Apex ADV-3800 Progressive-Scan DVD-VCR Combo
Bit twice by this unit -- not a 3rd time
I wanted to like this product -- I did.  I was looking for a replacement &quot;hi fi&quot; VCR as well as a new DVD player and the price seemed right.<br />I ended up returning the first unit after one day because the VCR refused to track tapes -- even tapes it recorded itself.  Every tape would just scroll and scroll.  And you'd think by 2004 that any mass-produced VCR would *not* need manual &quot;tracking&quot; buttons, wouldn't you?  This does...  They just don't work that well.<br />The replacement unit had an audible &quot;clunk&quot; when the VCR heads parked the tape at insertion/power off.  The tracking was much better, but still the picture rolled occasionally.<br />And I then saw the random counter display come up on-screen while playing a DVD.<br />And I also fully agree with the comments about the remote.  It's too small and as a VCR remote, it's layout is pretty bad.  Also (IMO) the on-screen programming setup is pretty awful.  For example,  you have to manually enter the numerical day of the week -- even for the current day -- by typing in numbers instead of being able to scroll through the available days.<br />And, it shows a lack of professionalism for the manual to offer it's web site up as a contact but (as of this writing in Jan 2004) it's not an active site yet!<br />All in all, not worth the $90 I paid for it (on sale).  It goes back to the store for a full refund as I feel I can't trust it to function correctly as a VCR *or* DVD player.  Back to the drawing board...