Panasonic PV-VD4743S Progressive Scan DVD/VCR Combo
Impossible remote
I have a degree in Computer Science from U.C. Berkeley, so I'm not usually intimidated by technology.  But this remote is just impossible.  Lots of tiny, identical buttons with microscopic labels.  You can only use the remote using reading glasses in a strong light.  Many of the controls are non-intuitive even when you find the right buttons.  The manual is strikingly unhelpful; one of the worst I've seen.  <br />I actually bought a universal remote but this deck wouldn't respond to it at all.  <br />(Rant: user interface design is a well-understood discipline, so why is it that user interfaces seem to be getting worse rather than better?)  Anyway, I returned it and got a JVC XVC33U, which is much easier to use and has a vastly better manual.