VCR/DVD combos: they save space, but are they worth the compromises?(Product/Service Evaluation)

Combination products can be a mixed bag. They save space and simplify hooking up equipment, but they often exact their own costs. For example, if one component breaks, you have to send the whole works out for repairs. And the component devices may not be the equal--in features or performance--of their stand-alone counterparts. The TV/VCR is one combo that has survived in the market because it turns the duo into a convenient, tape-viewing system.

At a time when many consumers want both a VCR and a DVD player, a device combining the two sounds like a convenient way to navigate the transition from analog to digital video. But is that convenience better than buying a VCR and DVD player separately? Judging by the eight models we tested for this report, a combo's main advantages are that it fits in about the same space as a VCR, can involve less wiring than two units, and can be operated with just one remote. VCR performance was equal to that of the VCRs we tested for the report on page 26; DVD picture quality, as with stand-alone players, was uniformly excellent.

But none of the combos had features you often get with a separate VCR, like VCR Plus+ or the ability to control a cable/satellite box. And a combo probably won't save you money over buying separate units.

At prices ranging from $180 to $300, most tested combos cost at least as much as a good DVD player and VCR. For example, a pair of separate units that we tested for the DVD player and VCR reports in this issue--the $100 Sharp DV-S1U DVD player and $100 Toshiba W-727 VCR (see Ratings on pages 25 and 28, respectively)--together cost less than most of the combos, even though the Toshiba VCR provides lots more features than the combo units.

Here's what else our testers found:

* All have a component-video output connection for DVD playback, which, on a TV set with component inputs, can provide a better picture than composite or S-video. They also have various types of digital-audio outputs for connecting to home-theater sound systems.

* All can play commercial audio CDs, CD-Rs and CD-RWs made on a CD recorder or a computer's CD burner, and discs containing MP3 files.