Price Paid:  $299.00 from Brands Mart

Summary:
I bought this VCR for s-video andit plays old or new tapes with beatuful results.I just bought a Yamaha RXV-1300 and hooked it up and the play back i even better. I use it only for play back and not to record.

Strengths:
picture,s-video

Weaknesses:
remote,wished it was black

Similar Products Used:
none

Price Paid:  $170.00

Summary:
I left a reivew on this VCR three months ago and at that time, the picture on regular mode was very good and recording on S-ET was beyond my expectation too.

But I have to change my previous review now. The recording on Super-ET is full of stripes and dots. I first thought the head could be dirty and then spent $10 on a clean tape. The recording remains poor. Then I de-activated the Super-ET and changed it to the regular recording at SP speed. The picture is even worse: the stripes are gone the detail and resolution are nowhere too.

Toshiba remote is the worse I've ever seen. It has a very narrowly functioning angle. When you press recording key, you will never know whether your direction has been accepted by the machine because there is a delay. In addition, the recording key is badly designed and you will have to press two keys at the same time. The machine display is not clear. All the digits on the display are of some color and it is very hard to tell whehter it is on recording or on play, or on SP or SLP. Moreover, the Pause key does not work well. You cannot pause before recording.

The user manual is not helpful.

Strengths:
None

Weaknesses:
poor picture quality for recording on S-ET, bad remote, quality not reliable

Similar Products Used:
Sharp

Price Paid:  $279.00

Summary:
This is my second Toshiba 808 and it is just as bad as the first which was replaced. I don't understand how some reviewers claim to get a great picture on this unit...it is HORRIBLE!
The first one which I returned, had picture distortion; whereby it would overscan the picture and "bloom". I returned it..This second one was somewhat better...yet the picture still looked kind of washed out...resolution; detail...poor..
I thought perhaps it was my setup and tried a variety of cables, inputs..you name it.
I called Toshiba about this after having it a few months and they attributed to perhaps hookup or that I send it in for repair. Being disgusted..I thought I would "live" with it..and hopefully I would eventually find whatever was causing the problems. I did'nt want the hassle of a having it repaired; which in many cases has at times is kind of risky.
I have had the 808 for roughly 6 months..and it grew steadily worse...resolution looking worse..color washed out..The DNR reduction...yeah..it cleans up the noise somewhat but then cuts down even more on whatever resolution you have..This is a sorry excuse for a Super VHS vcr. My old Mitsubishi...and even an older GE made by Samsung...have better color; resolution than this piece of junk!
Now I have to negotiate with Toshiba...and hope I can some type of satisfaction.These things are made in China. Some of you perhaps were lucky enough to not get a defective unit...but seeing this is the second one which is goofed up...I would advise anyone to think twice about getting this model. This is my first Toshiba vcr. I DO NOT intend to even get another Toshiba vcr.
BTW...this might be of interest. Before I got the 808...I purchased a Mitsubishi 795, since I have always found Mitsubishi to be pretty sold performers. Well, again..I was disappointed, since the picture, once more, was lacking..and worse of all..I could not get a steady or still picture, no matter how hard I tried. I returned it...and lost a load of money, dealing with Crazy Eddie and their "games"...charging for restocking fees, etc.
My point in rambling here is to advise that both the Mitsubishi and the Toshibas seem to be made by the same manufacturer. From looking at the both of them...this is the impression I got..
Anyway, sorry to vent here but I do so to WARN
anyone buying the Toshiba 808 to be very, very wary. You might end up as I did. This is the WORST vcr I have ever used, I believe and I have worked with a number of them.
The other reviewers who have posted bad reviews here, appear to have had the same types of experiences and problems I had. BEWARE!

Strengths:
None

Weaknesses:
All

Similar Products Used:
Standard VHS Mitsubishi and GE JVC, others

Price Paid:  $238.00 from Vanns

Summary:
Overall, this is a nice machine for the money. It replaced a Sony which had a terrible picture (sorry, don't remember the model number), and cost $100 more than the W808. I am using it with a 5 year old 35" Mitsubishi TV.

PLUSES:
Good picture and color on older tapes.
Speedy FF and Rewind.

MINUSES:
The manual is terrible. It confuses more than helps in some cases. Lack of an index doesn't help.
The remote control feels cheap. Battery/extended command compartment seems likely to be the first potential casualty on the system.
Some controls are a little unconventional. For example, when time shifting, after programming the VCR, you have to press the Timer and Rec buttons simultaneously. This turns the VCR off. To power the machine up again, you must again press the Timer and Rec buttons, then press the Power button. A better design would have been for the Power button to switch the unit on without having to turn off the Timer control.
Recorded picture on my unit tends to have a heavy greenish cast, no matter what speed I record at. However this may or may not entirely be the fault of the unit. I noticed a similar condition, but to a much lesser extent, on my Sony VCR. The condition doesn't seem to exist on pre-recorded tapes, or when watching cable through the unit.
Auto setup was ridiculously slow. It took the unit about a half hour to scan 125 cable channels. If the power goes out, you have to repeat the entire auto setup process.

NOTES:
Toshiba needs to improve its quality control. The first unit I recieved had a bad tracking problem. I could get audio with a grossly distorted picture, or video with totally distorted sound. A discussion with my local Toshiba service center technician convinced me to return the unit rather than have it repaired under warranty. The replacement unit seems to operate properly. I used to have two Toshiba DX7 units, both of which had timer unit problems right out of the box, and which were never fixed. Quality control may be Toshiba's weak spot.

Strengths:
Speedy FF and Rewind. Better than average picture on extended recording speed.

Weaknesses:
Badly written manual. Poorly designed remote. Unconventional time shifting control.

Similar Products Used:
Toshiba DX7, Hitachi, Sony.

Summary:
I must say, I've personally had a fairly monumental change of thought. Directly under this review, I gave this VCR a very poor rating, but after some careful adjustments, and an upgrade of my power source, this seems like different machine. It has really been performing quite well in all aspects!

Strengths:
Great machine with Super VHS capability--Toshiba VCR's tend to be amongst the best consumer models(I said AMONGST, there certainly ARE better ones out there from other manufacturers.

Weaknesses:
I've overcome them all.

Similar Products Used:
Other Toshiba VCR's(about 3)