Sansui VRDVD4000 DVD Player / VCR Combo

Pros: Cheap means to have everything in a compact space.
Cons: The motor should last longer.

I've had this for 3 years and up until this month had only nothing but good things to say about it. I have another model 4001 in another room that I just got based on the performance of the 4000. I don't believe there is a standby, power off mode - probably the main reason the DVD side went kaput. It just kept spinning the DVD. I'll probably replace it with another Sansui (4001). I have other brands of DVD players that are 5+ years old and still have no problems out of them.

Pros: Plays mp3's burned on cd-r Quiet Great Sound
Cons: Doesn't like dvd rw Cant record a dvd with the vcr. Cant use universal remote

Great gift. Being able to play a cd-r with 100 mp3 songs is a nice feature. Easy to use on screen menu. Also it's quiet when opening/closing the dvd tray (something that bugs me on some players) and when inserting/ejecting a vhs tape.

When my girlfriend's antique VCR finally gave up, we went hunting on line for an affordable VCR-DVD player combo because she uses it mostly to watch rented movies. This was the least expensive brand name unit we could find ($135 on sale at Sears.) Hooking it into the antenna connection of her TV yielded a very good picture on her 21 inch RCA set, and turning up the sharpness control to 3/4 improved it even more. The sound quality through the tiny, built-in speakers was also very good. Only the slightly slow search speeds detracted from the performance. For the 95% or so of the public that are not videophiles of the nth degree, this is a well made unit they would be very happy with, and I'd recommend anyone audition it, if possible with a larger screen TV / home theatre setup, at their local Sears store. You'll be pleasantly suprised (like I was.) I'd give it a 4.5 if I could, but without that possability I'll be conservative and leave it at 4 overall.