Are there ANY combo units new today, that isn't crap? I just want a new VCR and a DVD recorder, that isn't going to have not only cheap mechanics, but also cheap firmware (I've seen my share of crappy firmware programming on these combos.).

It also needs to be able to disable macrovision. My TV's AGC doesn't play nice with Macrovision, so it looks like I'm playing a copied tape when I play a DVD live.

I doubt it to be honest -- Those things are junk!!

I had one and VHS playback was horrible! (A high pitch noise in playback,etc)

I went back to just a plain VCR which i love (It was a gift otherwise i wouldnt have had it. I dont like DVD's for the most part.. FLAT looking picture,etc)


Good luck :)

Yes i Agree those dvd vcrs are pretty bad.
you are better off getting single units i had a toshiba once in 2003 dvd vcr and the dvd player was a piece of junk dvds would get stuck all the time becasue of the belt on the dvd tray i put a rubber band in place of it & it seem to work fine but i sold it for $30 around 2008 or 09 i think i paid $170 at best buy and that was a store display model. what a rip off.

I've had a Panasonic EMR-DS35V for years, it's a combo that will also copy tapes to DVD, it's made thousands of Discs without a problem, it started to get a little cranky in it's old age but it still works.

Trouble is they don't make this model anymore, also it will not overlook Macrovision, in fact if you try to copy a Macro encoded VHS tape it'll refuse it.

Are you watching DVD's through an RF Modulator or through a VCR? that'll will cause problems with Macro because it's designed to foil exactly that.

Never had a problem watching DVD's on a set with Video inputs.

Are there ANY combo units new today, that isn't crap? I just want a new VCR and a DVD recorder, that isn't going to have not only cheap mechanics, but also cheap firmware (I've seen my share of crappy firmware programming on these combos.).

It also needs to be able to disable macrovision. My TV's AGC doesn't play nice with Macrovision, so it looks like I'm playing a copied tape when I play a DVD live.
Panasonic would be the best choice, and it's the least-crappiest you can find. Another good choice is Funai, and the DVD recorder side is slightly more-reliable than in Panasonic, but the VCR side is less-reliable than Panasonic. It's illegal to build one with Macrovision disabled, and you won't find one.

There's a Toshiba DVR620 and Magnavox ZV427MG9, all made by Funai, that get better customer reviews than Panasonic, so a Funai could be more-reliable than Panasonic.

Toshiba (Funai): http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-DVR620-DVD-Recorder-Black/dp/B001T6K7G6

Magnavox (Funai): http://www.amazon.com/Magnavox-ZV427MG9-Recorder-Combo-Up-Conversion/dp/B002TIHQLC/ref=pd_cp_e_2

Panasonic: http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMR-EZ48VP-K-1080p-Upconverting-Recorder/dp/B0014F9U6U/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1346741223&sr=1-1&keywords=panasonic+dvd+recorder+vcr

But don't hurry with a Toshiba. I would just go to Wal-Mart and pick up the Magnavox brand for slightly less than Toshiba.
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Yes i Agree those dvd vcrs are pretty bad.
you are better off getting single units i had a toshiba once in 2003 dvd vcr and the dvd player was a piece of junk dvds would get stuck all the time becasue of the belt on the dvd tray i put a rubber band in place of it & it seem to work fine but i sold it for $30 around 2008 or 09 i think i paid $170 at best buy and that was a store display model. what a rip off.
The one you described was made by Orion (Sansui), and they were okay from what I've heard. Belt breaks all the time, and it doesn't matter who made the unit. We treat it as normal wear and tear.
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I've had a Panasonic EMR-DS35V for years, it's a combo that will also copy tapes to DVD, it's made thousands of Discs without a problem, it started to get a little cranky in it's old age but it still works.

Trouble is they don't make this model anymore, also it will not overlook Macrovision, in fact if you try to copy a Macro encoded VHS tape it'll refuse it.

Are you watching DVD's through an RF Modulator or through a VCR? that'll will cause problems with Macro because it's designed to foil exactly that.

Never had a problem watching DVD's on a set with Video inputs.

I can only watch them through an RF modulator. I've tried a VCR, a philips RF modulator and my Blonder Tongue, and they all get messed up by Macrovision.. Dark, bright, dark, bright. So annoying.

I've got an old Toshiba D-VR6 and have been real pleased with the DVD recorders performance. I don't use the VCR because between NOT being able to record S-VHS(I stopped time shifting in normal VHS years before getting a DVD recorder), and the fact that it is a thrift store find with a lot of dirt inside(I don't want that dirt in my tapes) the VCR in it is far inferior to my 2003 JVC S-VHS-ET VCRs.

Your best bet IMO is to get a DVD recorder, and a macrovision remover and use them with one of those good VCRs you have mentioned in a different post.

Ugh, I had one too, it was a Samsung unit, paid $110 for it. VHS playback was horrid, even though I am not a videophile by any means I could tell the difference immediately. The DVD player broke too, as it stopped reading discs and it wasn't even used much! I eventually decided to recycle the machine.

Ugh, I had one too, it was a Samsung unit, paid $110 for it. VHS playback was horrid, even though I am not a videophile by any means I could tell the difference immediately. The DVD player broke too, as it stopped reading discs and it wasn't even used much! I eventually decided to recycle the machine.
Samsung is one of the least-reliable out there. I would feel much safer with Funai than Samsung, despite its cheaper name.

Unfortunately at the time I was buying I did not know that! Anyways good riddance as I won't have to be dealing with it anymore. I have at least 3-4 video gaming machines here that can do DVD playback, the PS2 does a great job and can be found for less than $10 at yard sales, and many VCR's, so no more combo units for me that's for sure.

I have about 6 combos around the house. 3 Philips units that work great (DVDR3545V- I got them mostly for the digital tuner since I only have antenna), a Toshiba (bought it, but never used it), and a Panasonic that also works great (the only one I have owned that will play VCR over HDMI, lol).

I have a Samsung that is decommissioned, because it won't play the last half of DVDs anymore. The Samsung I bought at a yard sale and it played fine for years, but recently decided to act up on the DVD side. I haven't tried to clean the pickup yet, I just got another Philips unit to replace it.

All of the others, the Philips, Panasonic, and Toshiba, all came into the recycler I work for. No idea why, they work fine. I do see some Panasonics with logic board failures, and Philips with DVD drive failures. But I don't think combos in general are as big piles of crap as everybody makes them out to be. Then again, these units are more toward the expensive end of the combo spectrum.

But I do recommend the DVDR3545V. it has a digital tuner, VCR (not just player), DVD-R, and HDMI (DVD side only).

I have never had the best luck with combo units. I had 2 Toshiba's. With those.. the DVD side was always glitchy. I sold them before they completely went out. I had a Sony that the VCR side always liked to go into auto track mode. Over and over and over....... I gave that one away. I have a JVC unit that has been fantastic so far, but it sees light use. And of course the Magnavox (one day wonder unit) that my Aunt bought. I did see a Panasonic unit gathering dust at a local Best Buy. Looks high end.. is a DVD recorder, AND has a digital tuner. I think it's a bit over 300.00 tho. If I had the money, I'd buy it.......

With experience with a couple of combo machines for demanding tasks archiving video for an academic department, I never used the VHS side of the decks because of the annoying noise and/or subpar picture, let alone the lack of flexibility and inevitable breakdown of that half of the machine. Plus, with the volume of tapes we had to do, we went through several machines. I second going with a Funai-based machine (a more recent Toshiba, Emerson, et al.). The VHS deck on it is garbage, but the DVD recording section has been very reliable (see this under "Archiving VHS": http://videokarma.org/showpost.php?p=3043886&postcount=7 ). I also recommend Panasonic. I also had a Samsung DVD-VR375 and it gradually became unreliable, so avoid Samsung (bad firmware, short life of the DVD recorder) and avoid Sony--both early (unreliable) and newer models (same reason, but made by Samsung).

Your best bet to find a good value on a machine is at a thrift or through an outlet wholesaler, where I picked a couple of my refurbished machines up for cheap. The prices for a new one is pretty astronomical and that option was out with our shoestring budget.

I am also sitting on a Panasonic DMR-E75V that was gifted to me from a relative. The DVD side works perfectly but when you put a tape in it does not play nor does it eject. He claims the problem happened because some kids shoved lego pieces in it but I don't see any in there. An Internet search for this unit also tells me that many people have this problem with this unit so I am chalking it up to normal wear.

Disc based DVD recorders are going for 50+ at the yard sales here in unknown condition so I consider this unit a blessing. Even though it took me a week or so to locate a recordable DVD RAM for it.