Note, this model has the DVI output, If your TV has an HDMI port, you will want to check out the Samsung HD 850 (identical otherwise). First, this model has component, composite and S-video hook ups, as well as the DVI port (still have to run seperate sound out with DVI). Also, this model does feature digital coax sound out and optical sound out as well for systems that can handle 5.1 THX. Many upconvert models do not have the digital outs on lower priced models. The picture quality is great, at 480p comparable with my Philips. Again, The upconvert works well out the DVI hook up to my TV, but to be honest, it is hard to tell any difference between it and a good 480p progressive scan player, at least on my tv which is a 23" 720p LCD. Menus also are a bit difficult to figure out at first as well. The user manual is less than impressive at explaining thing, in fact, it does not have an index. But, it the main thing is that the player is does perform well, and is a name brand product from samsung (I have had some offbrand experience and have had perfomace problems). THis player also appears to have DivX available on it, not noted in the product discription, so that was a suprise as well. This will allow the use of MP4 movie files. The remote again is bigger and at first more difficult than my other players, but after a day or so it actually is better because many of the features are available to change at the push of a button instread of going through the menus. In all, I will continue to explore this new player, but in all it seems to be a quality product that has received some bad flack. So give it a chane, the prices are good currently, quality has been good, and it is a Samsung.
   Note to the technosavy: I have not had luck using the component upconvert code that is available on other web sites, so I am using my DVI input for upconvert. Also, the new Blue ray (HD 1080p) DVD players are out, so if you have the expensive hi res tvs that can handle this, you might want to wait and save till you can get the new DVD players.
   Note 2: the factory referbished models come with a DVI cable, a 20-30 dollar value that many don't come with.



3. I purchased this player for around 70 bucks shipped from an Ebay vendor last week. It was packaged as a recondition and arrived with new remote batteries and a DVI cable to boot. It was easy to setup with my Westinghouse 37inch LCD using DVI cable provided. I am no expert, but the picture looked fine to me and appeared to look sharper than an older non-upscaling DVD player we have for the old tube tv. With output settings at 1080I for the LCD and the HD841 it looked very good. I use a Harmony 880 remote for everything, so I cannot comment on the included remote.
   
   I think this was a resonable choice to fill the gap until HD discs and players come down in price and become more commonplace.



4. I had difficulty with this unit. It would play DVD's I made myself, but not any store bought DVD's through the DVI Cable. I called up Samsung support and found out that unless your TV is HDCP compliant then it will not play store bought DVD's through the DVI Cable. This unit only up converts through the DVI cable, so unless your TV\Monitor is HDCP compliant, do not expect it to work properly. (HDCP is a copy protection built into your hardware to prevent copying of the Movie).



5. Just as a note, the DTS skipping problem I was able to resolve by updating the firmware on the unit. You can download the firmware from Samsung's site. After that, DTS sound worked great and I didn't have anymore skipping.
   
   The problem I have is that it doesn't seem to want to output Dolby Digital to my receiver...it's sending a signal that gets detected as Dolby Pro Logic by my receiver which auto-detects the correct surround format. It's not my receiver as my comcast box sends out digital 5.1 and the receiver detects it correctly.
   
   This dvd player has been okay, but it's just clunky. I haven't had too many problems with the remote and not had any problems with the display. It works on par with any DVD player, but nothing special.
   
   When you can buy an Oppo-Digital DVD player for about the same price or lower, it just doesn't make much sense.

1 comments about Pyle PL-TVD122 In-Dash DVD/CD/MP3 Player with TV Tuner.

1. IT TO SLOW TO LOAD THE MP3 OR VIDEO, WHEN STAR THE REPRODUCTOR ALWAYS STAY IN CD MODE, LOST THE LAST MEMORY FOR MP3 BUT CONSERVE IN DVD VIDEO, HAVE EXCELLENT RESOLUCION, THE CONTROL IS EASY TO WORK AND THE TV IS VERY GOOD.

No comments about Daewoo DRT-S810 DVD + VHS Combo Recorder (Silver).

5 comments about Philips DVD750VR Progressive-Scan DVD-VCR Combo.

1. I gave this unit 3 stars based on the ease of use and how much I've liked the interface over the last year. Unfortunately, after the 1 year mark the DVD player is dying and constantly freezes up making it necessary to eject the DVD and then re-start the movie. The VCR is still working great.
   
   I'm in the market for a new DVD, and have been happy with Philips so far. I think this time we won't get another combo unit, though.



2. It was very disappointing to have an expensive (at the time of purchase over $200) piece of equipment break shortly after a year. and just after the warranty also ran out. The DVD player started skipping, then there was a clicking sound, and then finally a disc error, saying it can't read it, when the disc is perfectly fine and works in other players. The laser must be extremely poor in this machine. I will not buy another Phillips product.
   After this one broke, I bought a $50 cheapo DVD player and it's been working longer than the Phillips!!!



3. I am very frustrated with this product AND the support (or lack of) from Philips. This product began malfunctioning shortly after the 1-year warranty ended. I first began having problems with the DVD player. The DVD would either be read slowly or not at all. Eventually, I could not play anything in the DVD player. Now the VCR is no longer working. The video tape is stuck inside and I have the message "Err 2" blinking on the display. When I reported these problems to Philips, I received the following message:
   
   "Dear Philips Customer,
   Thank you for your email to Philips Customer Care.
   We understand that you need to bring your DVD player to one of our
   Service Centers for repair. However, your unit is not maintained by any of our Authorized Service Centers. We advise you to call your local
   repair centers to help you determine the problem of your unit.
   "
   I can not find a local repair center that will even look at this product. So now, I'm back in the market of a DVD player and VCR player.
   
   I am very sorry that I wasted my time and money on this product. Thanks for nothing Philips.



4. I've had mine for 3 or 4 years with not one single mechanical problem even though both the DVD and VCR get A LOT of regular (daily) use. My trouble is that I've lost my manual, recently set up a cable box and can't figure out how to coordinate the machine with the cable box!! And I usually NEVER have trouble programming these things. It's making me feel a little moronic and I'm considering buying a new machine solely for a sense of vindication.



5. We paid more than $200 for this piece of junk a couple years back. The remote is really difficult to use, and there are no buttons on the VCR to operate it (beyond PLAY and STOP) without the remote. Worst of all, the VCR died within 2 months and 3 uses. Now it just sits there on the entertainment center, taking up room and reminding us of our wasted dollars.

5 comments about JVC HR-XVC33U Progressive-Scan DVD/VCR Combo , Silver.

1. Because of a good price on-line, I bought this unit to replace a separate Panasonic DVD player and a Samsung VCR. I have been disappointed in the performance of the DVD player, which seems inferior to my entry-level progressive scan Panasonic. The player is also much fussier about which disks it will play. In addition, the remote is very difficult to navigate in the relatively dim environs of my home theater. I have since returned the Panasonic to home theater use and will use the JVC combo in the bedroom.



2. I purchased this DVD/VCR combo just two weeks ago and already the VCR section of the player does not work. Electronics are just not what they used to be. Returned the item and would not recommend to anyone.



3. I haven't yet had a problem with the DVD player on this unit. The VCR seems to work OK too, and I figured out how to program timer recording easily. A cool feature is that it reads your tape and tells you how much time you have left on it to record when you aren't sure if you have room for a program. The only real drawback I had was the hookup instructions. They were needlessly complicated and could have been written a lot simpler than they were. Once I figured out what I needed to do, hookup was a breeze. But the reading the directions made it harder, not easier.



4. I have owned this unit for about 15 months now. I bought it as a bedroom unit. I wanted a good DVD player and a VHS to transfer TiVo content onto tape. I was especially interested in getting a high-quality DVD as I have a high-end Panasonic 20" LCD TV in the bedroom. I am very happy with the picture quality of the DVD player to say the least. I watch 4-5 movies per week due to a large DVD collection and NetFlix. In fact, I do the majority of my DVD viewing in the bedroon, not my main LR HT setup. I watched "The Incredibles" on this player a few nights ago and it looked stunning. I appreciate the front AV connections to connect my TiVO to the unit to transfer recordings onto tape. I have had no mechanical problems with this player in all the time I've owned it. The remote is good, there is a good setup\adjustment menu. It gives me everything I want and I get it for a very inexpensive price!
   
   -Mike



5. I bought THREE of these things over the last two years ... at least two of them from Amazon. (The actual model number was different -- XVC20U in black -- but it's basically the same combo deck they've been selling for several years now. Now they've added progressive scan and DVD burner, other than that it looks like the exact same thing that I bought.)
   
   They worked fine at first, but after a while, DVDs started freezing up on them. Oddly, I have absolutely NO trouble playing music CDs in the very same drives.
   
   DVD freezing has has happened on all of them, but it is worse on the unit I have used most. It seems to do it less when the machine or the DVD has cooled down. It gets worse over time. Lens cleaning with a disc-brusher, lens cleaning via taking off the case for direct contact cleaning, and air-pressured dusting -- all do no good.
   
   Anyway, thanks to JVC I have several hundred dollars worth of DVD players that don't play DVDs ... other reviews (under various model numbers) suggest there's not a chance JVC will make good on them.
   
   I have had, in the past, good luck with JVC TVs and car stereo units, and I try to stay loyal to brands, suppliers and what not. But I seriously doubt I will be making any other JVC purchases due to these things. I suppose JVC doesn't place much value on their brand or image or they wouldn't have dumped this stuff into the marketplace.
   
   It seems to be getting harder and harder to find companies that bother to make products that are actually worth what you pay for them. I suppose companies that rip-off customers and laugh their way to the bank must be part of the "new economy" I keep hearing about.

No comments about Mickey Dual Deck DVD and 4-head Hi-Fi VCR Player.

5 comments about Philips DVDR600VR DVD Recorder with VCR.

1. I've had this unit over a year, and have had LOTS of problems. It conked out shortly after I bought it and had to go back to the factory for over 2 months. Now it has a new set of annoying habits, particularly a loud fan that goes on and off seemingly at random. Look for something else!



2. I am totally frustrated with the Philips DVDR600VR. I recorded exactly 2 DVDs before it quit working. Now I can't get it to either read or record a DVD. The remote is awful as the unit responds to the commands at an extremely slow pace. A complete waste of over $300. Now I have to send it in for repair.



3. I liked the unit when I first received it, but really only used it a dozen times within a year and a half. My daughter went to use it the other day and told me it wasn't working, as usual I thought it was something she was doing wrong. I looked at it and said you have to turn the power on my dear for the unit to work, she just looked at me and walked away. Two hours later I was still trying to turn the power on, it was dead with no signs of life. Not sure what happenend but all of my other electronics were working fine, so I ruled out any kind of lighting strike. Of course I was a few months out of warranty and when I called a Phillips representative to find out where I could take it to get repaired he just told me to take it to Best Buy. I didn't even know Best Buy repaired electronics, I don't think they do. Overall I would say now this is a bad experience since I paid $386 for the unit and barely used it at all, now I have to get it repaired or just junk it. So stay away and buy a Sony, that is what all my other electronic toys are and some I had for about 20 yrs and are still working fine and never purchased an extended warranty either.



4. Job one for a DVD player (even one that records on DVD and VHS) is to play what you've recorded, and to play your DVDs. Good luck getting this hunk of junk to play your store-bought DVDs. Half the time, when offering you a menu, it will not highlight the menu items so you can't actually choose anything. Which of course brings your viewing to an abrupt end.
   
   As to recording, this thing does not allow you to dub digitally from an outside source to the DVD player. So much for the wonder of digital imagery.
   
   I'm very unhappy with the machine -- I'd say you should avoid it.



5. BEWARE: DVDs are non-standard & incompatible
   
   I am bitterly disappointed with the Philips DVDR-3400 recorder, and suppose that all of its line has the same problems.
   
   I did not find out until I had burned 300+ DVDs that the disk directory structure created by these Phillips machines is defective. The main title on the disk you make will appear to "play" on your home DVD player... but ALL of the post-recording edits made (cutting out parts you didn't want etc.) are LOST.
   
   AND most PC-based DVD players and other software won't handle the disk, so if you wrote your home movies to disk for long-term archiving, you're out of luck.
   
   I don't know how a company the size of Phillips can release such a piece of [...]. They HAD to know of these problems. I am sick to think of the time I have lost. All I have is junk to show for it. And yes, I did everything right (finalizing the disks etc).
   
   Add to this the terrible remote control with rubbery, no-feedback keys that often don't work; little provision for using the deck for playback, etc. etc. (read other's complaints) and you have a real loser here.
   
   I bought my first Phillips tape recorder in 1968. I will never buy another Phillips product.

No comments about KiSS DP-1504 Slimline DVD Player with Ethernet & Wireless Connections and 40 GB Hard Drive.