Rating: 
Summary: Great DVD, mediocre VCR
Review: This is a fine unit for DVD playback, and has a lot of great features. But my experience with the VCR side left a lot to be desired. The machine has been saddled with a sub-par tuner which makes for noisy, color smeared VHS recordings, and its playback of factory pre-records isn't all that great either (but I will say that EP recordings don't fall off very much quality wise from SP, although the frequency response at both speeds is pretty atrocious). JVC brags about how it's the inventor of VHS. . . shame they couldn't do better here.
Rating: 
Summary: Does what it says it will
Review: This is a nice combo DVD/VCR. I've had it for a couple of years now and have had no problems. That's really why I'm writing; I want to let people know the ones with problems are probably the exception rather than the rule.The only disadvantages to this product for me:
1) On the VCR, you can't FF by time (a panasonic feature; FF a given number of minutes) 2) Once you set the VCR program, you must hit TIMER (not just power off) to get it to use the program. Okay, hitting TIMER will turn the power off, but let's say you want to record something later in the week. You will turn your deck on and off several times in that period. Do you want to hit TIMER every time? And by the way, hitting TIMER doesn't just turn the deck off, it switches to DVD mode. In theory, this is nice so you can still use your DVD player while recording a show. In practice you just end up turning off two things (VCR via TIMER, DVD via power) most of the time. 3) No S-video input. I had to buy a S-video to composite video adapter to record something from my PC video card. By the way, don't do this; the quality is pretty low. Little advantages to this product for me: 1) Front panel inputs; I use this to dub from my video camera very often 2) Comprehensive remote; for me, the more buttons the better. I hate on-screen menus. How can I see what the picture looks like when I adjust the tracking if 88% of the screen is the tracking menu? 3) Many flavors of A/V OUTPUT: digital audio (coax and optical), composite video (of course), component video (nice for home theater), S video. Bottom line: A good combo deck for the money.
Rating:
Summary: Does what it says it will
Review: This is a nice combo DVD/VCR. I've had it for a couple of years now and have had no problems. That's really why I'm writing; I want to let people know the ones with problems are probably the exception rather than the rule. The only disadvantages to this product for me:
1) On the VCR, you can't FF by time (a panasonic feature; FF a given number of minutes) 2) Once you set the VCR program, you must hit TIMER (not just power off) to get it to use the program. Okay, hitting TIMER will turn the power off, but let's say you want to record something later in the week. You will turn your deck on and off several times in that period. Do you want to hit TIMER every time? And by the way, hitting TIMER doesn't just turn the deck off, it switches to DVD mode. In theory, this is nice so you can still use your DVD player while recording a show. In practice you just end up turning off two things (VCR via TIMER, DVD via power) most of the time. 3) No S-video input. I had to buy a S-video to composite video adapter to record something from my PC video card. By the way, don't do this; the quality is pretty low. Little advantages to this product for me: 1) Front panel inputs; I use this to dub from my video camera very often 2) Comprehensive remote; for me, the more buttons the better. I hate on-screen menus. How can I see what the picture looks like when I adjust the tracking if 88% of the screen is the tracking menu? 3) Many flavors of A/V OUTPUT: digital audio (coax and optical), composite video (of course), component video (nice for home theater), S video. Bottom line: A good combo deck for the money.
Rating:
Summary: One very useful Product for the Video Enthusiast
Review: This is one of the newest and hottest new combination DVD/VCR combinations on the market today. Upon picking up my purchase of the HR-XVC1U I was impressed. The finish and construction of this product is first rate, and it provides just about every feature one could hope for in a combination unit. Although it does not provide progressive scan for the HD TV owner, for those of us who have a 2 to 3 year old large screen set of 32 - 36 or projection size, it performs admirably. It will play SVHS tapes, and record and play VHS with a clarity I have not seen even on my older SVHS unit. It will also record VHS and show a DVD at the same time. Hook ups and Outputs will impress even the most demanding. The DVD will play all DVD and CD formats. The Remote, it should be noted, is not Universal with the exception of other JVC products, and the Users manual was obviously written by someone with English as a second language. However, if you are able to look past these small limitations, you will not be disappointed. I highly reccomend this product.
Rating:
Summary: Based on the reviews here I bought one and I'm glad I did!
Review: This VCR/DVD was an early Christmas present to myself after deciding to join the rest of the world in DVD-land but not wanting to let go of my VHS movies quite yet. Based on the reviews and price, and because I own a JVC TV, this was my choice. I agree with the easy set-up. It's a bit awkward to work the whole TV/VHS/DVD selection options but I think I've gotten the hang of it. Two comments: it's not intuitive and actually is pretty complicated (too many buttons on the remote but that might please others who are more technically-minded than me) so I've had to rely heavily on the how-to manual. And setting the VCR timer is awkward -- you can't enter the start and end time but have to scroll (unless I'm missing something)...but those are my only complaints. This is a good product for your $$$.
Rating:
Summary: it's a good quality unit for the money
Review: Trying to get two audio pieces into one box, offering decent quality, plenty of useful features & low cost may be impossible. I looked at many brands. I needed a unit that has "optical" output for DTS & 5.1 digital to go into my Marantz SR 8000 audio receiver. The cheapest units do not have this, so stay with the better name brands. At this price point I seriously doult that any brand will be very reliable. These units are not being made in Japan, which stood for excellent quality. Instead, China, Tawain, etc. are making them. Making two units into one may save on some costs, but the cost cutting may be the use of cheaper parts inside. So don't expect much from these units. I wanted to replace my older DVD player with one that plays CD-R, CD-RW, and MP3. I purchased the JVC HRXVC1, based on good reviews. JVC is the inventor of VHS vcr, and I have known people to have good luck with their electronics. I also like Panasonic,which makes very reliable electronics. I have had 3 good vcrs with Panasonic, but the clerk said that they were having higher than normal returns on their combo players. Had it not been for that, I would stay with Panasonic.
This JVC HRXVC1 vcr/dvd combo has more than enough features needed to play tapes & discs. At this pricepoint it appears to be one of the best featured units I've seen. Hooking it up to my surround receiver was difficult, probably just my fault, although the book isn't clear on the hookup of the "optical" setup with the receiver connections with VCR, etc. Once hooked up, it was worth the effort. The setup was quick and easy. The cds sounded great. The dvd's are crystal clear. The vcr recorded tapes are playing good, and no problems.... The GOOD: 1).It works & sounds great. 2.) It looks great on the shelf as well. 3.) There are plenty of features for the money such as Skip Search, index serch, zero return, and three step zoom. 4.) There are front inputs for camcorder or mp3 player to record easy. 5.) This unit has "SQPB" S-VHS Quasi playback which will play S-VHS tapes, and makes for excellent looking viewing of standard tapes. 6.) It has 19um head, for better picture quality in EP mode. 7.) It includes "Spatializer N-2-2" surround for people whose sytems are not setup for surround sound yet. 8.) In use, the rewind & forward is very fast. The BAD: 1.) the remote [is not good]. 2.)the buttons on the box seem unorthodox in their layout. 3.) it's confusing getting around from vcr to dvd, as some buttons have dual use, and buttons are on both sides of the unit. Petty problems, but at least the unit works fine- so far. If it proves to be unreliable, I'll write back.
Rating:
Summary: Good DVD Average VCR
Review: Usually anyone purchasing a combination DVD/VCR player has particular criteria they are meeting in order to get both forms of video into their television. Space, convenience, budget among other reasons comes to mind. That aside, looking at an actual unit the person is most likely more interested about the VCR. DVD reproduction at this level looks so good that it is almost a given fact that it will perform up to someone's expectations. The VCR is another matter. For my own needs I am concerned about the playback of pre-recorded tapes and playback of home VHS recordings that I made. How the DVD/VCR player records in VHS is also important but to a lesser degree. JVC brand VCRs are an interesting and confusing animal when it comes to playback of tapes. I own two JVC S-VHS recorders with flying erase heads. I also own several SONY and older RCA VCRs from the good old days. The problem with JVC is that they play certain tapes back beautifully and others dreadfully. I took several samples of video tape recordings and demonstrated playback on this unit just to see for myself. (I know salesmen at a local electronics store in the area and they always let me try out equipment. They just love low-end technology guys like me.) Pre-recorded movies looked acceptable and I really mean no better than acceptable. Recordings I made on my JVC units in SP and EP modes looked excellent on this unit. Recordings I made on my other SONY units in the SP mode look very good. RCA recordings in SP look average. Recordings I made on my other SONY units in the EP mode looked horrible. They looked like blurred images without any trace of definition. Recordings I made on my other RCA units in LP and EP modes again looked blurred without any trace of definition. However, I made an actual recording on this unit from a satellite broadcast and the playback looked excellent. The bottom line on this unit is that the DVD side looked very good and the VCR performed just about the same as my stand-alone units which I own. There were really no surprises. When I make recordings at home I indicate which VCR the recording was made on just for the very reasons I mentioned above. After many years I have found that a recording usually looks best when played back on the unit it was made from. The reality today is that VHS is an outdated but necessary technology because many of us have a monetary and/or sentimental investment in tape recordings. I think this JVC unit is good but I rate it based upon how I would be using it relative to my library of VHS recordings and how they are going to look.
| 
