Price Paid:  $210.00 from abt electronics

Summary:
I purchased this player in May 2002. The 2 reasons I went with this is b/c I just did purchase a Toshiba big screen tv and wanted to keep it Toshiba. The 2nd is it gave me a dvd and vcr player in one. This is my first dvd player and the vcr replaced my sony one which I put in my bedroom to go w/ my older 27" sony tv.
Everything has been fine up until about a few weeks ago where when playing a dvd, near the middle/middle end of the movie...I can only guess b/c the inside of the machine is heating up some...its causing flickers of small "color boxes" to show on the tv screen. Please excuse my lack of better words but hopefully you know what I'm talking about.
I put a fan to the player but it doesn't seem to do the trick.
Yes, it could be I've a defect but I just wanted to put in my 2cents for the sake of those who take advantage of this site.
Besides my disappointment in this. The player does fine with vcd, cd, cd-r, mp3; although shuffle is missed and the screen does not show any folders. The remote is light as a feather (as well as the player itself)and does its job. Fits nicely in your hands and buttons are easy enough. I never thought I'd go on to say so much about a remote but I've come to notice its a big deal to some people so......
for me, if the sensor picks up easy...thats good enough for me. (My other dvd player, Daewoo 5800 has been a gem but...BUT, the remote sensor SUCKS! VERY WEAK & small whine when starts up but goes away). I'm pleased w/ my Daewoo.

Strengths:
fair price for what you get.
the obvious; a 2in1 player.

Weaknesses:
overheats and thus causes dvd to flicker/stop!
folders won't show when playing mp3. (my daewoo will show your folders on the screen).

Similar Products Used:
daewoo 5800 dvd player
sony, mitsubishi, jvc vcrs

Price Paid:  $249.00 from QVC

Summary:
THIS IS AN UPDATE. RIGHT AFTER I WROTE THE OTHER REVIEW MY UNIT WENT STRAIGHT DOWN HILL! DVD PLAYER BEGAN SKIPPING AND PAUSING DURING ALL DVD PLAYING. VCR BEGAN TO RECORD SHOWS REAL DARK . ALMOST UNWATCHABLE. THE DVD PLAYER WAS A SHOCK TO FALL OFF SO MUCH IN QUALITY SO FAST. MINE IS ON ITS WAY BACK. BUYER BEWARE.

Strengths:
THEY ALL DISSAPPERED.

Weaknesses:
DVD PLAYBACK- VHS RECORDING

Similar Products Used:
PIONEER , SONY

Price Paid:  $249.00 from QVC

Summary:
I like the idea of this combo unit. First off it saves me space by replacing (3) different componets. The dvd player has been excellent, colors are very bright and picture is extremly clear. The zoom feature does indeed get rid of the black bars top and bottom but, at a slight clarity loss. Layer changes are the best Ive ever seen- very smooth. The bass was alot more pronounced that my old one. My sub-woofer really rumbled. I didnt notice any digitizing at all and its played rental discs fine.It has componet, composite and "s" video with two digital outputs.(optical and coax. The cd music was also very good in my opinion. the highs were crisp and the lows were not bloated. It makes a fine cd player as well. The vcr portin is like most vcrs. It has all the basics but it does an unusally good job recording in slp speed. I taped a movie off of digital cable and it was very respectable quality. The manual is a bit odd. They have all the set-up menus at the rear of the book so you have to go there before playing anything. Remote is just medium. All in all a good deal and a fine dvd player.

Strengths:
combo unit

Weaknesses:
manual, to many double function buttons on remote.

Similar Products Used:
pioneer and sony