Rating: 
Summary: EXCELLENT VCR FOR THE PRICE
Review: Excellent Image. Can read S-VHS tapes created with JVC vcr's.
Rewinds faster than common VCRs
Rating: 
Summary: Not Real Impressed
Review: I brought this home last night and I can't say I'm real impressed. The feature that was the most important to me -- OTR that started immediately and whose length could be defined -- works fine, if a bit clumsily, considering you have to push two buttons simultaneously. But other features have made me seriously think about returning it to the store. The picture is horrible -- full of sparklies and snow. I believe the problem is in the connectors, since not only the recorded tape is sparkly, but so is the live TV picture when viewed through the VCR. When I turn the VCR off, my TV picture returns to its normal sharp quality. I've checked my connections and they're tight, so the problem must be inside the VCR. Also, the timed recording feature is awkward. Granted, I'm used to a 12-year old Panasonic which was the easiest to use and best VCR in the world, IMHO. In the old VCR, to set timed recording I just had to program the event and turn off the VCR. With this Toshiba, you program the event, then push two buttons simultaneously to set the timer function. But after you've done that, the only way to turn the power back on is to use the power switch on the VCR itself, or hit the two timer buttons again, then hit the VCR/TV button to return it to VCR mode. Awkward, to say the least. Another problem I've found is that there's no way you can tell from the cabinet display whether your tape is recording or not. When it goes into record it displays a big REC for about 10 seconds, then returns to the clock display. There's no other indicator that shows the tape is rolling or recording. So if you miss that first REC display, you have no idea if it's really working. The remote doesn't feel like it's working half the time. I have to push and repush buttons to get them to finally work. One feature I do like is a "show title" display. For instance, as you click through the channels it will display the title of the program that's airing. Of course, this must be generated by the stations themselves, so it's not available on every channel. Still, it's a nice idea.
Rating: 
Summary: not bad but not great either
Review: I have kept a 5-year-old SHARP VCR, which I liked very much until my little boy destroyed it. I could not find a SHARP but someone recommended this Toshiba VCR. Since I always liked my old Toshiba notebook computer and this model was on sale, I did not hesitate to buy this unit. This is not bad for the price. But people in Toshiba VCR must more work on the remote control, which does not work for my SHARP TV. The manual says that it could happen, and then I need to use the TV old remote control! Two remotes! Does not sound friendly or convenient...
Rating: 
Summary: good in general but...
Review: I have kept a 5-year-old SHARP VCR, which I liked very much until my little boy destroyed it. I could not find a SHARP but someone recommended this Toshiba VCR. Since I always liked my old Toshiba notebook computer and this model was on sale, I did not hesitate to buy this unit. This is not bad for the price. But people in Toshiba VCR must more work on the remote control, which does not work for my SHARP TV. The manual says that it could happen, and then I need to use the TV old remote control! Two remotes! Does not sound friendly or convenient...
Rating: 
Summary: This is no bargain
Review: I picked up one of these babies after returning an older version of the same VCR that I bought a couple of weeks ago. On the older model (W512, I believe), the only half of the buttons on the remote worked. None of the buttons necessary to record programs were functional, so I returned it.Well, the remote on this newer model worked like a dream for 10 whole minutes. Then--SHAZAM!!!--half of the buttons stopped working! I've had no problems at all with the Toshiba DVD player I bought several months ago, and nothing but problems with the two Toshiba VCRs I've tried. This thing is a piece of garbage.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent for the money!
Review: It had been awhile since I bought a VCR. I love the auto clockset feature! Also, the cable tuner on this VCR is great and so is the sound quality. I am very happy with it so far. Using an older non cable ready TV with this and the picture looks good..
Rating:
Summary: not bad but not great either
Review: Okay, it was pretty cheap. It functions pretty much as advertised and is not a bad machine for the money. But...some of the functionality is frustrating. I've missed recording a couple of my favorite shows because of the fact that it won't record your programmed shows if you simply power it OFF when you're done using it. You have to remember to power it OFF and set the RECORD button also (this requires pushing 2 buttons on the remote simultaneously). On the plus side, the rewind is extremely fast and the counter display is "clock time" as opposed to just numbers counting up or down. (So if you want to skip a 1-hour segment it is very easy to do.) Overall, this has been a good VCR for the money, with a few minor inconveniences.
Rating:
Summary: Silly, Inconvenient trick needed to record shows!
Review: The Toshiba is my 2nd VCR...my first was a low-end Funai bought in Feb. 1999. The Funai was very loud in playback and recording, and the playback and recording was poor quality. So when I went VCR shopping I made quality my 1st priority. I wanted to be able to watch my tapes without the picture going gray or snowy due to VCR tracking problems. I've only had the Toshiba W522 since Dec 13 2002 but I am amazed at the improvement over my low-end VCR. The picture and sound quality are amazingly clear. Many tapes, like my Wrestlemania 13 tape (which was taped by WWF Home Video in EP mode), would not play at all or made strange crinkling noises in the Funai but in the Toshiba there are absolutely no problems on these tapes! I'm not afraid to rewind a tape while it's in play mode either (something you just didn't do on the Funai). The second thing on my priority list is durability...obviously only time can test durability so whatever you decide to buy it's a bit of a gamble. You can't beat this price if all you're looking for is just basically a great performance from your VCR. You can be picky when looking at the tiny details/features but if that's the case you'll never be 100% pleased with any VCR. If my W522 works this well for as long as the Funai worked badly, I'll be very happy. I love this VCR!
Rating:
Summary: Huge improvement over my low-end model!
Review: The Toshiba is my 2nd VCR...my first was a low-end Funai bought in Feb. 1999. The Funai was very loud in playback and recording, and the playback and recording was poor quality. So when I went VCR shopping I made quality my 1st priority. I wanted to be able to watch my tapes without the picture going gray or snowy due to VCR tracking problems. I've only had the Toshiba W522 since Dec 13 2002 but I am amazed at the improvement over my low-end VCR. The picture and sound quality are amazingly clear. Many tapes, like my Wrestlemania 13 tape (which was taped by WWF Home Video in EP mode), would not play at all or made strange crinkling noises in the Funai but in the Toshiba there are absolutely no problems on these tapes! I'm not afraid to rewind a tape while it's in play mode either (something you just didn't do on the Funai). The second thing on my priority list is durability...obviously only time can test durability so whatever you decide to buy it's a bit of a gamble. You can't beat this price if all you're looking for is just basically a great performance from your VCR. You can be picky when looking at the tiny details/features but if that's the case you'll never be 100% pleased with any VCR. If my W522 works this well for as long as the Funai worked badly, I'll be very happy. I love this VCR!
Rating:
Summary: Tracking problem
Review: The tracking worked fine for about a month. Now the auto tracking attempts to find the best picture, but snow results. The manual tracking function works, but does not improve the picture. Cleaning did not help. A slight tap to the unit clears it up. Must be something loose inside.
|
