Panasonic PV-D4745S DVD Player / VCR Combo

I bought this machine to do three things: view DVDs, view VHS tapes, record programs on VHS tapes. So:

Viewing DVDs: I have really enjoyed using this feature, especially as this is my first DVD player. I have had it since Christmas (over six months), and have had no problems. The features are good, with two levels of zoom, and both fast-forward/backward and jump to next chapter/last chapter features. I have mixed feelings about whether I prefer widescreen or fullscreen viewing of movies, probably because I have a small television (i.e., widescreen makes things look even smaller). But, I discovered that, whether the DVD gives me a choice between the two or not, I have that choice. How? If I watch a movie in widescreen, and I want to switch to fullscreen, I just go to the first level of zoom, and voila! Both the video and audio quality are fine. I still haven't figured out to rewind those darn DVDs, but I'm working on it.

*snickers*

Viewing VHS tapes: The sound quality and video quality are both fine. I like having two levels of fast-forward/backward (fast and really fast). It is kind of slow when I rewind VHS tapes, but life's too rushed anyway. I have noticed, though, that while watching something on tape, whether it is a professional tape or something that I recorded, the picture tends to "flip" if there is an explosion in the movie.

Record programs on VHS: Everything that I said about viewing VHS tapes holds for tapes that I record. Programming this VCR is pretty easy and I didn't even need the instructions.

Viewing and recording VHS tapes: My last VCR had a feature that I liked, that is missing on this one. While this one allows you to place markers are tapes, my last one, when recording something from the television, would automatically mark commercials, and then automatically fast-forward through them, on playback. It was not one hundred percent accurate, as it would occasionally leave a commercial unmarked, and it would occasionally mis-identify a scene-change in a program as being a commercial break. But, it was pretty accurate, and I liked it.

I also miss having a clock display on the machine itself (along with one on-screen). The display on the machine was really nice when the electricity went off, as my old VCR's clock would automatically reset itself, and the display could then be used to set all the other blinking digital clocks. Yes, the clocks do blink, but if you interpreted my use of "blinking" as a mild expletive, re-setting all those clocks is pretty frustrating, especially for an eleven-second outage!

This machine is quiet, whether it is playing a DVD, playing a VHS, recording a VHS, or rewinding a VHS. I should mention, though, that the machine is biased and discriminates. If I have a DVD in the tray and in the machine, and a VHS in the machine, and I turn it on in VCR mode, the machine assumes I foolishly erred in my choice, and quickly switches over to DVD mode, and starts playing the disc (I prefer "disc" over "disk" for reasons I cannot explain, but you either knew what I meant, or you were being really picky).

Anyway, despite its quirks and foibles, I really like my new toy, and would easily recommend it to others. (But not mine! You can't have it! Grrrrr!)

(this dolphin also swims up the Amazon, and Rambles around)