Customer Reviews

Toshiba W603 4-Head Hi-Fi VCR

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

First off, ordering and service from Amazon was impeccable. What I've come to expect.

On to the machine. I bought the machine based on price and brand name. I thought Toshiba would provide a quality product. I was wrong.

I have cable straight into the TV - no box - very primitive.

I hooked up the VCR - no problem. The auto timer function never synced with the cable input. I go to manual set up.

When you go to manual to set up the time and other functions - turn the volume down, or else you'll get very loud static.

I set the switch on the back of the VCR to channel 3. When going to play a tape you have to have the TV set on channel 3 - AND - that still won't work. Once the tape starts playing you get static - you have to dial the TV up or down one channel, then go to channel 3 - the tape then plays fine.

When stopping the tape, the VCR makes a lot of "gear" noise. Extremely noisy when rewinding, and ejecting.

No remote eject - only manual. The remote seems extremely cheap.

All in all a very poor piece of equipment.

I would recommend that you look around at other reviews and find a better machine, consider paying a little more.

This VCR is pretty much a steal for only one hundred dollars. It has features that are absent from other VCRs in this price range.

This Hi-Fi stereo VCR, at only 99 dollars, incorporates features useful for home theater. It has the standard width of 17 inches, so you can easily stack it with home theater components. It has front styling that doesn't attract attention. It blends in very well.

The picture and sound quality are very good for the price. However, the pause picture was worse than I had expected. It has front inputs, a feature that is absent from most VCRs in this price range. Furthermore, a faceplate covers the inputs so they remain hidden when you are not using them.

One bad thing about this VCR is the playback noise. It generates a lot of noise at normal playback that can easily be heard when there is only dialogue during a movie, and you are sitting about 10 feet away.

The biggest fault, however, was the remote. It is absolutely ridiculous. First of all, it is very small. Second, the buttons are all indentical in size and shape. Third, the buttons are not placed very logically. You cannot operate the remote without having to look at it. I would reccomend just buying a generic remote for this VCR and throwing the old one away.

Overall, however, I find the pros, esepecially the price, to outweigh the cons. I would recommend buying this if you do not want to sped a lot of money on a good VCR. But if you are willing to pay at 150 dollars or more, then you can get a much better VCR.

The product does everything I could ask for a mid price machine. The product has little or no noise in operation, extreamly fast rewind and fast forward. The still frame mode is clear, and steps one frame at a time for those hard to catch moments. The auto tracking works well and the picture is clear. I am very happy with this product.

This Toshiba VCR lived up to my expectations, but just barely. It is reliable, relatively sturdy, and I havent had any problems in playback or record, but there are several small changes that would make it a better product.

First: the remote. The buttons are all small (and the same size) so you basically have to turn on the lights if you want to control the machine. Unless, of course, you memorize the configuration, but you would have to use it a lot, and it's not really a universal remote.

Second: setting it to record. The steps to record are easy to follow, but instead of being able to use the numeric keypad, you must use arrows to change the time, which can be a real pain. Believe me, you get sick of scrolling (slowly) from 6:30 to 11:00 when you have to do it several times. Also, it doesnt automatically turn on the timer to record when you turn the power off; you have to do that manually.

Third: automatic clock. It worked, but in the time it took me to get it to do so, I could have set the clock myself.

So, I guess I am satisfied, but if I bought a new VCR, it would probably be a different one.

Hook up was easy, the vcr synched it's clock with my cable, then the machine stoped working. I got 30 minutes of use out of it before I had to put it back in the box and send it back to amazon.com. The VCR powers it self off after about 2 minutes of being turned on. It will not insert tapes.

Yes,Im an audiophile with over 15,000 dollars invested in audio-video components...No,this is not a component that screams top of the line features.....However,what you do get is a great second hifi deck for dubbing vhs movies or dual recording of different cable programs..The fact is folks,VHS recording technology is about as good as its going to get,unless you go superVHS..This Toshiba,though only four heads still gives you great resolution,about the max capable(240 lines),of this format..I have it mated with a top-tier Toshiba vcr that cost 349.99...And dub-edit, shows,sporting events,and home movies..The reason decks like this can be so cheap is not "poor quality",but rather,market saturation...So,even if your just starting a home theater system,this is a great simple machine that should meet most of your needs...Also,it looks pretty darn good for its price!!..Check out some of those "ICKY" looking machines from Panasonic,sharp and a few others and you"ll see what I mean....In closing,a great value and solid performer for its price...

It's about 99 days old and there is no sound at all and even new tapes look like they are at the end of a 10 year Bl_ckb_ster life cycle! (It was like that about 2 weeks ago but I fought with the manual, remote control and cabling just long enough to run out the warranty!) I'm going to get a quote on the repair but will probably just bin it and learn that sometimes manufacturers manufacture to a price point - even if they aren't any good at doing that.

The unit feels cheap... and it has turned out to be so.

This is one of the best values in the lower end of the VCR market. The player provides superb sound and video quality. The Hi-fi stereo sound is great, even through my 10 year old Pioneer receiver. The remote is basic, but does operate my TV (a Mitsubishi), even allowing for direct channel input, something my previous VCR's "universal" remote would not do. I also have a Toshiba DVD player (SD-1200) and a Toshiba DVD-Rom drive on my PC. Never a problem with any of them.

This VCR has an excellent picture and nice auto tracking feature that was not present on my last VCR. It rewinds tapes in a jiffy and has a pretty good still image. The hidden front A/V inputs are a nice addition. The remote is rather small with hard to read buttons. The major problem I encountered was when I tried to hook it up to my magnavox DVD player via RCA plugs, the picture faded in and out with a red tint.

With the Toshiba W-603 you get what you pay for; an inexpensive VCR that will play and record. It performs these functions ably, but when its drawbacks are taken into account, the consumer may well decide to spend a little more money and purchase a better product.

I purchased this VCR three months ago and have found it serviceable at best. The drawbacks:

1)The remote control is a joke. It's very small and gets lost easily. It's more complicated than most remotes, cramming nearly forty buttons into a three-inch-long area. Most egregious however is the lack of a volume control. You need two remote controls, a TV and a VCR remote, or you need to purchase a Universal Remote to operate this VCR.

2)The VCR emits a whining noise during playback. It's not as pronounced as other reviewers have noted, but still noticeable.

3)The machine's fastforward and rewing functions are subpar. It's difficult to stop the video at a precise place, often requiring the viewer to rewind the video to watch something that's been missed.

4)The automated timer will eventually work, occasionaly setting the time for inaccurate time zones (though in fairness this may be related to my media configuration and not the VCR). The length of time it takes for the timer to set is ridiculously long. It would be easier to set the clock manually.

5)The VCR LCD display is unnaturally bright. It doesn't have a nighttime dimmer function as other VCR's do. This is particularly annoying for me because the VCR is directly in my line of sight at night. I'm forced to unplug the machine every night.

I'm satisfied with this VCR's playback ability. In buying it, I was looking for a cheap machine that would play my videos. I have not been disappointed. I would recommend it to others looking for a cheap secondary VCR. If you want a quality unit, you'll need to look elsewhere. This is an inferior unit.