Get Snow All Year 'Round With This TV/VCR!
Written: Jun 20 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Can be used in your vehicle, lots of nifty features
Cons: VCR picture is terrible, loud static when the tape is not playing
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| Dr_Steph's Full Review: RCA 9" AC/DC TV/VCR Combination T09081BC |
I really wanted to like this TV.
Our lifeline to sanity on car vacations, the Magnavox 9" TV/VCR, gave up the ghost earlier this year when our over-exuberant 2 year old broke the loading mechanism on the VCR. The very idea of taking a multi-day trip in our van with our three little hooligans, err, I mean darling children, is enough to make me shiver with dread.
Therefore, when I saw the RCA T09081BC 9" TV/VCR at Costco a couple of months ago, I fell all over myself trying to get a Costco employee to grab one for me before they all sold out. Somehow I imagined there would be a sudden rush on this item and I would lose out when I had it within my grasp.
I proudly toted my new kiddie-in-the-car entertainment device home to show my husband. He was moderately interested which is amazing because usually he just snorts with disgust when he sees me haul my shopping loot home. We unpacked it and set it up in my daughter's room - probably not the wisest of locations since that was the site of the Magnavox's demise.
Right away we were impressed with the appearance of this TV. It looked like it could do everything for you, except maybe cook dinner. My husband was delighted to see that there were speakers on BOTH sides of the unit rather than just on the right side (i.e. driver's side) like our past TV/VCR. Two speakers implies that the sound can be adjusted between them so he doesn't have to go deaf listening to Barney tapes blaring in his ear while he drives. As it turns out, it doesn't appear that these speakers ARE adjustable.
Features/Specifications of this TV/VCR
o AC/DC Power Capability - this was a necessity for us for van travel
o 2-Head VCR - most are in TV/VCR combos in this price range (under $300)
o Trilingual On-Screen Display (English, Spanish, or French)
o On-Screen Setup Menus
o Closed Captioning
o Programmable VCR Timer (6-Event/1-Month)
o Timers for On/Off, Alarms, and Sleep Functions
o 181-Channel Tuning Capability
o Autoprogramming
o Automatic/Manual Tracking.
o Real-Time Counter
o High-Speed Rewind (another important feature for us)
o Memory Stop
o Picture Search
o True Repeat and Block Repeat Features (if you want a tape to automatically rewind and replay the whole tape or portions of the tape)
o Two Recording Speeds (SP=2Hrs., SLP=6Hrs.)
o Four Types of Recording (Basic, One-Touch, Timed, Video Dubbing)
o VHF/UHF Dipole Antenna
o 9-inch diagonal measured screen with 90 degree deflection
o Dimensions: 12.28 inches wide (312 mm), 15 inches deep (381 mm), 12.91 inches high (328 mm)
I included the dimensions so that readers can determine whether this unit will fit in their vehicles or wherever they intend to use it. That was the first problem we noticed. Even though the RCA has the same screen size as the Magnavox, the actual size of the unit is considerably larger. My husband had custom built a stand to hold our previous TV/VCR between the two front seats of the van. He assured me that he could probably rebuild the stand to hold this one but he wasn't enthusiastic about the idea. In addition, I remember how cramped I felt with the old TV/VCR as I constantly bumped it with my elbow. The thought of having even less elbow room was not enticing. Still, I was determined to like this unit. However…
Three Strikes - You're Out
1. Like Watching TV in a Blizzard
The kids immediately wanted to try out the new set with their favorite tapes. My daughter first selected "Wee Sing" which is admittedly a bit old and worn. The picture quality was terrible! We could barely see the movie through the snow. We pulled it out and tried a much newer tape, "It's Potty Time" (gripping and suspenseful entertainment for the toddler set). The picture was slightly better but still had a lot of snow. The brand new "Pikachu Party" wasn't any better. We tried to adjust the tracking and then cleaned the heads, though we couldn't figure out how they could already be dirty. No change. The kids didn't complain much about the picture quality but it bugged both of us quite a bit.
2. Static Loud Enough to Wake the Dead (Or Even an Exhausted Parent)
We let the kids watch their videos since they didn't seem to mind the snowy picture. However, at the end of the tape, the TV picture turned into a loud static blast - you know, the kind you get when your cable is out. Well, we didn't have it connected to cable but then we didn't intend it for in-home use. We instantly missed the mellow SILENT blue screen we got on the Magnavox when the tape ended and was being rewound. I tried changing channels, thinking there might be a preferred channel for videos - nothing helped. The clincher was when my sleepless daughter turned this set on in the middle of the night in hope of sneaking in a little Pooh time and the static blasted my snoring husband right out of bed - and he was down at the other end of the hall!
3. Gobble, Gobble Goes the Tape
The problems I already mentioned were enough to have me sufficiently discouraged with this RCA unit. However, I couldn't bear the idea of returning it, especially since the 30 return period was over. Then my daughter (AKA, "The Terminator") managed to get a tape jammed in the VCR. I thought maybe she had put it in upside down but that wasn't the problem. She had tried to put in a tape when there was already one in the machine. How it let her get the tape almost all the way in is a puzzle to me. I could not extract it. Finally my husband stomped down the hall, took a screwdriver and eventually pried it out. He then came back and said, "It's gotta go." I couldn't agree more.
Overall Impression of the RCA T09081BC 9" TV/VCR
It looks like it has a lot to offer as a TV and a VCR if you can somehow solve the snow and static problems. We never actually used the TV by itself so I can't comment on the picture. However, even if the picture is outstanding, there are undoubtedly cheaper 9-inch TVs you can buy if all you want is a TV. If you want a TV/VCR combination, this probably isn't the best choice.
Recommended:
No
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