Not so sure about this one
Written: Dec 30 '05
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Pros: reliable brand, flat screen, modern design, and all-in-one at a very reasonable price
Cons: can't record one channel while watching another; picture tube may be shot after two years
The Bottom Line: Despite all the 'pros', tube damage after only two years is just unacceptable.
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| jven's Full Review: Toshiba MW27FN1 27 inch TV/VCR/DVD Combo TV |
We had just moved again (military) and we were due for a new television and overdue for a new VCR. We had never owned a DVD player. We knew that 'combos' existed, so that's what we looked for. We were actually surprised that so few models seemed to exist -- even at the large 'warehouse' type appliance stores -- but Toshiba had this model and it was everything we were looking for...reliable brand, flat screen, modern design, and all-in-one at a very reasonable price.
Several sales personnel advised against 'combos' for two reasons: one, because they said if one part breaks, you have to go without all three until it's repaired; two, the built-in VHS and DVD players are not as good as those sold separately. We figured they just made more money by selling everything separately.
Anyway, we were generally happy with our purchase and everything seemed to work fine. The most inconvenient limitation, we learned later, is that you can't record one channel while watching another. I don't watch nearly enough television for that to matter, but my wife considers that a serious flaw. (Our 'solution' was to buy a new Toshiba 20" TV/VCR 'combo' for upstairs. That's another story.)
We move ahead two years. We start to see a couple of thin faint horizontal bars at the top of the screen when we turned it on. Within a moment or two, they migrated back off the top and the picture was fine thereafter. As the weeks passed, however, the number of these bars continually increased, and the amount of time before they disappeared increased as well. Now, about two months into the problem the lines appear across the upper 25% of the screen and stay there...permanently. Very bad!
Despite the fact that my wife has watched this TV for about as many hours as I would otherwise have needed 20 years to watch, it is still only a little over two years old. I have now called Toshiba and I'm getting ready to take it to a service center. Over the phone, their best guess was that the picture tube needs to be replaced (2-year warranty expired, of course). I think they're right and I'm not happy about it. This was supposed to be one of those purchases that we expected to get 10-12 years of worry-free enjoyment from. No such luck.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 550
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Epinions.com ID:
jven
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Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
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