Panasonic PV-D4744 Progressive Scan DVD / VCR Combo (Black)

Rating:
Summary: Utter Junk
Review: I bought one of these. Right out of the box, it would play a music CD. I put in a DVD. Digital audio out was a 4x per second incessant clacking, NO normal audio output. SVIDEO out was ONLY black and white. I used the standard cable jack out, video was color. I hooked up a different DVD player to those same cables on my same system, and all was fine. Problem: Panasonic.

I'll be taking this back tomorrow..Do you think I'll get another Panasonic, knowing what trash this one was directly out of the box? I didn't think so.

UTTTER JUNK.

CAVEAT EMPTOR.

Rating:
Summary: Great buy
Review: I bought this item after a bad experience with a Cyberhome DVD player. The cyberhome worked for about 2 DVD's before having problems. On the 4th DVD in the Cyberhome player, the thing froze and I couldn't eject the DVD. I had to take it apart to remove the DVD from the player. I am very happy with the panasonic PV-D4744 DVD/VCR combo. I have only used the VHS side a couple of times. The VHS is nothing special. If you're looking for great technology in a VCR, then you might want to think about upgrading to DVD. However, the VHS works fine for your old tapes you have laying around. The DVD performs very well. I have tried some of the features and was pleased with the ability to pause and use slow motion in both forward and reverse. Since I bought the PV-D4744 a few months ago, I have probably watched somewhere in the neighborhood of 60 DVD's. I have not had any problems with this system so far. If you are on a budget and you would like to find a good DVD/VCR combo that performs well, I would highly recommend the PV-D4744 from panasonic.

Rating:
Summary: moving into the 21st century...finally !
Review: I finally decided to join the rest of humanity, and get a DVD player, and this nice "Double Feature" Panasonic VHS/DVD Combo was the right price and fit my needs.
I'm "reading challenged" when it comes to electronics manuals; they could be written in an unknown language for all the help they are to me, but this machine is simple enough for even me to program the essentials.
I was able to figure out how to set it up manually (I'm in an area where that is necessary), and play my first DVD and record a tape from a TV program without too much trouble, or too much time.

The lightweight remote has 20 buttons on the bottom half of it, but all the essential ones are on the perimeters making it easy to use, and as my TV is also Panasonic, I can get by with this single remote for everyday use.
Other features I will probably never use include a 24 hour lock feature, auto shut-off, multiple angle and zoom capability, and much more.
The size is the same as my old VHS player so it doesn't take up much room, and I don't think anyone who wants a "combo" can do better in this low price range.
I have had very good luck with Panasonic products as far as longevity, and so far, I'm impressed with how much I have compared with how much I spent, and think the value is excellent.


Rating:
Summary: Panasonic comes through again
Review: I have always been very pleased with the Panasonic products I've purchased, so I was delighted to find this "combo" at a very reasonable price. Setup was very simple and everything worked immediately. I particularly like the two switch buttons placed approximately in the middle of the remote, one for VCR and the other for DVD.

Now for the caveat: I bought this unit for our small home gym, where we wanted something that would play both VHS and DVDs. The television there is simple, verging on primitive. It doesn't even have dual channel audio inputs or an S-video input. In two other rooms, we have switch boxes to select input, but I wanted something simpler this time, and something that could be completely controlled from a remote (no one wants to get off a cardio machine to switch TV inputs). The Panasonic combo is working out very nicely. I can't say, however, how the machine would work with HD TVs or with more sophisticated systems. For what we wanted, it was a pretty much perfect solution. It also takes less space than the previous Toshiba 5-disc DVD player we had (which now seems to be unable to recognize the presence of a DVD).

Extras: the twenty buttons on the bottom of the remote that another reviewer mentioned perform a fair number of functions that you would usually have to return to the main menu for, such as subtitles. Very clever indeed.

All in all, a nice, solid performer and excellent value.

Followup: Turns out, we liked this machine so much, we ordered a second one less than a week after receiving the first. The real joy of the machine is that it makes life so much simpler. At first I scoffed at the idea of a combo, dismissing it as convenient but basically silly. Wrong again! Convenience wins out. You eliminate yards of cables and, over time, hours of needless frustration. So much simpler to press the VHS or DVD button on the remote. Thanks again, Panasonic.

Rating:
Summary: DONE WITH PANASONIC!!!
Review: I paid $300.00 for this when it first came out. The dvd part is fine, but the vhs part stinks. Wouldn't accept half my tapes (lighter tapes). Would put the tape in, would spit it back out for no reason. Tried all different types, came to realize it wouldn't accept light tapes, such as children's videos, shorter movies, etc. And if the tape wasn't rewound, forget it. My fault on not bringing it back in after buying it (did it from day one). But when you spend that kind of money for something brand new, it should work perfect and it should last a long time. Now the vcr part is completely broken. Nothing but problems with my panasonic phone too. I do not recommend buying this brand, until they can fix all their problems with their electronics. I know I won't be buying their products anymore, because every panasonic item I have owned has had to be replaced.

Rating:
Summary: DONE WITH PANASONIC!!!
Review: I paid $300.00 for this when it first came out. The dvd part is fine, but the vhs part stinks. Wouldn't accept half my tapes (lighter tapes). Would put the tape in, would spit it back out for no reason. Tried all different types, came to realize it wouldn't accept light tapes, such as children's videos, shorter movies, etc. And if the tape wasn't rewound, forget it. My fault on not bringing it back in after buying it (did it from day one). But when you spend that kind of money for something brand new, it should work perfect and it should last a long time. Now the vcr part is completely broken. Nothing but problems with my panasonic phone too. I do not recommend buying this brand, until they can fix all their problems with their electronics. I know I won't be buying their products anymore, because every panasonic item I have owned has had to be replaced.

Rating:
Summary: Just one little frustrating issue
Review: Okay, you're looking for a combo unit that will record and play your VHS tapes AND play DVD's. You don't want to spend too much money, but you want something that will work well. This MIGHT be your unit. I've had mine in use for several months without any problem...except for one pesky quality. It's hard to stop the tape exactly where you want to stop. It's like a freight train; it takes anywhere from 15 seconds to 3 minutes of reel/tape time to get it to stop or play. This is especially frustrating when you're zipping past an unwanted (versus those informative and desireable) commercials. It's also a pain when you want to replay one sentence, but the closest you can come is to replay most of the scene. It's just not accurate enough to stop/rewind/play precisely where you want to.

The picture quality is very good and it's simple enough to use (although the remote has as many difficult to read buttons as a space shuttle), but it's lack of precision control on the VHS tape is bothersome and frustrating.

All in all, it's still a lot of technology for the price. You just have to decide how much patience you have for imprecise tape controls.

Rating:
Summary: Panasonic PV-D4744 DVD/VCR Combo
Review: Received my DVD/VCR Combo today and has to return it.The DVD did not open or close. Called Panasonic Customer Service and got a nice representative who tried to help me out. Did a couple of tests but didn't work. Suggested to return it which I did. Also my first hand impression of the quality of the DVD/VCR were not that great eventhough the price was right.

Rating:
Summary: OK for the PRICE BUT NO LP RECORDING SPEED!
Review: THE MAIN REASON I BOUGHT PANASONIC is MY EXCELLANT PAST EXPERIENCE WITH the PANASONIC NAME ESPECIALLY THEIR VCRS. I HAVE ONE of THEIR EARLY HI-FI MODELS THAT is ABOUT 10 YEARS OLD and STILL WORKING. HOWEVER I HAVE DISCOVERED THAT PANASONIC is HAVING SOMEONE ELSE MANUFACTURE THEIR VCRS BECAUSE THIS UNIT PLUS a NEW PANASONIC VCR I BOUGHT DOES NOT RECORD in the VERY PREFERRED SPEED of LP WHICH WAS ALWAYS a BIG REASON I BOUGHT THEIR BRAND. THE LP SPEED is a GOOD COMPROMISE BETWEEN USING the VERY FAST ( and Tape Eating ) SPEED of SP and the SLOWER, POORER VIDEO QUALITY of SLP. THE LP SPEED ALSO GAVE YOU MUCH LESS of a PROBLEM WHEN PLAYING a RECORDED TAPE ON ANOTHER VCR WITH TRACKING PROBLEMS. I ALSO LIKED HOW YOU COULD FIT TWO HOLLYWOOD MOVIES ON ONE TAPE in the LP SPEED THAT GAVE YOU 4 HOURS of RECORDING TIME. I HAVE READ on ANOTHER SITE THAT the VIDEO RECORDER in PANASONIC DVD/VCR RECORDERS are MADE by ANOTHER CHEAPER KOREAN MANUFACTURER WHICH I NOW BELIEVE is TRUE. THIS UNIT WORKS OK WITH TINY BUTTONS and DOES the JOB. ONE THING ABOUT THIS MODEL I REALLY HATE is THAT YOU MUST PUSH in and HOLD the TIMER BUTTON AFTER PROGRAMMING IT or IT WILL NOT RECORD. THIS is EASY to FORGET and MOST VCRS RECORD AFTER PROGRAMMING and TURNING the POWER OFF. I WOULD NOT PAY OVER $115.00 for THIS SINCE PANASONIC is NOT the PANASONIC I ONCE KNEW. I DOUBT THAT PANASONIC MAKES ANY VCR THAT STILL RECORDS in the LP SPEED @ ANY PRICE SO I AM HOLDING ON to MY TWO THAT STILL DO. MY BIGGEST COMPLAINT is THAT PANASONIC is PROBABLY NOT MAKING MOST of THEIR OWN PRODUCTS and EVEN by EXAMINING THEIR CURRENT VIDEO PRODUCTS YOU CAN SEE a LOSS of QUALITY. THEY USED to be of a GREATER QUAILITY and IT SEEMS THEY are TRYING to STAY COMPETITIVE PRICE WISE. I STILL RECOMMEND THIS UNIT OVER the SONY BRAND WHICH ALSO HAS CHEAPENED ITSELF MANY YEARS AGO. SAMSUNG EVEN THOUGH KOREAN is a NOW a GOOD BRAND and RECOMMENDED by CONSUMER REPORTS. I HAVE a SAMSUNG DVD/VCR COMBO and IT is a LITTLE BETTER FEATURE WISE THAN the PANASONIC. MANASQUAN TOM

Rating:
Summary: OK for the PRICE BUT NO LP RECORDING SPEED!
Review: THE MAIN REASON I BOUGHT PANASONIC is MY EXCELLANT PAST EXPERIENCE WITH the PANASONIC NAME ESPECIALLY THEIR VCRS. I HAVE ONE of THEIR EARLY HI-FI MODELS THAT is ABOUT 10 YEARS OLD and STILL WORKING. HOWEVER I HAVE DISCOVERED THAT PANASONIC is HAVING SOMEONE ELSE MANUFACTURE THEIR VCRS BECAUSE THIS UNIT PLUS a NEW PANASONIC VCR I BOUGHT DOES NOT RECORD in the VERY PREFERRED SPEED of LP WHICH WAS ALWAYS a BIG REASON I BOUGHT THEIR BRAND. THE LP SPEED is a GOOD COMPROMISE BETWEEN USING the VERY FAST ( and Tape Eating ) SPEED of SP and the SLOWER, POORER VIDEO QUALITY of SLP. THE LP SPEED ALSO GAVE YOU MUCH LESS of a PROBLEM WHEN PLAYING a RECORDED TAPE ON ANOTHER VCR WITH TRACKING PROBLEMS. I ALSO LIKED HOW YOU COULD FIT TWO HOLLYWOOD MOVIES ON ONE TAPE in the LP SPEED THAT GAVE YOU 4 HOURS of RECORDING TIME. I HAVE READ on ANOTHER SITE THAT the VIDEO RECORDER in PANASONIC DVD/VCR RECORDERS are MADE by ANOTHER CHEAPER KOREAN MANUFACTURER WHICH I NOW BELIEVE is TRUE. THIS UNIT WORKS OK WITH TINY BUTTONS and DOES the JOB. ONE THING ABOUT THIS MODEL I REALLY HATE is THAT YOU MUST PUSH in and HOLD the TIMER BUTTON AFTER PROGRAMMING IT or IT WILL NOT RECORD. THIS is EASY to FORGET and MOST VCRS RECORD AFTER PROGRAMMING and TURNING the POWER OFF. I WOULD NOT PAY OVER $115.00 for THIS SINCE PANASONIC is NOT the PANASONIC I ONCE KNEW. I DOUBT THAT PANASONIC MAKES ANY VCR THAT STILL RECORDS in the LP SPEED @ ANY PRICE SO I AM HOLDING ON to MY TWO THAT STILL DO. MY BIGGEST COMPLAINT is THAT PANASONIC is PROBABLY NOT MAKING MOST of THEIR OWN PRODUCTS and EVEN by EXAMINING THEIR CURRENT VIDEO PRODUCTS YOU CAN SEE a LOSS of QUALITY. THEY USED to be of a GREATER QUAILITY and IT SEEMS THEY are TRYING to STAY COMPETITIVE PRICE WISE. I STILL RECOMMEND THIS UNIT OVER the SONY BRAND WHICH ALSO HAS CHEAPENED ITSELF MANY YEARS AGO. SAMSUNG EVEN THOUGH KOREAN is a NOW a GOOD BRAND and RECOMMENDED by CONSUMER REPORTS. I HAVE a SAMSUNG DVD/VCR COMBO and IT is a LITTLE BETTER FEATURE WISE THAN the PANASONIC. MANASQUAN TOM