Panasonic PV-VD4743S Progressive Scan DVD/VCR Combo
Nice Unit
I like the unit.  It's fundamentally a mid-priced VCR combined with a mid-priced DVD player.  You get the same basic functionality in the combined unit that you would get with similar mid-priced stand-alone components (e.g., progressive scan, 1 optical digital audio output, etc.)<br />I've owned 3 previous Panasonic VCRs over the years.  They've all been different models as I've upgraded over the years.  I've never had any problems with the transport/recording mechanism in Panasonic VCRs.  I never needed any of them to be repaired.  To me, this speaks highly of their manufacture.  There's no guarantee, of course, that every Panasonic VCR will treat you as well as they've treated me, but the leading consumer magazine has already rated their quality as superior.<br />The DVD player looks good to me.  No problems.<br />The remote is somewhat cluttered.  I guess they could have done a better job with arranging the buttons so that it's completely intuitive, but I've given them a pass on this, because when I perused the buttons to see what I would have done, I couldn't come up with any useful recommendations.  I think the clutter is the natural result of combining the buttons of two video components (a VCR and a DVD player) on one remote.  I didn't sweat it, and I learned how to use it effectively over time, as I'm sure you will.<br />The User's Manual drags my rating from a 5- to a 4-star, because it's not very good.  I'd say it's &quot;fair&quot;.  It's not designed very well, and the information is sometimes hard to grok.  It's useable, but only just.  If you've ever owned a Panasonic anything over the past decade, then know that the User's Guide for this product looks just like the user's guide you have...they haven't changed at all over the years.  They probably have the same people writing, editing, illustrating, designing them.  Don't get me wrong, it's not crud, but it's not great, either.<br />Despite this criticism of the User's Guide, I'd recommend the unit.  Most people have some facility with video components by now, and that knowledge will help you set up the unit and operate it.  It isn't rocket science, since this unit doesn't break much new ground in hook-ups or operation.  You can do it, and then just chuck the User's Guide in a drawer where it belongs.<br />The only thing that might be new to some people is how to hook-up the unit to use Progressive Scan.  Your TV will have to be compatible with progressive scanning, and the manual is a little dicey in this area particularly, but it's do-able and shouldn't really hinder you if you want the convenience of a well-manufactured combo unit.