Anyone make a DECENT VHS/DVD combo?
 

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-...4857450&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..

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.

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...1&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.