best dvd vcr combo?

[Dat]

not too much info out there...
anyone own the toshiba sdv280 or the samsung dvd v2000 or the go video dvr-4000 wanna weigh in?

 

[Kroffty]

check out http://www.consumerreports.org
I think they did an artical about them.

 

[rgwalt]

I own neither. I have separate units because I bought at different times. Here is my 2cents anyway though...

While a combo unit seems like a good idea (saves space, one less remote, less cableing, etc) what happens if one of the two units goes out? There is no way to replace it, and fixing it would be more expensive than buying a new unit. I would say buy separate units. They are making very low form factor DVD players now.

Why else do you want an all-in-one?

Ryan

 

[RigorousT]

My friend insisted on this 2-in-1 solution against my conscience. He bought a Go-Video VCR/DVD combo from Crutchfield. It looked sleek and seemed great, until we tried playing a Bond movie. It would constantly slow down/freeze up at certain points in the movie. Then a little while later we tried Mask of Zorro and it had the same problems. We tried a half dozen other discs, and 2 more had similar problems. First we thought it was a heat factor, so we took the unit off our electronic stack and dedicated a fan to it... that seemed to help for a short period of time, but sure enough the problem persisted again. He RMA'd it for a replacement, but we found that one to have the same problems. Finally he returned it and bought each as a stand alone.

I strongly urge you to check www.audioreview.com/epionions.com before purchasing. Look to see if there is mention of incompatibilities or user grievances. It will protect your sanity in the long run -- Especially since VCRs these days seem almost built to be disposable with tuners that go bad, jams, ect.. You can buy a 4 head VCR for $70 at Walmart and a decent DVD player for around $100, about the same price as a combo.

Still, for some people they don't have a choice with their space limitations, and if you really are after a combo, atleast buy from a local place or somewhere with quality support. Good luck!

--RT

 

[Dat]

hmm yeah you guys are right. I'm gonna go with two units instead of the combo. that way, i get a bit more flexibility.

thanks for the heads up on consumer reports. pretty interesting.

 

[Wolfsraider]

i too cannot help you as i personaly don't own a combo unit but thought you might like to know about a cheap dvd player
that plays as good or better than most more expensive models.

i bought this dvd player at bestbuy for 59.00 and it plays anything i throw at it i leave it running all night.it plays music cd's ripped cd's
copies vcd's svcd's it will list folders for games burnt on after a vcd but obviously won't play them lol

the model is dvd100a made by shimsonic and for 59.00 it plays much more than any comparable model also plays stuff a panasonic and sony won't even though those cost 200-300 us i don't have model #'s for the others but my friends couldn't believe that mine plays everything and their much more expensive models wouldn't

i think they are 79.00 now but still a heck of a deal

hope this helps

mike