Good unit for the money
Written: Jul 08 '02 (Updated Jul 08 '02)
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Pros: Easy to setup. Provides DVD/VCR abilities at a reasonable price
Cons: VCR playback a bit noisy
The Bottom Line: This is a great unit for someone who wants to combine DVD and VCR capabilities into one unit without too much regard to the quality of the VCR itself.
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| jlandis44's Full Review: Panasonic PV-D4741 DVD Player / VCR Combo |
This unit was purchased with one idea in mind...to give DVD and VCR playback capabilities in our bedroom at home. We have our home theater system in the family room and just wanted something to have in the bedroom when we were doing chores or just lounging around. Our TV in the bedroom doesn't support surround sound, or even S-video so quality was not our goal. We wanted to have DVD/VCR in as small a space as possible by spending as little as possible while still getting quality. We have not been disappointed.
The setup of this machine was extremely simple. From box to playing both DVDs and tapes was less than 5 minutes. I used the regular RCA jacks since my TV is old enough to not have S-video or component video inputs. I expected to see a degradation in picture or sound quality, but was unable to notice anything worth pointing out. I am certainly no "video-phyle" so I'm sure there are some small differences that a "trained eye" might see, but a true "video-phyle" probably wouldn't even think of buying a unit in this price range. I do have a Sony Trinitron TV so the TV itself is a good unit as well.
The video tape playback unit is obviously one of the places where Panasonic chose to cut costs. The playback mechanism is slightly noisier than other good quality units. Rewind is noisier yet, and slow as well. Playback is not so noisy as to distract from the viewing once you get used to it. And I personally don't care how long it takes to rewind my tapes.
I have 3 other DVD players and I have found this one to be as good as any of them. I recommend it to anyone who is just an average person looking for the functionality of the unit.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 260
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Epinions.com ID: jlandis44
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Member: Jon Landis
Location: Boyds, MD
Reviews written: 38
Trusted by: 2 members
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