Magnavox MC13E2MG 13" TV/VCR Combo

Rating:
Summary: Magnavox 13 inch combo bombed quickly
Review: This is lightweight and easy to remove from the red box it is packaged inside of. I was able to insert the cable into the jack and then plugged in the unit.

The first step is to choose the language and then use auto preset for the channels. This television does have the capability of changing the date and time according to daylight savings time. This also comes equipped with the V-Chip, but since my children mainly watch the same stations and videos there is no need for this system in our household. If I choose to add major stations to my cable lineup than I would look into the V-chip options at that time.

I initially chose the Magnavox because the display models showed buttons on the control panel of the unit as rigged and they looked stronger than the usual round buttons from other sets we have had. It was not until I carried the box inside and realized that the cover showed the regular buttons and that is what we got. I did not like that the supply was underneath another model, causing confusion for customers.

The front panel also has an earphone jack and there is a red light signal when the power is turned on. The video injack and audio injack are farthest to the left and then the power button, volume options and channel. The next section closest to the right are the forward, play and rewind buttons along with the button used for stop and eject. This creates confusion for my son to have to press this button twice.

So far I have no need to add, delete or reset channels. When there is a power outage due to weather or cable mishaps as well as our internal wiring, the Magnavox goes back to the channel it was on, unlike the previous set that would be at the language prompt.

The power can be on or off to eject a tape, but the unit must be plugged in. If the manual timer programming is in process the tape cannot be ejected. Should you need to interrupt a timer recording you can press stop and also find out how much time is left on the timer by pressing the display button on the remote control. The picture control options are the standard ones such as brightness and contrast. These are brought to the screen in the lower middle with them preset to the middle of the line. I usually have no need to change these unless we have an old tape or something really dark.

I made the purchase on May 2, 2003 and by the end of the month the videos were not displaying correctly. We ended up returning this to Best Buy for a Sylvania 19" Combo.

We could hear the videos, but they all had the same static silver screen with nothing working. I tried the manual tracking and even a cleaning video with no response. The only helpful hint that seemed worth trying in this instance was the one indicating playback is poor or tape is destroyed. The options are tracking or using the rental feature. This is supposed to improve picture quality of worn videotapes, but I tried a few brand new ones and still nothing worked.

We have gone through three Sylvania Combos over three years and recently bought a 13" Daewood.

Those families who have children with autism usually go through televisions and VCRs quite frequently due to the constant pushing of the buttons.