The New Toshiba SD-V296 Tunerless DVD VCR Combo Player
CUSTOMER REVIEW
My review is a lot different from most of the people here.
I saw the reviews others wrote, which were very negative, and one or two that felt it was a good solid basic machine.
I have used toshiba in my profession and it is generally a solid, quality brand. Not schnazzy and spiffy, but solid. A few quirks, but it gets the job done.
What I have done/intend to do with this machine:
1--Replace my old vcr which my son destroyed
2--Play old VHS tapes that have been given to us by friends/family, mainly children's videos
3--Play DVD's (for the children and for us--playing them on my laptop it's too quiet).
On these three points, honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better deal. the price was under $50 when I purchased it last week, and it's brand spanking new, not a refurb, and everything works good. The sound quality for the VHS side is not extra quiet for my tv. In fact, I had to turn it down some. DVD worked great too.
What I have NOT tried to do/don't intend to do:
1--record old vhs's to DVD
2--Hook this puppy into a state of the art audio/visual home theater
3--set the timer for recording programs automatically.
In these more advanced digital age things, probably this is not the best tool. All I wanted was something that could play both vhs and dvd's mainly to entertain our kids and sometimes for me and my wife. Our TV is not enthroned in honor in our house, it is just a tool. Our life doesn't focus around TV programming, so all we really needed was something to play VHS and DVD when we need or want.
Now it's possible if you have a nice nice system, you've already spent hundreds of $$$ on HD stuff, then maybe you need something that is more compatible. Check carefully on brands and make sure they have the exact connections you need, or you can end up spending a lot of money.
Also, if you have a TV that only goes through Co-ax, you'll need a special box to convert the RCA to Co-ax, and the manual says you might find reduced quality if you do.
So if you just need a basic solid piece of equipment to play your vids, I think you can't beat this one. The price has raised since I bought it, but it's still the most affordable one as of today, and I'm glad I got one for well under $100.