DVD/VHS Combo players!

I want to replace my old DVD player with one that supports all of the latest
DVD formats and I think I want a combo DVD/VHS-unit, I've looked around on
the web and right now I'm leaning toward the Sony SLV-D300P! Any thoughts,
recommendations?

Thanks!
--
Ray
www.rayspace.com/gallery.html
-------------------------------------------
"I'd rather wake up in the middle of nowhere,
than in any city on earth" - Steve McQueen

Lunaray

Lunaray wrote:

> I want to replace my old DVD player with one that supports all of the latest
> DVD formats and I think I want a combo DVD/VHS-unit, I've looked around on
> the web and right now I'm leaning toward the Sony SLV-D300P! Any thoughts,
> recommendations?
>
> Thanks!


My recommendation is probably one you don't want to hear, but I'd say
you should avoid combo dvd/vhs units at all costs. When confronted
with a similar desire to yours about two years ago, I did some research
and heard nothing but complaints about these things breaking down. I
opted to get a slim DVD player (Panasonic RV32) and a reasonably slim
VCR (Hitachi VTFX665A). This turned out to be a good decision for me.
I'd suggest doing some research and finding the best and slimmest
DVD players and VCRs out there and just stack 'em on top of one another.
For the DVD player I recommend Philips DVP642. As for VCRs, I have
absolutely no idea anymore. I got an RCA VR546 a year ago and it has
been reliable, but I don't put it to the test much. I bought it mainly
because it got halfway decent reviews (which says a lot for the pathetic
state of VCR manufacturing these days) and because overstock.com offered
it for 40 bucks. My pseudo "combo unit" cost me $95 and I have not
regretted the decision.

JB

Joe Blow

Thanks JB, your comments are very helpful and they have made me reconsider!
I already have two VHS players and though they're a few years old, they
really haven't seen a lot of heavy use, so buying another VHS stand-alone
wouldn't make any sense. I was just hoping to streamline my system, but if
it means a piece of equipment that is unreliable, or of poor quality, I
guess I should stick with individual components! Thanks again!

Lunaray

WE have 2 both have been great, have no complaints at all. Have had them for
well over two years.
"Lunaray" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Thanks JB, your comments are very helpful and they have made me
reconsider!
> I already have two VHS players and though they're a few years old, they
> really haven't seen a lot of heavy use, so buying another VHS stand-alone
> wouldn't make any sense. I was just hoping to streamline my system, but
if
> it means a piece of equipment that is unreliable, or of poor quality, I
> guess I should stick with individual components! Thanks again!
>
>

Chris and Rod Farran

On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 21:46:14 -0800, Lunaray <> wrote:
>I want to replace my old DVD player with one that supports all of the latest
>DVD formats and I think I want a combo DVD/VHS-unit, I've looked around on
>the web and right now I'm leaning toward the Sony SLV-D300P! Any thoughts,
>recommendations?

Stay away from sony. You'll be luck if it lives a month past the waranty
period, especially with their cheaper consumer goods.

TCS

On 1/15/2005 11:06:42 PM, Lunaray wrote:

> Thanks JB, your comments are very helpful and they have made me
> reconsider! I already have two VHS players and though they're a few
> years old, they really haven't seen a lot of heavy use, so buying
> another VHS stand-alone wouldn't make any sense. I was just hoping to
> streamline my system, but if it means a piece of equipment that is
> unreliable, or of poor quality, I guess I should stick with individual
> components! Thanks again!

Remember, his research is two years old. It's quite likely that they've
been made more reliable since then. I would suggest you do your own
research before jumping to any conclusions.
--
"Time is not important, only life is important"

Now playing: "Genesis - The Knife"

Tarkus

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 09:43:45 -0800, Tarkus <> wrote:
>On 1/15/2005 11:06:42 PM, Lunaray wrote:

>> Thanks JB, your comments are very helpful and they have made me
>> reconsider! I already have two VHS players and though they're a few
>> years old, they really haven't seen a lot of heavy use, so buying
>> another VHS stand-alone wouldn't make any sense. I was just hoping to
>> streamline my system, but if it means a piece of equipment that is
>> unreliable, or of poor quality, I guess I should stick with individual
>> components! Thanks again!

>Remember, his research is two years old. It's quite likely that they've
>been made more reliable since then. I would suggest you do your own
>research before jumping to any conclusions.

The reliabilty is the same as two individual components taped together.
Whichever part (dvd, vhs) dies first is going to determine the reliability
of the entire combo player (duh.)

I'd worry more about the DVD side. Cheap players rarely last two years while
VCRs nowadays routinely last 10 years.

A cheapass walmart unit won't last a year.

TCS

All just opinions I guess, I've had lots of Sony products over the years;
receivers, cassette decks, DVD player, TV's, Walkman, R2R recorder, lots of
stuff, and not one item has ever failed me, 'guess it's like cars, every
manufacturer puts out a few lemons!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Stay away from sony. You'll be luck if it lives a month past the waranty
> period, especially with their cheaper consumer goods.

Lunaray

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 11:28:45 -0800, Lunaray <> wrote:
>All just opinions I guess, I've had lots of Sony products over the years;
>receivers, cassette decks, DVD player, TV's, Walkman, R2R recorder, lots of
>stuff, and not one item has ever failed me, 'guess it's like cars, every
>manufacturer puts out a few lemons!

Maybe you've avoided their cheapest offerings. I do a bit of repair work
on the side and sony's don't impress me. Often they are built to be assembled
once with connectors that break if used twice. Nobody can outcheap sony;
they'll do things to save a penny even if it means reducing the lifespan
from decades to months.

If sony were a car, I guess it'd be a Hyundai. Sufficient engineering, but
a design philosophy around using the cheapest parts possible.

TCS

On 1/16/2005 10:38:40 AM, TCS wrote:

> The reliabilty is the same as two individual components taped together.
> Whichever part (dvd, vhs) dies first is going to determine the
> reliability of the entire combo player (duh.)

Not necessarily, because they certainly share some components. So it's
not like they have two of everything to possibly fail.

I would agree that you should probably stay away from the cheap Wal-Mart
units if you want it to last, though.

Personally, I've had great luck with both VHS and DVD players, but I've
tended to stay away from the generic units.
--
"The term is 'courting,' thank you. The restraining order
says 'no-no,' but her eyes say 'yes-yes.'"

Now playing: "Genesis - The Knife"

Tarkus