I've been thinking about purchasing such a unit; but, mostly all I see are those Funai built plastic jobs that have many different brand names on them. I can't tell you how many of those I have tossed because either the cheap VCR mechanism fails, the DVD mechanism fails, or they die all together. And, their cheap construction does not make for easy service. If these cheap Funai's are my only option, I'll probably do without.

I know there are likely no current VHS transports being made that are as well made as our old '80's VCR's; but, I hope there is something out there that's better than a Funai. A metal case and built in ATSC tuner with RF output would also be a big plus.

I might even go for a VHS/DVD recorder if I can find a good one. I have a lot of VHS tapes that I'd like to transfer to DVD.

DECENT is a key word here... I have had a Panasonic DMR EZ47V for about 5 years and consider it to be well made and decent quality. BUT it is a real pain to operate, and the only piece of consumer electronics that I have to refer to the operators manual to use. Channel changing of the ATSC tuner is quite slow, making "surfing" unpleasant, at best. Locks up on occasion, requiring reset.
The newer EZ48 model does not appear to offer many improvements,,, read the reviews here.

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMR-EZ48VP-K-1080p-Upconverting-Recorder/dp/B0014F9U6U/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1294857450&sr=8-5

not affiliated,
jr

Try getting a JVC, I have found that Panasonic machines often have trouble tracking tapes properly - this was the case even when Panasonic and JVC were owned by the same company.

Regarding the best DVD/VCR quality, I still think Panasonic makes the most reliable out there. It's the one with DVD recorder/VCR. JVC is actually made by LG Electronics. JVC stopped making DVD/VCR combos in 2007.

I had one ONE TIME,it was a piece of garbage!

VHS playback was horrible,(All kinds of noise in it) the unit made all kinds of noise,etc..


I dont like DVD's for the most part so it doesnt matter anyway...

If you'd like to find a used one, the Panasonic DMR-ES35V is a good bet. I've had two of them now, one bought new and the other from eBay. The one we bought new had to have its dvd drive replaced with the Pansonic Service Center Flat rate, but compared to problems I've read about other brands, that seemed quite insignificant, especially since I could actually get it fixed out of warrenty instead of having to junk it.

The used one has performed flawlessly for me; I've never had to reset it or anything, and the recording quality is excellent. Even the VHS side produces excellent recordings from our converter box. I did notice that it had a hard time tracking tapes made by an old Sony vcr from 20 years ago, but that could be the Sony's fault. Other than that, the recording quality and the reliability of these units makes them a good bet for a combo unit. They are a bit hard to find in working condition, though.

Hey guys I have always had good luck with RCA, Samsung, Panasonic those would be the best options that are availible in my opinion..

Try getting a JVC, I have found that Panasonic machines often have trouble tracking tapes properly - this was the case even when Panasonic and JVC were owned by the same company.

Panasonic and JVC were never owned by the same company. JVC was the originator of the VHS format. Panasonic and others had to pay for the rights to build VHS units. You're right that the newer Panasonics were poor at tracking. I found that a tape made on a newer Panasonic wouldn't play properly on another machine and vice-versa.

I return to my earlier posts about the JVC SR-V10U. It is the finest VHS player I have ever seen but not a combo unit. Tie it to a DVD recorder and you are set. It has a built-in digital TBC that fixes everything. No noise, no jitter. Major flagging is another story. Your DVD will be only as good as what you send to it.

The combo units that are left on the big box shelves should stay there.

I would buy a standalone DVD recorder if I were you, as mentioned above you'll end up having a VHS/DVD recorder that will eventually fail with the VHS part or both, DVD/VHS combos I find to be utter garbage... Flimsy pieces of plastic the mechanical mechanisms are made out of, and you'll be lucky to get 100 hours of tape play before it fails.. I would also use a pre 1990 VHS VCR to record from... They seem to put off a much better picture and will track the tape properly, and not to mention you'll have less problems with it in the future as long as you keep the belts maintained..

If you are using old tapes to record from you'll most likely have tracking issues, and also if the tape is seized up a little from setting around you'll most likely end up breaking the transport gears into pieces..

Hey guys if you use a pre 90s vcr the best is sharp or RCA vcrs to copy from and he is right about the tracking issues between new and old machines old is the way to go.. Timothy

My 2002 Panasonic VCR still works every bit as well as it did the day I bought it. I had a Panny VCR before that with VCR Plus+ that also worked well, but a tape jammed in it after about three years. Literally had to wreck the machine to get the tape out. Oh well, it's probably just as well since VCR Plus+ is no longer used (my local newspaper no longer prints VCR Plus+ codes in the TV guide listings) and VCRs themselves are obsolete, having been upstaged by DVRs -- who knows what may supersede those? My best guess is DVD recorders, although there are still copyright issues to contend with if VHS tapes of old (or not so old) network TV shows and the like are transferred to DVD.

Panasonic and JVC were never owned by the same company. JVC was the originator of the VHS format.
Actually, Panasonic (formerly called Matsushita) owned JVC from 1953 until 2008.

I've had this Emerson combo player for eight years. It gets about two hours of play every day and so far no problems.

http://www.videokarma.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=172721&d=1325437383

VCR+ has a website where one can have codes generated for specific dates and times (I had to use it a couple of years back to get around not having the original remote for a deck.

I wish I had known about this site while I still had my Panasonic VCR with VCR Plus+, and it was still working. Some time after the machine jammed on me, IIRC, the local newspaper had stopped printing VCR Plus+ codes. The Cleveland newspaper still prints them every day in their weekly TV listings magazine and also in the paper itself, in the entertainment section. Until I saw Electronic M's post, I had no idea VCR Plus+ was still in use these days, as most manufacturers of standalone VCRs (when such machines were still available and were built halfway decently, not like the offshore junk we are seeing now) stopped installing VCR Plus+ in their machines some years ago. The only remnant of my Panasonic VCR Plus+ VCR I still have is the remote, which I saved because it will work with my current Pana machine.

VCRs themselves are obsolete, having been upstaged by DVRs -- who knows what may supersede those? My best guess is DVD recorders, although there are still copyright issues to contend with if VHS tapes of old (or not so old) network TV shows and the like are transferred to DVD.

How about Blu-ray?:

http://bswusa.com/DVD-Recorders-Players-Tascam-BD-R2000-P7422.aspx

A bit expensive yet, but really hasn't the trend shifted toward hard drive or memory chip or "cloud" storage? Are disks/tapes needed anymore for recording TV programs?

Not affiliated ,
jr

How about Blu-ray?:

http://bswusa.com/DVD-Recorders-Players-Tascam-BD-R2000-P7422.aspx

A bit expensive yet, but really hasn't the trend shifted toward hard drive or memory chip or "cloud" storage? Are disks/tapes needed anymore for recording TV programs?

Not affiliated ,
jr

I wasn't thinking about Blu-ray when I wrote my post, but after reading yours, I now wonder how long that format will be around. Hard drive storage for video has been around for some time, in the form of TiVo systems. Cloud storage is yet another possibility, but I don't know about memory chips. Video takes quite a bit of room on a hard drive and at least as much on a chip, so any ROM/RAM memory chip designed for video storage is going to need hundreds of gigabytes of dedicated storage space to archive any decent number of programs. I don't know how TiVo does it with a hard drive; I bet those run out of space after only three or four normal length TV programs. It might even be possible to use an entire TiVo hard drive to store a single movie, say three hours in length. Since I don't know exactly how much space a TiVo drive has, I'm only guessing; maybe these already have hard drives with storage space in excess of 100 gb.

Hard drive storage for video has been around for some time, in the form of TiVo systems. Cloud storage is yet another possibility, but I don't know about memory chips. Video takes quite a bit of room on a hard drive and at least as much on a chip, so any ROM/RAM memory chip designed for video storage is going to need hundreds of gigabytes of dedicated storage space to archive any decent number of programs..

Yes! Hard Drive storage really appears to be popular at this point in time. Very few people that I know are even interested in recording TV programs to tape, DVD or even Blu Ray anymore. It appears that "little shiny disks" are on quite a downward trend.

As the cost of computer memory keeps dropping, this trend will accelerate... 1 TB (1000GB) hard drives are down to slightly over $100 now, and memory chips are dropping quickly as well. For example, I have one 64GB SDXC card with several full length movies and many shorter programs stored on it. In time, hard drive storage may well be replaced by solid state memory, as prices of memory chips/cards continue to decrease.

just my 2 cents,
jr

Orion-made DVD/VCR combos seem to be okay, usually under the Toshiba brand.

I have an LG VCR/DVD combo but all I ever use is the VHS side as I have it hooked to an older Magnavox DVD recorder that for a long time saw daily use. I don't like the menu on the LG and find it hard to manage to be honest. It plays VHS tapes fairly decent, at least good enough to dub off to a DVD. I'm recording off-air programs from TV from 20+ years ago that haven't made it to DVD yet and it does okay for that. I would agree with others that you're probably better off to find a well-serviced stand-alone VCR from the time when they were built better and run it to a stand-alone DVD recorder or your computer.

I've had this Emerson combo player for eight years. It gets about two hours of play every day and so far no problems.

http://www.videokarma.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=172721&d=1325437383

I have a similar Toshiba that I use in the shop when not watching the vintage sets, and it has a great pic. Had the earlier model that bit the dust just before the warranty was up, and they replaced it no charge. Going to keep it until it craps out.

I think Panasonic make the best ones. I would not consider (or be happy) with anything else.