Toshiba SD-V296 DVD Player VCR Combo Progressive Scan Dolby Digital Remote Control Black

I've been giving this unit a shakedown before I wrote this review. My 5 stars are for what this unit is capable of, what it is not as advertised, and the cost. Toshiba is one of very few manufactures out there still making DVD/VCR Combo's and I'm glad for this. The manufacture date on the back of my unit was August 2012 so it was assembled quite recently as I write this. I have a large number of VHS titles that were never released on DVD or Blu-Ray so this type of product is still important to me. Hook-up is very straight forward. I'm not sure how typical my hook up scenerio is compared to others, but I had this unit hooked up to a quality 7.1 Home Theatre System that includes one powerhouse Pioneer Elite AV Receiver. I connected the three component Video out cables directly to my HDTV (for DVD), the Digital Audio Coaxial cable connected to my AV Receiver (for DVD), composite RCA cables audio/video out to my AV Receiver (for VHS), and connnected my COX cable box to the audio and video composite in jacks on the back of this unit for VHS recording. DVD video quality is excellent with 480p progressive scan. This unit is capable for bitstreaming both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1, another reason I give high marks. I watched an Enya music video compilation DVD with DTS and it was absolutely stunning, both video and the DTS 5.1 surround sound. As for VHS, the picture quality is certainly not going to be DVD quality but is watchable. For those who have an AV Receiver capable of Video analog upscaling, the improvement works. VHS HI FI audio is an almost forgotten technology in this digital age but the quality is still outstanding with analog Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound. I'll sometimes swear it sounds better than it's Dolby Digital counterpart from some video sources. Recording to VHS tape is something I didn't intend to use this unit for, but the quality is about as can be expected. Since I've gotten used to watching true HD blu ray and SD DVD, VHS viewing is not half bad as long as the recording speed is kept to SP mode and not the slow EP. VHS playback simply will not look as good on an HDTV as it does on a analog TV. If you have the equipment for video processing (upscale to 720P, etc) that really improves the picture. Any recording in the EP mode will look like crap on any HD set. Negatives, I would say the remote could be layed out a little better but is still very functional. The VCR while playing tapes does have an audible noise up close, but if this unit is in a cabinet or reasonably far away I don't think it would be that noticable. I haven't experienced any breakdowns like other reviewers have reported on. As such, for what Toshiba offers with this product and the low price point to own, this unit is worth 5 stars to me. Others have dinged this machine for their own missunderstanding of what this unit will or will not do, like "no tuner" or ignorance of hookups (the manual is very clear about cable hook up "how to"). These are unfair. Read more

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 5 out of 5 Great VCR/DVD player , December 1, 2011 by quikjr from Lubbock, TX Features: 5 out of 5 5 out of 5 Performance: 5 out of 5 Battery Life: 0 out of 5 Price–Value: 5 out of 5 Bought this unit .. took it home .. installed the three cables to red-white-yellow on the new 46" TV I bought (Panasonic). Turned it on. Put both a VCR and a video Disc to see if it worked. Both videos played perfectly. What more could you want?? What is your level of technical expertise? ProficientUser How long have you been using this product? One week to a month Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 4 out of 5 Great Value, Hard To Find Combo , May 4, 2012 by nat from Los Angeles, CA Features: 4 out of 5 4 out of 5 Performance: 4 out of 5 Battery Life: 0 out of 5 Price–Value: 5 out of 5 This machine is just as described, a player for both DVDs and VHS tapes. We plugged it in and it worked, period. What is your level of technical expertise? ProficientUser How long have you been using this product? One month to a year Read more

My review is a lot different from most of the people here. I saw the reviews others wrote, which were very negative, and one or two that felt it was a good solid basic machine. I have used toshiba in my profession and it is generally a solid, quality brand. Not schnazzy and spiffy, but solid. A few quirks, but it gets the job done. What I have done/intend to do with this machine: 1--Replace my old vcr which my son destroyed 2--Play old VHS tapes that have been given to us by friends/family, mainly children's videos 3--Play DVD's (for the children and for us--playing them on my laptop it's too quiet). On these three points, honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better deal. the price was under $50 when I purchased it last week, and it's brand spanking new, not a refurb, and everything works good. The sound quality for the VHS side is not extra quiet for my tv. In fact, I had to turn it down some. DVD worked great too. What I have NOT tried to do/don't intend to do: 1--record old vhs's to DVD 2--Hook this puppy into a state of the art audio/visual home theater 3--set the timer for recording programs automatically. In these more advanced digital age things, probably this is not the best tool. All I wanted was something that could play both vhs and dvd's mainly to entertain our kids and sometimes for me and my wife. Our TV is not enthroned in honor in our house, it is just a tool. Our life doesn't focus around TV programming, so all we really needed was something to play VHS and DVD when we need or want. Now it's possible if you have a nice nice system, you've already spent hundreds of $$$ on HD stuff, then maybe you need something that is more compatible. Check carefully on brands and make sure they have the exact connections you need, or you can end up spending a lot of money. Also, if you have a TV that only goes through Co-ax, you'll need a special box to convert the RCA to Co-ax, and the manual says you might find reduced quality if you do. So if you just need a basic solid piece of equipment to play your vids, I think you can't beat this one. The price has raised since I bought it, but it's still the most affordable one as of today, and I'm glad I got one for well under $100. Read more

The item was received several days before it was due. It was packaged well and very cleanly (too much popcorn). It has only been a few days, but it seems to be working just fine! Good provider here... Read more