Rating: 
Summary: If this is a typical Zenith product, I won't buy another...
Review: I bought this as a Christmas present for my husband in 2002. Immediately upon installation we noticed the unit having problems with pausing during DVD play and the VCR didn't want to rewind the VHS tapes -- you had to press rewind over and over, as many as ten times, to get it to rewind a tape.We contacted Zenith in early February and were told that although they wouldn't replace it (even though it was only 1 1/2 months old), we could send it in for an upgrade. They told us that the problem was an internal software upgrade to the unit, "in which the latest software version used by DVD manufacturers, is installed" (which begs the question why wasn't the latest software used during manufacture?). Zenith had UPS come and get it, and the last we've seen of it was a month ago, and whenever I try to get a customer service rep on the line, I get disconnected or bounced all over a voice system. A company should stand behind its product and replace it if it is new and not working properly. This is ridiculous and I won't buy another Zenith product.
Rating: 
Summary: Looks good and plays good
Review: I bought this for my husband for his birthday and he has played several DVD's and vhs tapes on this without any hassles or interruptions in the movies. It is very quite and a very good looking machine. It is about the same size as a regular VCR. I would recommend this to a family member or friend. I did a lot a reserch on DVD players a this was the best I found with the combo feature and research has payed off for my family!!
Rating: 
Summary: Very pleased for the money
Review: I have had my unit for less than a month but so far so good. First of all, I think the unit is very compact and stylish. More importantly, the color, clarity and audio are very good. My only complaint is that the buttons and corresponding labels on the unit itself and the remote are too small for a person with large hands and poor eyesight. However, with repeated use I guess I can overcome that drawback. I have two Zenith TVs which I love and so far am equally happy with this unit. I am so pleased that I plan to purchase this unit for a relative. As far as the bad experiences that some of the reviewers have had, I found in my extensive research on dvd players, that it seems to be hit or miss with almost every brand.
Rating:
Summary: Very pleased for the money
Review: I have had my unit for less than a month but so far so good. First of all, I think the unit is very compact and stylish. More importantly, the color, clarity and audio are very good. My only complaint is that the buttons and corresponding labels on the unit itself and the remote are too small for a person with large hands and poor eyesight. However, with repeated use I guess I can overcome that drawback. I have two Zenith TVs which I love and so far am equally happy with this unit. I am so pleased that I plan to purchase this unit for a relative. As far as the bad experiences that some of the reviewers have had, I found in my extensive research on dvd players, that it seems to be hit or miss with almost every brand.
Rating:
Summary: Zenith Products and Services are the worst ever
Review: I purchased a Zenith XBV243 Dual Deck DVD/VCR Combo
by Zenith for a Christmas present for my family. The unit would not play some movies and skipped sections of others. I called Zenith and they said it had to have a software upgrade. I was told where to take it and I did so. That was two months ago. The unit was sent to Zenith and they do not have the part. I call Zenith every week and they still do not have the part and will not replace the unit. They said I should have shipped it back to Amazon.com. They did not tell me that beofore I sent it in to them. I will never, ever purachse another Zenith product again.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent quality,Great video.
Review: I purchased this for a TV I have in my computer-room. This machine looks very sleek,and offers excellent performance.I do not use it as my main,home-theater set-up in the living room,but I'm sure it would work just fine there,as well.I am using it with a new small flat-screen TV and everything works well together.Very happy.
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment
Review: I thought all dvd/vcr combos were probably pretty much the same. I had a Sharp which I liked but needed to get another for my the teens' tv room. The Zenith was on sale. I don't use it much but here's what I don't like about it so far: programming is a pain. You can't use the number pad, and unlike even my 5-year-old VCR, you have to use up and down keys for the hour&minutes combined (that is, you push the up arrow and it goes from 12:00 to 12:01, up and it goes 12:01 to 12:02, etc. you can't separate the hour from the minutes for faster programming). On my Sharp, I can use either the number pad (with hour & minute separated) or the up & down arrows. In addition, it seems to have little versatility on rewind or FF. The same DVD which I can rewind in tiny segments on my Sharp can only be rewound (or fast forward) in big chunks on the Zenith. I have a feeling that Zenith is using the oldest available technology. The pathetic thing is that it cost just as much as my Sharp.
Rating:
Summary: Can pair up with old equipment.
Review: If unaccustomed to electronics the terminology in the manual is a surmountable challenge. Hook up is actually easy but if you miss a step (which station the television is tuned to for example) it won't work. Every needed set of wires is included. The DVD/VCR player had to connect to a five year old satellite receiver and from there to a seven year old TV. Both the video and DVD components play more clearly on the TV than the TV does by itself. None of the other components are Zenith which means this is a compatable machine.
Rating:
Summary: Very Pleased
Review: My husband and I bought this for Christmas for ourselves. We wanted a combo unit to save some space in the entertainment center. We reviewed Consumer Reports recomendations and then decided that the Zenith was our pick. It was fairly simple to hook-up to the TV and the menu's are easy to read and understand. Overall an A-.
Rating: 
Summary: Good quality playback on VHS and DVD, but poor design
Review: Picture and sound quality are good, but there are several major design flaws and lack of features. If the electricity goes off, all eight programs need to be reset - not just the clock. There are eight programs, but in order to record daily, seven days per week, you have to use up three of those eight programs - one for Mon.-Fri., one for Sat. and one for Sun. Setting start and stop times takes forever, because you can't key in the numbers - you have to use the arrows. The directions say that the power must be off for the timer to work, but that is not true. While the power is on, the timer will still come on and record over a tape that you don't want to record over.
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