Rating: 
Summary: Not too impressed
Review: Because of a good price on-line, I bought this unit to replace a separate Panasonic DVD player and a Samsung VCR. I have been disappointed in the performance of the DVD player, which seems inferior to my entry-level progressive scan Panasonic. The player is also much fussier about which disks it will play. In addition, the remote is very difficult to navigate in the relatively dim environs of my home theater. I have since returned the Panasonic to home theater use and will use the JVC combo in the bedroom.
Rating: 
Summary: Good remote but.......
Review: I am on my third one and it's going back too. The first had a problem with the door on the VCR. I couldn't get the tape out with out holding the door open with my hand. The second and third ones have blurry vision on VCR playback. I have stuck with this unit so long because I loved the remote. Well laid out, big buttons, easy to read. On the pluss side the DVD works fine. But that's it for me with this unit.
Rating: 
Summary: An Exceptional Value
Review: I am truly amazed at the technology and features bundled into this entry-level priced unit! Progessive scan DVD player with on-board Dolby Digital & DTS, Hi-Fi VCR, ability to play CD, CD-R, CD-RW including CD-R's containing MP3's and JPEG image files...for $159.00 or less!!! Set-up was straightforward, the remote logical, build quality OK althought the CD-DVD tray seems a bit flimsy. I've already tried it with DVD's, CD-audio, CD-R's containing MP3's or JPEG's, and it handled them all flawlessly. Navigation on-screen for the MP3 or JPEG CD-R's was intuitive and easy. Sound and picture quality is at least equivalent to my older, pricier Toshiba unit.Overall, not quite of state-of-the-art audiophile/videophile 'Dream Machine' caliber, but a versatile player and an amazing value. If you enjoy DVD's, audio CD's, & MP3/JPEG containing CD-R's don't hesitate to buy this unit.
Rating: 
Summary: Problems from the start
Review: I bought this unit from Circuit City about 5 months ago. The first one I took home had a problem with DVDs skipping until the display read "no disk" I tried every DVD I had, even new ones. I took it back and CC seemed sceptical, but grudgenly replaced it. The second unit played DVDs fine, but sometimes the remote would switch to VCR and sometimes it wouldn't. It always plays the DVD in the unit when you turn it on, and if there is no DVD in it, it says "no disk" and sticks there until you turn it off and back on, with a disk. You cannot get it to go to VCR so you can tune the TV with the unit, and it makes using the remote more difficult. It is impossible to get it to play a tape now. I don't know what the warranty is, but I really do not want to screw with CC again. I am kicking this unit to the curb and going to look at what Sony has to offer tomorrow. JVC, do better.
Rating:
Summary: Problems from the start
Review: I bought this unit from Circuit City about 5 months ago. The first one I took home had a problem with DVDs skipping until the display read "no disk" I tried every DVD I had, even new ones. I took it back and CC seemed sceptical, but grudgenly replaced it. The second unit played DVDs fine, but sometimes the remote would switch to VCR and sometimes it wouldn't. It always plays the DVD in the unit when you turn it on, and if there is no DVD in it, it says "no disk" and sticks there until you turn it off and back on, with a disk. You cannot get it to go to VCR so you can tune the TV with the unit, and it makes using the remote more difficult. It is impossible to get it to play a tape now. I don't know what the warranty is, but I really do not want to screw with CC again. I am kicking this unit to the curb and going to look at what Sony has to offer tomorrow. JVC, do better.
Rating:
Summary: Good performance for me
Review: I haven't yet had a problem with the DVD player on this unit. The VCR seems to work OK too, and I figured out how to program timer recording easily. A cool feature is that it reads your tape and tells you how much time you have left on it to record when you aren't sure if you have room for a program. The only real drawback I had was the hookup instructions. They were needlessly complicated and could have been written a lot simpler than they were. Once I figured out what I needed to do, hookup was a breeze. But the reading the directions made it harder, not easier.
Rating:
Summary: Good performance for me
Review: I haven't yet had a problem with the DVD player on this unit. The VCR seems to work OK too, and I figured out how to program timer recording easily. A cool feature is that it reads your tape and tells you how much time you have left on it to record when you aren't sure if you have room for a program. The only real drawback I had was the hookup instructions. They were needlessly complicated and could have been written a lot simpler than they were. Once I figured out what I needed to do, hookup was a breeze. But the reading the directions made it harder, not easier.
Rating:
Summary: Returned Item
Review: I purchased this DVD/VCR combo just two weeks ago and already the VCR section of the player does not work. Electronics are just not what they used to be. Returned the item and would not recommend to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Solid picture & performance
Review: The HR-XVC33U shows great picture and performs well, which is no surprise based on other products in the JVC family. For those looking to record from VHS onto DVD, this product will not suffice. If your wedding is on videotape, you can get an IWeD from anchordigital.com and then play the IWeD (and your original videotape) in the JVC unit. Overall - solid picture & sound, good overall DVD/VHS player
Rating:
Summary: Solid picture & performance
Review: The JVC HR-XVC33U is amazing! I've played several DVDs, store-bought videos, audio CDs, and a CD-R that contained audio and JPEGs. Everything played beautifully. At first I had some problems playing DVDs but after cleaning the DVDs it worked fine (whew!). After reading about so many lemons out there involving combo DVD/VCRs, I consider myself lucky! [knock on wood] Some other nice features are DVD Zoom (very cool!), diff. FFWD/RWD speeds, bookmarking, index skipping, front A/V inputs, excellent remote that controls TV/VCR/DVD, and VCR timer recording (up to 1 month). I did some serious research and price comparisons on several combo DVD/VCR players before deciding on the JVC HR-XVC33U. In the end I picked the JVC model because it seemed to be plagued by *less* problems than the other models, had a huge feature set, and was cheap compared to other models in its class. The Sony SLV-D300P has almost identical features plus Flash Rewind and looks nicer but costs about $25 more. The Sony SLV-D500P has identical features and VCR+ and an illuminated remote but costs about $35 more. Other competitors in its class were: Toshiba SD-V391 (different model had very low rating on Consumer Reports - bad sign), Panasonic PV-D4743K/S (can't record DVDs, about $10 more than JVC, but plays DVD Audio which is rare), and Samsung DVD-V3650 (the consistently bad ratings on every Samsung model told me to run away fast). One thing you need to be careful of is that combo DVD/VCRs sometimes skimp on features you would expect in a standalone DVD or VCR player such as VCR+, front A/V inputs, VCR timer recording, and DVR-to-VCR recording. Also, I suspect that the many reviewers who reported DVD playback problems (I'm talking about for ALL combo DVD/VCR players not just JVC) didn't try cleaning the DVD first. I would definitely recommend getting the JVC!!
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