Panasonic PV-D4752 DVD-VCR Combo
Great DVD picture; good remote; good VCR
Pros: It was really easy to set up. Lots of great DVD controls on the remote. Programming the remote to recognize my TV was a snap (but see Cons below). The digital quality of the DVD actually blew me away! And the simulated Surround Sound is all it's cracked up to be. The crescendoing sound made during the \\"THX\\" logo made the hairs on my neck stood up. We had our Sony stereo TV on and have the duo deck connected to our stereo receiver. No formal \\"home entertainment\\" equipment, and it sounded great. The DVD looks stylish and operates quietly in the DVD mode. The VCR is louder than our old unit, BUT the loud rewind is rewinding faster than any other unit I've owned. Also, there are three levels of on-screen rewinding so you don't have to blow through your show while fast-forwarding through commercials. This unit does have Movie Advance and Commercial Advance, but I don't use those functions.<br />Cons: Mostly remote control complaints: no mute button, no channel jump (for TV and VCR), and the \\"light\\" button only lights up the top fifth of the remote (though I wasn't used to a light function, anyway). But the thing that may take getting used to is that children's tapes of half hour sometimes will not be accepted into the machine. The manual says the VCR plays standard 2, 4, 6, and 8 hour tapes, and it almost seems as if my toddler's tapes are too light to be accepted. But, I have been able to get some of them to be accepted by just working with them. Though, I'm afraid I might break the unit. My personal workaround is to only use those tapes with my old GE VCR that I know will accept them. Maybe the machine just needs breaking in?