Toshiba SD-V392 DVD / VCR Combo (Silver)

Rating:
Summary: bad Bad BAD
Review: I bought this machine 9 months ago (not at Target). Hooking it up with cables caused it to "blink" on some channels. I went back to the store where I bought it and a clerk there told me it was probably because it was hooked up to an older TV and the tuners were incompatible. I bought a new TV and it did the same thing. This time a clerk in the store told me I needed to hook it to the TV with RCA cables instead of a regular cable. This worked fine except it didn't work for playing the VCR so I had to connect both ways. Then the dvd player quit playing through the RCA cables so I disconnected them and went back to using just the regular cable. Now the only way I can watch TV is with the player turned off. The DVD player started giving me problems with movies from Netflix. It would freeze, not back up, sometimes not even read the dvd. When I would put in one of my own, unscratched dvd's it worked ok so I figured it was just a problem with the well used dvd's from Netflix. The other night it froze and wouldn't back up with a brand new dvd. Tomorrow I'm buying a new DVD/VCR combo and I will NEVER buy another Toshiba product.

Rating:
Summary: VCR is OK but DVD is problematic
Review: I bought this unit a year ago, so I have used it extensively. The first one I received had to be sent right back because the DVD tray wouldnt open. The replacement arrived and it worked fine for most of the full year. However, over the last few weeks, the DVD had developed the skip, and skip-freeze problem that others have mentioned. It always had a little problem where the jump feature or skip ahead feature was used too many times the disk would start to click loudly in the player and the playback would freeze. Simply ejecting the DVD and re-inserting it would fix it, however, now it only provides a few minutes of good playback before it starts to freeze, stutter and click.
It's just not a very good DVD player in terms of quality, but it was priced cheap. Only buy this unit if you plan on replacing it in a year or are more concerned with the VCR playback, otherwise get a dedicated DVD player and dedicated VCR.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent customer service from Toshiba
Review: I had the V 391 model for a year. That model developed skipping and freezing when the DVD was playing. I called Toshiba customer service. They replaced the 391 with a 392 model. So far, the 392 is working perfectly.

Rating:
Summary: DVD picture freeze
Review: I have owned this machine 11 months. About a month ago the DVD picture would freeze. The manufacturer attributed the problem to a dirty or stratched DVD. I purchased a new DVD and the problem persisted. Seems this is a recurring problem with all brands.

Rating:
Summary: Just barely accptable
Review: I have waited several months to give using this unit a fair chance to prove itself, but there are just too many features that are not user-friendly to warrant anybody else getting stuck with this piece of junk. A few of my gripes:

1. There is nothing intuitive about setting the timed recording features. One almost has to learn and remember a programming language to be sure to get it right given the bewildering array of all-too-small buttons.
2. As some one else said too -- it won't record in LP; just standard and super long-play.
3. It freezes up all too frequently in DVD. Not fatally, but annoyingly. Taping often have major "static" bursts recorded.
4. For some reason it turns on DVD when it shuts off after recoding a TV program in VHS. If you try to record two sequential programs on different TV channels it won't do it while you're watching the TV.

All-in-all, not something worth buying. Hardly worth bothering with as a gift.


Rating:
Summary: Great for the price!
Review: I own this combo, and think it works fantastic. The picture is great (way better than our last GoVideo), everything works perfect, easy to use and easy to install. I have not had a single problem and would consider purchasing another. After reading the other comments, I am unsure if I am missing something, or if I was one of the lucky ones who got a great model! I would definately recommend this unit.

Rating:
Summary: Exactly as advertised
Review: I was scared off of Sony and Panasonic by some of the reviews, especially stories of the DVD door problems and the poor service. The specs for this combo DVD/VCR seemed to include everything I wanted. I almost passed on this one too because the dimensions as shown were too big for my cabinet. But I checked the Toshiba web site and found that the dimensions as shown on the Amazon page were incorrect. I notified Amazon and they have corrected the dimensions. I bought it and so far am quite happy with it. The remote has far more buttons than I have ever seen, but the manual is quite thorough. The set up is simple and the DVD door opens and closes quite smoothly. Everything I tried so far works.

Rating:
Summary: Nice little unit
Review: I was shopping around for a vcr and a dvd player and considered individual units, combination units, combination with home theatre system units. This Toshiba made the most sense in terms of bang for the buck. So far the unit works great. The switchover from DVD to VCR is a bit clumsy but it works fine. If you are expecting a high end unit, go elsewhere, and don't buy a combined machine. If you are expecting good quality with a great price from a brand you can trust, this is a good unit. It has av jacks on the front for camera/game system, and digital audio and standard jacks on the back.

Rating:
Summary: Works as advertised.
Review: I've had this DVD/VCR combo for about 2 1/2 months and it has performed quite well. It was very easy to set up and connect (first for cable and then for satellite). It has worked very well for VHS playing and recording. The DVD player is excellent for the price.

The only downside that I see (or can't see) is the remote control configuration which is quite hard to read and use, especially in the dark.

Rating:
Summary: Not worth it
Review: I've had this unit for several months now. It's always been picky aobut the DVDs it will play. Some skip badly, some won't play at all. Yet these same disks play just fine in other players.

This unit takes forever to power up and come on. The disk drive eject time can be measured with sundial (very slow).

Tonight the whole unit just quite working. It freezes and then powers off. Of course, it's out of warrentee now....

Don't buy.