Please Suggest A DVD/VCR Combo for Mom & Dad (1 Viewer)

[WilliamG]

... for a Christmas gift, as I'm trying to do some early shopping. They have a 32" TV and have absolutely no interest in anything other than "watching movies"- read:no HT. Simple operation is a BIG plus. The old Emerson(!)VCR has bit the dust. This will be their introduction to the world of DVD. And wish me luck explaining why "those black bars are there and the picture doesn't fill up the screen!" Fortunately, that's another topic!!

 

[ChuckSolo]

I bought a Zenith DVD/VCR Combo from Circuit City for $169.00. It is a great unit and I use it in my bedroom. The DVD player is excellent as is the VCR. I have had this unit for almost 3 months now with absolutely no problems whatsoever. The remote takes some getting used to but other than that, I am happy with it.

 

[WilliamG]

Thanks, Chuck! I'll look into that one. Do you know if it's comparable to the Samsung combo unit?

 

[Vin]

I also have the Zenith. I caught an unadvertised sale of $144 (regular price was $159 at the time but it seems they've dropped the price...see link).

I have it connected to a 20" Toshiba TV in my kitchen. I'm very happy with the Zenith...if you do a comparison I think you'll find that the Zenith can handle more formats than the Samsung.

Good luck,
Vin

 

[Jerome Grate]

I'm using a Samsung unit in the bedroom, I think it's a great unit. Great picture, I think this unit does SQPB better than any unit I've seen.

 

[ChuckSolo]

William - I don't have any experience with the Samsung unit although my wife bought a Sony Combo unit for her office that seems to work great. The downside is that she paid over $200.00 for it.

 

[Bill Will]

William G, Don't known if this is important or not but some of the VCR/DVD Combos will copy non-Macrovision DVD's to video tape. I'm not to sure which brands will & which brands won't but I'm pretty sure that JVC will & Sony, Samsung, & Panasonic won't. Check www.crutchfield.com for more info on them.

 

[ChuckSolo]

The documentation for the Zenith unit clearly states that non-Macrovision DVDs will copy and explains how to do it. It clearly states that any DVD with Macrovision protection will not copy and will display a message to that effect.

 

[WilliamG]

Chuck and Bill,

Copying DVD's is not a factor in the decision. That will never be done, as neither of them will even think about that. They're interested in renting videos/DVD's only, and see nothing in purchasing. Yes, I hear you :b But they're both in their late 60's/mid 70's and are not electronically inclined.
Saying that, ease of use IS a factor, but I don't know of a single combo units' remote that really is that user-friendly.

Chuck,
Re: Sony unit:Yeah, I understand, but the $$ limit is $200. No more. If things were different, maybe ...

 

[James Edward]

I set up the one below for a friend- it is 129.00 at JandR(they do mail order). I was pleasantly surprised at how well it performed and how easy it was to operate. Buttons on the remote could have been bigger, but a 9.99 RatShack remote would solve that.

GO VIDEO DV1130

 

[ChuckSolo]

I have a friend who has the GoVideo machine and it appears to be a good player. I don't think that there is any really bad combo unit, although I returned a Daewoo combo player because it made a relatively loud whirring noise when playing tapes and it left a bar "graph" type graphic on the screen when the zoom mode was used in DVD mode. It drove my wife crazy so I returned it in favor of the Zenith unit.

 

[Mark Philp]

WilliamG:
I would guess that I'm much closer to your parents' age than yours, so I'll make a suggestion. Before you make your choice, look at the size of the buttons on the remote and how they are labeled. We just got a new Sanyo combo (don't remember the #)at work and it has really tiny buttons and is hard to read in a low-light room. This isn't meant as a slam to anybody, it's just that I know first-hand that my vision isn't what it was when I was 21. If all they want to do is watch movies, I would suggest you get a very basic and simple model without a lot of bells and whistles they won't use. There are a lot of people with VCRs that still blink "12:00" because it's too comlicated for them to set the clock. You sound like a good guy and I'm sure they'll really appreciate what you get.

 

[ChuckSolo]

The Zenith unit I got has automatic time setting on it. I just plugged the RF cable into it and it automatically set the time and date.

 

[Mark Philp]

I understand that most VCRs now set the time and date automatically, but I was just using that as an example. The point I was trying to make was that those of us who enjoy this hobby sometimes forget that there are many people, out there, who just don't understand this stuff like we do. I think manufacturers sometimes forget about them too. I once bought a Mitsubishi VCR which was one of the easiest machines I ever had, but the instruction manual was 111 pages long. I wonder how many folks own those and still have them blinking 12:00.