Samsung DVD-V1000 DVD-VCR Combo
A Near Excellent DVD/VCR Combo Second to None
This is an excellent choice overall. It has many useful features to it. The remote however lacks a lighted keypad this should be standard these days. An additional drawback is whenever the VCR channel is changed the VCR signal interupts the television mode, on most video players this usually happens only when going from TV to VCR mode. This is a real pain if you use picture-in-picture (PIP) as I do, you then have to press the TV/VCR button after changing channels. Also this has NO VCR Plus capabilty (a minor drawback). Hookup for this unit is easy. It transmits an excellent picture even when the cable signal is a little weak, unlike the Panasonic PV-D4761 that has every feature imaginable but has miserable picture quality in VCR mode, whether playing back a program you taped with it or simply watching the cable piped through it. As great as the picture quality is on this Smsung with both the DVD and VCR/Cable the Philips DVD/VCR combo picture is slightly better, however the philips ate my VHS tape & seamed to lack an illuminated front panel clock. The Samsung is an excellent electronics gift or self purchase. It doesn't have all the features of the Panasonic PV-D4761 but it has every one of them you'd need and more than a few that you would want including 2x & 4x zoom. It plays CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3, VCD, and quasi S-VHS the panasonic does not play all of these CD types and cost me approx [price] more than the Samsung & Philips.