Toshiba M455 VHS VCR

VCRs may not be the most popular of home electronics since the advent of the DVD player. But until digital recording units like the TeVo become widespread and affordable, VCRs are the cheapest and easiest way to record your favorite TV shows for later viewing. So to serve this basic function, I went out looking for a cheap yet quality VCR to last until the digital revolution hits my home. Boy, did I make a mistake.

While I have no beef with the picture or sound quality, or the durability of the Toshiba M455, it is one of the least intuitive pieces of home electronics I have ever encountered... And I have a degree in broadcasting.

Let me start with the remote. I wish I had looked at it before I bought the VCR. It is tiny, with very small buttons that are all the same shape and size laid out in neat little rows. Forget about using it in a dark room or simply by touch. Unlike most new remotes with large, multi-shaped and colored buttons, this remote is an absolute pain to use. I bought a universal remote and put the original away in the closet to collect dust.

Now, programming a VCR to record at certain times is rarely easy the first time you try it... all your grandparents will agree. But The Toshiba M455 never gets easier. First, you must wade through a series of menus (with your tiny remote) to find the programming screen. After fumbling with the remote to set stations and times, you have to wade back through all those menus to get out of the on screen display mode. The absolutely MOST frustrating thing is actually trying to put the VCR in the mode to record the programs you've selected. Back to the remote, you have to press not one button, but a combination of buttons simultaneously in order set the time recorder. It's not worth it.

My advice: steer clear of the Toshiba M455, and buy a Sony... Or anything else!