Toshiba SD-V295 Tunerless DVD VCR Combo Player

I haven't had this very long, so I can't comment on it's reliability, just it's function. It works fine as far as recording and playback of VHS tape, and the DVD is good. I esp. like the DVD feature that remembers where you left off viewing a DVD. When you power the unit up, it starts right where you stopped the DVD. Great for those 3 and 4 hour movies it takes 2 (or 3) days to watch. The function indicators for DVD or VCR are tiny little boxes on the unit, and are both the same color. I wish they would have just made them different colored lights, or 1 led for VCR and 2 for DVD or some such...of course you can tell which function you're on if the TV is on, but if you just want to eject a disk or tape, you have to be right in front of the player to see which function you've got. The remote control is the big problem with this otherwise nice deal. It's only 6" long and 2" wide, and the buttons are tiny, and the print by the buttons is microscopic. And you can see the labels for the DVD functions OK (barely), but for the VHS functions, they used a dark mustard colored print that is awful to try and see. You need to keep a flashlight handy, which (along with the tiny buttons) kind of takes away that "braille" method of getting used to your remote. Luckily, I had a larger remote from another Toshiba DVD player I own. It's cream colored (as opposed to black, like the new one) and has big, easy to read labels, but I still have to use the new one for the VCR. So why the tiny remote for this job-ee-do? I don't know. Also, on the remote, they put the REW and FWD buttons right in between the SKIP FWD and BACK buttons, so you try to go for the rewind or forward on a DVD, and end up skipping froward or back a whole scene! Very painful! And also, they put the SLOW button up and right, away from the other play buttons, NEXT TO THE OPEN/CLOSE button, so there's more potential fun. Remember, it's tuner-less, so you can't hook it up with your coaxial cable, it has to hook up directly to a cable or satellite box. You need one of those 3 lead cables, with two audio and one video, which, by the way the cheapskates don't provide with the unit, so don't forget to get one. Well, otherwise, it works well, is inexpensive, and is pretty.

This has been the perfect solution for us. I needed to replace an older model VCR/DVD combo player that died and this has been a great replacement. Yes, there is no tuner, but we do not need one for playing DVD and VHS tapes on my daughters television. The packaging and all other info on this unit clearly states there is no tuner so I do not understand some folks confusion there. The remote works just fine no issues and playback quality has been wonderfull. It would be nice if the VHS and DVD could both be hooked up through S-video, but this is a minor issue and if you read the specs before purchasing you know this. All in all this has been a great unit for the inexpensive price. If all you need is something low tech to play your VHS tapes and DVDs on a non-HDTV then I would recommend this unit.

I bought this to record programs from TV/Cable to watch later. You have to remember to set the Timer Record button and cannot watch TV until the show has been recorded. Or you can undo the Timer Record button, watch another program, them remember to set the Timer Record button when you are finished. Very inconvenient.
You can, however, watch a DVD while your VCR is set in Record Mode/Prepare to Record Mode! Unfortunately this does not work well with me.

I purchased this DVD/VHS player for my foster daughter for Christmas.
She is very happy with it.

Deliver was as forecast by Amazon.
This replaced my previous Tobshiba VCR and DVD player. Operation was integrated and much simpler than with the previous two pieces of equipment. Installation was almost nothing. Plugged it in as described in the summary sheet, turned it on, and all worked without a problem.