5 comments about Magnavox MRV700R DVD Player/Recorder and VCR Combo.

1. This is the SECOND time I'm packing this thing back up to return in the last 30 days. When we initally bought this, we came home & after about 2 hours of trying to figure out the hookup and installation, I contacted Magnaxox only to find out I had a "defective" player. The VHS wasn't working (I could hear sound, but picture was only black & white wavy lines) and the DVD would not play at all (No disc message). It also made a very loud noise when a DVD was inserted. SO... we drive back down to the store we purchased it, which is 45 minutes away (we live in a rural area), and exchanged it for another one. I get home, hook it up (quicker this time), try a VHS tape. It was working, so I was optimistic...tried the DVD player... YES, it works. I was very relieved and put away the box and paperwork, feeling very happy that it was just a defective player the first time. Well.... that feeling was pretty short lived. Three weeks after use, I went to put a DVD in & started getting the message "No Disc". Uh-oh... I tried several others, just in case it was the DVD. Nope-same message. I put a VHS tape in to see if that was working alright. It began playing but within 3-4 minutes, it stopped. When I tried to eject the tape, it would not eject. When I tried to open the DVD player to remove the DVD, it would not open. Oh joy.. I unplugged it, and was going to try again, but at that point the player would not even turn on. At all. So... I unplugged it for the evening with intentions of returning it immediately. My husband plugged it in the next day and it came on & he was able to remove our movies (thankfully). The DVD is still not working, the VHS works but now there is this mysterious "snow" on the television whenever we turn this on. Hmmmm..... I believe this player is a dud. I am returning it this weekend and am buying another brand. This DVD/VCR Recorder combo has created a good deal of stress for me and probably raised my blood pressure as well:) Seriously though, I would not recommend this one. I would give it zero stars, if that were an option :)



2. an irritating constant humming noise when unit is off
   
   clock always fast
   
   takes too long to start up, miss out on first minutes of recording a show "on demand"
   
   sometimes dvd menu freezes up so i either have to unplug unit
   or wait until the off button eventually kicks in and the unit shuts off and start all over.
   
   however, the playing/rewinding modes for dvds and vhs are good



3. Hi! I am reading these reviews and laughing at how frustrated everyone is. READ the manual, yes. PUSH a button, yes. This deck has been a god-sent for me as I am transferring all of my undergraduate work to digital media. The extra fun features are neat if you're a couch potato. Initial setup was nothing at all, Pro Scan automatically scanned every catv channel and pretty much did everything on its own. If you KNOW what you WANT, the challenges of learning new electronics give great benefits. :-)
   
   xx~



4. I used ours to record occasional shows and play DVDs. All told, we probably used it about 4-5 times a week -- very little for a DVD/VCR. Once we installed it, we never moved the thing, so it was virtually undisturbed. Yet the VCR playback heads went kaput after only 6 months of use.
   
   Learn from our experience -- find another brand!!



5. I'm astonished at how loud the fan noise is in our model. It emits a high pitched wining sound. It's tolerable during the day but at night I find myself turning off the power strip. Operating the DVD wasn't too bad after reading the manual. It took some patience since the manual or menu features aren't entirely user friendly. Another annoying quirk is when we turn on the unit to use the VCR, the VCR will come on and then immediately switch over to the DVD. We have to hit the VCR button to put it back in VCR mode. We've had this model for a few years and decided to keep it since we got it for a terrific sale price.

5 comments about Toshiba MD9DM1 9-Inch AC/DC TV-DVD Combo.

1. I purchased my first DVD player back in 1999. I knew it was only a matter of time before I purchased a unit that my kids (3 & 6 years old) could watch while driving vacation trips and so forth. For the last 5 years I have used a 9" TV/VCR combo while traveling on long trips in the car. Since we no longer buy VHS, I knew it was time to upgrade. I sincerely wanted one of those cool little portable units that can be used on airplanes, restaurants, at the beach, and... hey wait a minute! I don't fly that often. I go to a restaurant to eat! And at the beach... forget about it! I didn't see the need to spend ($$$$) for something I would use so little. Not to mention the fact that they appear very breakable and I've heard of skipping problems. On the other hand, this unit is AWESOME! This unit may be larger and heavier than those cool little overpriced units that have "Steal Me / Break Me" written all over them, but let me break down a few of the advantages.

   1. It's Cheaper.
   2. You can travel in your vehicle with it.
   3. It comes with a free car adapter (unlike smaller units).
   4. It's cable ready
   5. You can use it as a permanent TV/DVD player in your home.
   (We use ours in the kitchen w/ cable)
   6. The audio/video quality is excellent.
   7. It's not as likely to be stolen or broken as a smaller unit.
   8. Headphone Jack (You can buy a splitter and use 2 headphones,
   this makes for a peaceful drive with a 3 & 6 year old).
   9. It's a Toshiba
   10. It's Cheaper!

   The only negative thing I have found about this player is the "Mute" button. If there's a "Mute" button on this thing, I haven't found it yet! Shop around for the best price on this unit. I managed to pick mine up for ($$$). Now you can't beat that. My neighbors and friends are envious. I have relatives who paid twice this much for a player and watch a DVD on a whopping 5" screen. If you have money to burn, buy the smaller more expensive portable unit, but if you have an average middle class kind of family like myself, check this out!




2. This is definitely a good unit; small, great digital sound, good screen size, with lot's of features (but no mute button on unit, nor on remote). However, you might be interested in buying this unit because of it's main feature, an integrated DVD player, right? But, here's the problem: sometimes it reads DVD's, sometimes it doesn't!!! My first unit, which was later replaced by Best Buy, constantly gave me an "Incorrect Disc" message on screen when trying to play certain DVD's. At first I thought, the lens might be dirty - those I cleaned with a professional lens cleaning DVD. When I popped in a DVD movie, Boom! same message on screen. Long story made short, the unit was replaced with a new one, but after about 100 hours of use, same annonying message. I thought ok, maybe it's not reading certain discs/movies correctly, but that's not the case. I watched "Ice Age" with my kids a few nights ago, and then last night I was just curious - I popped the...DVD in, crossed my fingers, pushed the Play button and there: them two annoying words again. Mind you, after about 10 trys, I gave up. I will put my unit to the test again tonight...



3. Pros: Perfect size for car, good looking design, every function you could want.

   Cons: Picture not as sharp as any [] 13", remote too big, no DVD info display.

   Summary: We just bought the Toshiba MD9DM1 9" TV []and think it's a great bargain what it can do. It fits perfectly between the two front seats of our minivan, but I did opt for a canvas type carry bag that makes it hold in place really well. Everything about it functions extremely well, and I really like the front AV inputs as well as the rear AV outputs. That's a super design plus because the inputs are great for game systems or watching video camera stuff, while the outputs allow me to hook the unit up to a larger TV, say at a hotel or something and watch DVDs where there is a bigger TV, but not a DVD player available. I also really like the car power adapter because it's got good length to it. It must be at least 8ft because I can plug it into to my van's rear AC output and the cord easily reaches the rear of the TV up between the front seats. Many such cords are 6 feet, and wouldn't allow this. I also like that this is a stereo unit, with a headphone jack in the front. I don't know of another such 9" TV that has all these conveniences in one, at this great price. The Toshiba MD9DM1 also has an appealing all silver cabinet that is sleek and modern looking.

   As far as any complaints about it, they're minor for me. The picture is not as sharp as a 13" [] TV I have it outputted to right now as I write this watching a DVD, but that was expected a little due to it's size. Also the remote it came with is as big or bigger than any other remote I own, counting 2 other DVD players, and 3 other TVs so not sure why they couldn't have gone with a smaller design. And finally, I find that I miss being able to see the time and track details while viewing a DVD, since there is no display on the unit like you'd have on a standard DVD player. Maybe there's a way to call it up onscreen with the remote, but I havn't found it yet in the few days I've played with it.

   A great TV/DVD combo for any portable need. Great design and functionality. It has everything from front AV inputs, rear AV outputs, headphone jack, long car AC cord, etc. Super!




4. THIS HAS TO BE THE BEST INVESTMENT YET. WITH THREE CHILDREN WATCHING AT THE SAME TIME IT WAS PERFECT THE SMALLER DVD PLAYERS ARE REALLY JUST FOR TWO OR LESS WITH NOT MUCH SCREEN TO SEE. FROM CT TO VA WHAT A WAY TO GO. ONLY THING THAT IS WAS A LITTLE BULKY IN BETWEEN THE FRONT SEATS WE HAD THIS IN A SEDAN.



5. What a lifesaver!! I purchased this for our 10 hr drive to Canada. The kids loved it which made the drive so much better..I had originally purchased a small portable DVD player, but was so glad that I returned it and bought this instead. The carrying bag for the car is such a handy item, it fit nice and secure in my SUV. I'd recommend this for anyone taking a long trip in the car.

No comments about Clarion VRX775VD DVD Multimedia Station with 7" Touch Panel Control.

5 comments about GoVideo VR 1940 DVD Recorder/VCR Combo.

1. Have now returned my second unit...this time for a refund.
   Unit 1: DVD did not work
   Unit 2: Recording from camcorder i.link worked about 80% of the time. When I stopped the recording the unit froze and I would have to re-record the section. Of course the available recording time of the DVD disk was reduced like the item was recorded. After numerous times I got tired of this and sent the unit back. Additionally, I would add titles to the thumbnails and lock them, then they would disappear.
   
   E-mailed Govideo customer service and got no response.



2. Although I purchased a different unit, the GoVideo 8440 Portable DVD Player, it played exactly 6 movies before dying. GoVideo replaced it with a refurbished model, which arrived in non-working condition. I received a THIRD replacement unit (new)from GoVideo, which failed within minutes out of the box. Please note that I have since discovered that GoVideo Inc. is NOT a member of the Better Business Bureau of Central/Northern Arizona and has MULTIPLE complaints against the company. Purchase at your own risk!!



3. Please do not purchase this machine, it has numerous bugs and glitches. The errors I've found:
   1. If you hit 'stop' on a DVD it marks the stop. (which is great if you turn it off and turn it on..it knows where to pick back up). Unfortunately EVERY time it restarts and hits the marked stop it will skip back to the beginning of that chapter.
   2. Repeatedly the DVD selection screen will lockup. It shows the command menu but not the curser. Ejecting and reloading the disc solves the problem.
   3. The remote is remarkably cheap and poorly made.
   
   All told this machine is not worth your money. Purchase any other company's recorder instead.



4. This is the worst and most expensive DVD player I've bought. I wanted the DVD recorder. Shortly after the warranty period ended the problems began. The DVD door sticks. The remote works sporadically. The record timer shuts off early. And just to add insult to injury the DVD locks up now. No more Go Video machines for me!



5. I recently orderd the dvd recorder box. I found the prouduct in great conditon despite fedex's handling methods! The instructions were easy to read and the box is easy to understand how to use it, with step by step instructions even those who are not good with electrical devices, I found this one amazingly simple. The downfall is To record dvd to vhs is difficutl because of the "protected materal" lable. Movies I had recorded from a dual vhs I couldnt record on to dvd.I was able to recored not protcted content off of a dvd to a vhs. I couldnt record it then on to a blank dvd. I didnt see a format listed anyware on the instructons guide for what dvd I should be using, like R-w or some other type, over all despite that everything is good.

1 comments about Samsung DVD-VR330 DVD??RW/RAM/VCR Combo Recorder with TV Tuner.

1. From almost the beginning of use with this unit, we have had constant issues with almost every aspect. Within the first month, we started getting "disk can not be read" messages on random discs. After cleaning the disc, sometimes they would play, sometimes they would error out. We have even had this happen with brand new movies right out of the packaging.
   
   As far as the recording functionality, we were never able to get it to finish a recording session, and would have to unplug the machine before we could get the disk out. The only positive for this unit is that we have had no problems with using it as a VCR.
   
   I will personally never buy a Samsung product again after all the frustration of owning this unit.

2 comments about Remanufactured Samsung DVD-V8600 DVD/CD Player w/Built-in HiFi VCR & Flash Reader.

1. I am giving this product 1 star due to the incapacity of the VHS player. I had it less the 24 hrs and it would not eject the tape that I and the family was watching. I called Samsung Corp. about this problem, and they told me I had to pay for the maintenance because they sold an expired warranty. I bought one from NEW Companies, but they wouldn't accept that warranty. This is the last product from Samsung, that I will ever buy. The price alone on this product is exaggerated because the product don't live up to it's potential. And plus it is supposed to be brand new/remanufactured. I'll stick with my Panasonics, or Sony's from now on.



2. I haven'nt bought a remanufactured electronics product before, so I was a bit sceptical. But I am amazed at the crisp quality of this product. For the price, I took a chance and so far (3 weeks), I haven't had any problems. The player looks elegant with easy user interface. Product appeared to be factory sealed with a 90-day warranty.

5 comments about Refurbished RCA DRC8310N DVD Recorder/VCR Combination.

1. Like so many other people, I was hooked on this by the awesome price. I bought it for under $80, and I figured a DVD recorder for that cheap wouldn't be top of the line, but I figured it to work.
   
   The first one I got worked well for about a week. Then, the video went out. By the time I got a hold of the company, the two week return window for refurbished products had elapsed. But, it had a 30 day warranty through the company that refurbishes the machine, so I had to send it back.
   
   The company took a long time sending the RMA, which you have to wait for to return the item. It was six weeks after I bought it, so I was afraid they wouldn't accept it, but they did. In fact, the upgraded it to the next model up when they returned it.
   
   My happiness lasted for about two minutes. The new deck wouldn't turn on at all. It was basically a brick. I made another call to them, told them it was the second time, and I hope that there would be no problems. I was quite angry on the phone.
   
   This time, the RMA came much sooner, and they even included a prepaid UPS label. The unit that came this time was tested, and so far it works fine. It's only been a week though.
   
   Buying one of these RCA refurbished products seems to be a crapshoot. If it works, it is actually a nice machine. It is easy to use, gives you a good picture on the higher quality recordings, and fits in well with your other home theater equipment. I would give it 4 stars if I could be sure it worked. As it is, with all the problems and bad units, it gets one star.
   
   Bottom Line: If you are willing to put in the work it may take to make the calls, return the unit, and stay on top of things until you get a good one, and accept you are probably buying a disposable machine, it is probably worth it. If you want something that you can be sure will work right out of the box, then go with a better machine.



2. Can't believe the bad things I'm hearing about this combo.I've had one for about 8 months and have had no problems at all.



3. RCA has joined the long list of corporations whose names used to mean quality -- Zenith comes to mind. This VCR-DVD combination joins its unworthy predecessor the DRC8295 (of which I bought two and promptly returned them) as fraudulent commodities. It is, unfortunately for me, just well-enough made to outlive the warranty so i'm stuck with the beast. Beware of all American and all Japanese (!!!) electronics produced in China. The Chinese seem to have adopted American, not Japanese, industrial philosophy and, since WalMart rules, bad drives out good every time. Old Enough to Remember, Mt. Desert, ME



4. Well, I purchased my unit brand spanking new. It didn't work. I took it to the store, exchanged it and the new one worked, for a while. As soon as the warranty ran out,(six months though I had thought it was a year, read the fine print carefully), the machine started having problems loading DVDs to play and record. Well, a slight tap on the machine would allow it to load.
   
   (hint, if it isn't loading or recognizing the DVD, tap it above where the DVD goes and it will load.)
   
   Well, this was annoying but at least it worked. Well, now it doesn't. It has been a few more months and the electronics have freaked out and it won't load anything. In fact it is hard to get the thing to just run the signal pass-through module so I can watch TV. (It has all the connections that my TIVO, cable digital tuner box, etc. go to before going to the TV.)
   I can't get help from RCA. Literally, I can't get them on the phone. I have since learned that this unit has bad issues for many people. I so wish I had been able to research it before I bought it.
   
   BAD POINTS:
   * The remote is clumsy and difficult to use.
   * The interfaces for recording are difficult to use.
   * Titles for your DVD recordings are limited to ten letters and it is very time consuming and difficult to title them.
   * It does not record more than 2.3 gigs on a DVD. (about half what a DVD holds).
   * The "bad word" censoring feature doesn't work properly. For example, F-bombs come through loud and clear and when somebody says "G** D**n" God gets filtered but the D**n comes through. (Also, you can't watch a church program at all because every religious word just about is filtered. The two lower filter settings don't seem to filter anything.
   * The DVD disk tray is poorly designed and it is easy for the disc to slip while the tray retracts. It retracts with enough force to break the DVD and it doesn't eject it immediately if there is a problem as most other DVD machines do. (I lost a DVD, I had placed it properly but the tray retracts so forcibly that they dislodge sometimes and one time it caught it just right and snap.)
   * The machine is way bigger than normal and is too wide to fit some entertainment centers. It is over four inches wider than my TIVO series 2 which is about as wide as any electronic devices are built these days.
   
   GOOD POINTS:
   - plays region specific DVDs with no problem but also plays nonregion specific DVDs.
   - No problems with Macrovision when backing up your old VHS tapes to DVD.
   - Plays DVD+R, DVD-R, and every other format I have tried. Seems to handle every CODEC too. Not picky at all.
   
   
   OVERALL:
   Would have been an OK machine despite short comings except that the manufacturing quality is so bad. (NOTE: I will NEVER buy another RCA product EVER!)
   
   AVOID even if it is $30, it isn't worth it unless you need a good boat anchor.



5. Bought this at WalMart about 2 years ago. Started off ok, then the problems started. You never know when you are going to have a problem. The number 1 problem is finding a disk that will work. The stupid system must like the first disk it sees. Every time I try any other disk than the 1st one I used, I spend an hour or two trying to get the system started. Right now I am watching the stupid pile of junk going thru it's menus in slow motion. This started about 4 hours ago. Nothing is easy on this system. I should have taken it back after it stopped working after a few weeks. I got it going again and went thru a few more weeks and it all started again. I will find a new and better one somewhere and then watch this thing burn in a very hot fire in my back yard. I can't wait until then.

5 comments about Panasonic DMR-ES30VS DVD Recorder/VCR Combo.

1. I purchased this machine to replace my Go Video DVD Vhs recorder which gave me problems from day one. This machine does beautiful copying on tape or dvd disc, and also is wonderful for transferring one to another. It uses several types of disc, which is convenient to the "electronically gifted". The machine has just a few flaws though, for one thing the instruction manuel is one of the most CONFUSING things I have ever read. Also, when transferring from tape to disc, you cannot edit by pausing. The remote control is like most, it has almost too many buttons too close to each other. But this machine DOES make beautiful copies on all speeds,and does not freeze up or distort sound like the Go Video. To finish, if panasonic were to ask me what they could do to improve it, I would only have a few suggestions, all which would just make it EASIER, Not more complex!



2. This thing works well, if you use Panasonic friendly disks (-r,-rw,-ram). I've been able to record TV shows and replay them just fine. The software does the job, which is really the only perk of this DVD recorder.
   
   This DVD recorder burns in some proprietary format, so your disks (-r,-rw) cannot be played on other DVD players (including computer DVD players).
   
   The lack of compatibility with other disk types and DVD players makes this DVD Recorder a bust. If there is something else available, go for it. I guess I'll try to unload it on eBay!



3. I've had my Panasonic DMR 30VS recorder for over a year now, and I'm very satisfied with all of the recordings I've made off of my satellite (Dish)
   network. Dubbing my old VHS tapes to disk has been satisfactory too.
   I'm no techie, and maybe my learning curve was longer than most peoples, but I feel that once you get comfortable with the unit it will do everything you ask it to do. It may not be the quickest or the slickest, or the pricest, but it gets the job done nicely. (For me.) This unit makes my 4th Panasonic product. (2VCRs and 1 CRT TV.) I'm buying a new Panasonic HD (LCD) TV next year. IMO they make a great product.



4. I purchased this mainly to transfer home VCR tapes to DVD. The step by step instructions can be a bit confusing and need to be followed. "It does an excellent job." One drawback - You HAVE to read the manual thoroughly.



5. This DVD Recorder has greatly exceeded my expectations. I have only had it for about a month, but I love it! Everything I have tried to do has been fairly easy to figure out, and the menus are helpful and easy to navigate. It improved the video quality of our home videos when I transferred them to DVD. So far I have nothing to complain about with this unit. I would buy it again.

1 comments about RCA DRC8295N DVD+R/ DVD+RW RECORDER WITH VCR.

1. I wish I was able to give this a negative number for a review. I bought this machine brand new from Mall*Wart and loved it at first. Very easy to use, easy menu system, etc. I was not surprised when after a week a disc did not burn properly, nor was I surprised when a disc would not finalize. But it progressively got worse. After awhile, it wouldn't even play "store bought" dvds. They would play for a while then skip and lock up. Soon, it would only accept Memorex DVD+R. every other brand I tried it would say either disc error, no disc inserted or tell me I had 54 hours, 16 minutes of recording time available!! I wish!! Then it started happening even to the Memorex DVD+R. If I tried to record to a disc that said I had 54 hours available, it would say disc error and start to finalize. It would burn one disc fine, the next would be full of errors, the next would be fine, the next two would be full of errors. ETC ETC Well it got to the point where it will not burn a disc at all, nor will it even play discs previously burned and finalized with this machine. JUNK JUNK JUNK!! Stay away from RCA. What a waste of money

1 comments about Insignia NS-DVDVCR DVD-VCR Combo.

1. This only received light use over the 4 months I have owned it since Christmas, and it was working perfectly fine the day before it stopped functioning. I think it was only left running all night once, and other than that was mainly used on weekends for a few hours at a time. (One or two tv episodes or a movie or so.) One day, it just reads "Unknown Disc" and nothing can be done to fix it. Lovely, plus its JUST out of its 90 day manufacturer warranty. Lovely.