Sylvania 13" TV/VCR Combo w/ Remote Control - Good choice for kids.
Written: Mar 26 '02 (Updated Mar 26 '02)
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Pros: It worked, plug and play
Cons: Heavy
The Bottom Line: Works great for kids, it is inexpensive and has some great features.
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| LisaDo's Full Review: Sylvania 6313CA 13 inch TV/VCR Combo TV |
Our son received the Sylvania 13" TV/VCR Combo w/ Remote Control for Christmas. Yes, he is only three, but he loved to watch his cartoons, so Grandma decided that was what she wanted to get him. This way he and Daddy didn't have to fight over our TV anymore.
Straight up, this TV was purchased to be used only to play VCR tapes. It was never hooked up to cable or satellite. We wanted something to play VCR tapes that was inexpensive and this fit the bill. I wanted to make sure this was clear from the start.
The Sylvania 13" TV/VCR Combo w/ Remote Control came ready to use out of the box. The remote control, two "AA" batteries and the rod antenna were all included in the box. You just need to hook the antenna up to the back, which looked simple enough, we just didn't bother.
Some of the features included with the Sylvania 13" TV/VCR Combo w/ Remote Control are (from the book):
Rotary 4-head Record/Playback System
Index Search
Slow Motion
Infrared Remote
Bilingual On Screen Menu Display in English or Spanish
Real Time Counter
181 Channel Capability PLL Frequency Synthesizer Tuner With Direct Station Call - I am not going to pretend I have any idea what this means, but it does say that a converter may be necessary to view scrambled cable channels.
Auto Clock Setting
Closed Caption System
Game Mode - Automatically sets the external input mode and allows the TV/VCR display to be used with video games.
Auto Power On and Off System - This was nice. When the video was over, it would automatically rewind the tape, eject the tape (when it went all of the way to the end and self rewound - would not work if you manually rewound the tape) and then shut itself off. If the tape was pressed back in, it came back on and automatically started to play. Our son could easily turn this on alone if I left a tape in the ejected position.
Auto Rewind When the End of a Tape is Reached - This doesn't happen when you use the timer recording.
2 Step Picture Search Operation - You can view a video program at a high speed or super high speed in either a forward or reverse direction in LP and SLP mode. For SP mode only high speed. (Why would you WANT to do this?)
Three Different Playback Tape Speeds - SP, LP, and SLP.
Two Recording Speeds - Sp and SLP
Auto Head Cleaner - Automatically cleans the video heads as you insert or remove a video.
Zero Return - The counter returns to zero by rewinding or fast forwarding.
Still - Also known as pause, freezes the picture on a frame.
Digital Auto Tracking (DTR) - automatically adjusts the tracking while playing a tape.
Rental Play Mode - Improves picture quality from worn tapes, such as rental tapes.
Auto Repeat - Allows you to replay a tape indefinitely without pressing the play button. (Again, why would you want to do this?)
Time Search - You can manually move ahead in a movie by pressing in the time you want to skip to in a movie.
OTR (One Touch Recording) - Instant timed recording from 30 to 480 minutes is possible at the push of the REC/OTR button.
1 Year, 8 Events - The built-in timer allows you to record up to 8 programs at different times on different channels up to 1 year in advance. (WOW!) The daily timer allows recordings to be made of daily broadcasts and the weekly timer allows recording to be made once a week up to the end of the tape.
Auto Return - After the timer recording is finished, the TV/VCR can return to the beginning of the recording.
Wake up/Sleep Timer - Will turn off and on at preset times.
Timer Program Extension - Allow you to shift the time schedule for automatic timer recordings.
V-Chip - Enables parents to prevent their children from watching inappropriate material on TV.
FM Mode - Allows you to listen to FM radio.
The buttons on the front of the Sylvania 13" TV/VCR Combo w/ Remote Control were marked and easy to read. From left to right the buttons and knobs across the front were:
Earphone Jack - This was so that you could plug in earphones, if you have any, so you could hear it without disturbing anyone else. The size of the jack is 1/8" monaural (3.5mm).
Audio Input Jack - To connect the output jack of your audio equipment, video camera or another VCR.
Video Input Jack - To connect the video output to another VCR or video camera.
Stop/Eject Button - To stop and/or eject the VCR tape. Hit once for stop, then again to eject. This button is also used, in TV only mode, to select setting modes.
REW Button - This button will rewind your VCR tape. In TV mode, it is used to set the language or user set up.
Play Button - This will play your VCR tape. In TV mode it will also select settings from the on screen menus and you also use this to enter the digits while setting the clock or timer program.
F.FFW Button - This is to rapidly advance thru your movie. This button also is used to determine your selections and proceed to the next step of input. You also can use this to determine setting modes and selecting a mode form a particular menu.
REC/OTR Button - To manually start recording a tape. This will also activate the One Touch Recording.
Record Indicator - This light will flash while during recording. It will also light up in the stand-by mode for Timer Recording.
Remote Sensor Window - This is how the remote signals are received by the Sylvania 13" TV/VCR Combo w/ Remote Control.
Channel Up and Down Buttons - This is to change the channel on the TV. These buttons are also used for tracking for your videos.
Volume Up and Down Buttons - Adjusts the volume.
Power Button - This is used to turn the Sylvania 13" TV/VCR Combo w/ Remote Control off and on, and is also used to activate the timer recording.
Cassette Compartment - This is where you put the VCR tape in at.
The remote is a basic remote with nothing fancy on it. It is small, but functional. It has the same buttons, for the most part, as the Sylvania 13" TV/VCR Combo w/ Remote Control, as well as number buttons to manually change the channel if you want to change stations quickly that are in a wide range from each other.
The Sylvania 13" TV/VCR Combo w/ Remote Control actually did a lot more than we needed it to. We wanted something that you could pop a tape into so our son could watch it. We wanted something simple (which this is easy to use even with all of these options listed) that he could learn to use himself. This TV/VCR fit the bill. The fact that it was on sale at Sam's Club for $149 (I believe) didn't hurt, either.
In case you haven't noticed, a lot of this review is in past tense. While our son just received the Sylvania 13" TV/VCR Combo w/ Remote Control for Christmas this past year, he has already killed it. He had pulled or pushed it off of the table it was sitting on numerous times. It even survived a move, but this last time when he pulled it off of the table it landed on it's side with a tape in it and something inside the VCR broke. The TV part still works, but as a VCR, it is worthless.
While the Sylvania 13" TV/VCR Combo w/ Remote Control is broken, it is not due to construction, it is due to the fact that our son got to rough too many times and finally broke it. It was an excellent TV/VCR before he broke it. TVs are not made to take that kind of abuse, so I can not fault the unit itself.
Our only problem with it was that there were a couple of tapes that it wouldn't play, yet when I put them in our VCR they worked fine. I am not sure why this is. Out of over 40 VCR tapes that we had played, only two would not play and they were new ones. I don't know if it was something in the tape or not.
All in all this was an excellent purchase. Since my parents, knowing our son, had bought the insurance for the TV, it is being replaced, and I would definitely look for this item again.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): Gift
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Epinions.com ID:
LisaDo
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Member: Lisa D
Location: Back home in Indiana!
Reviews written: 552
Trusted by: 273 members
About Me:
Proud SAHM, Navy wife and member of SHLEPS!
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