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Samsung DVD-V3500 Progressive-Scan DVD/VCR Combo

Samsung DVD-V3500 Progressive-Scan DVD/VCR Combo

List Price: $179.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Glad I got this DVD/VCR-No thanks to the reviews here!!!
Review: After first reading the reviews for this player, I had serious doubts about purchaning it. So, I check out several other DVD/VCR Combo units that were reviewed on this site. I found that all of the DVD/VCR Combos, plus most everything else on this site is trashed in the reviews. So, I came to the conclusion that either all DVD/VCR combos are trash or that most of the people that post to this site are incompetent.

I purchased this unit from Sam's Club, at a great deal. Set up took very little time at all. (Actually, it took me longer to clean up the dust from behind my entertainment center than to hook up this unit.) I have found no problems with the remote control. (Amazing how reading the directions can help with understanding how things work.) Picture is great, both DVD and VCR. I hooked it up to my Bose radio and the sound is almost theater quality.

I would highly recommend this unit to anyone that is looking for an inexpensive combo unit.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Samsung DVD3500 DVD/VCR COMBO
Review: Pretty happy so far. Easy set up. Attractive. Quiet. Very good picture and sound quality from both VCR and DVD especially through my home theater system. Records DVD to VCR. Record on VCR from TV channel while playing a DVD. Easy to use remote but a little small for my fat little fingers. EZ view to switch from widescreen to full pan scan to full screen feature.
CON- The DVD has paused on its own close to the end of a couple of DVD's but was able to search backward and play resumes to end of DVD.
All this and progessive scan too for the price of a quality DVD progressive scan player alone! Recommend to those who are looking for a quality combo unit.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not so great
Review: Not what I expected. The back panel is divided into two parts: one part says DVD, the other part says DVD and VCR. There is only one S-video cable, it is on the DVD side. If you choose to use the S cable (to get better picture quality from your DVDs) then you turn off the video output from the VCR. You can only get video out from the DVD and VCR if you use regular yellow/red/white cables. I called customer service, they were no help. I was disappointed, so I gave it to my kids for the rec room.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Pleased with the Value
Review: Purchased this unit about a month ago. Very pleased with the picture quality and features. Tuner is better than my 27" TV. Both VCR and DVD function as described. Reviews of other brands/models indicated noisy playback. I haven't experienced this at all with this unit. Ability to scan through JPEGs is nice. Cost was very good for the features.

The biggest drawback I've seen is the remote. It programmed easily enough to run my JVC television, but is anything but intuitive to operate (and I have a computer science degree.) By working at it long enough I eventually get where I intend, but it should be easier. (Heaven help the 51% of the population who are "remote control challenged".)

A related problem is the narrow angle at which remote must shoot the beam at the DVD/VCR unit. I can be at nearly a 90 deg angle and the TV will respond, but the DVD/VCR unit requires much closer to a direct shot. (The real issue is...I can't control the DVD/VCR unit from my favorite chair!)

Bottom line: It's a good unit for the money, and hopefully someday I'll figure out the remote (or my kids will).

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Samsung DVD-V3500
Review: I have had the DVD/VCR combo for 4 months. Now it locks up with every DVD I try to play. If it does start playing a DVD it will lock up in the first 15 mins. User manuel is useless, Samsungs web site is not much better. Buyer Beware!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: PLEASE Listen to the negative reviews!
Review: As more than 10 of the 20 or so reviews I read about this unit say, it DOES lock up on almost every DVD we try to watch, the remote IS horrible and it IS very hard to get the recorder to function properly. I definitely should have come here to check opinions out, EVERY single DVD we have tried to watch locks up about an hour into it for no apparent reason, the $30 APEX dvd player we bought a year ago is leaps and bounds better than this unit. Sometimes after the lock up problem it won't even continue playing after removing the disc and putting it back in! Horrible unit, I strongly suggest avoidance. Samsung, you have no excuse.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent value
Review: I don't have room for separate VCR and DVD units, so a combo unit seemed like a fine solution, and Consumer Reports rated this unit pretty highly, at the same level as two other units. I chose this one because of the connection options--my (aging) television only has a coaxial (RF) connection, but as this unit is likely to outlive the TV, I liked the fact that I'd be able to step up to optical connections in the future.

I have to say that some of the reviews here gave me pause, but I've had none of the reported problems. After reading through the manual, it took me under five minutes to hook this up--and that's including disconnecting my old VCR! And I had no trouble with any of the setup options, even though I experimented with a lot of settings I'll probably never need.

I admit that I worried about the reported "red cast," and when I first tried out the unit, it did seem to me that the picture seemed too red. Before panicking, however, I thought I'd see what the picture looked like without the unit being turned on. Guess what? Someone had apparently fiddled with the television color settings. I corrected the color, turned on the VCR, and no problems: a lesson on jumping to conclusions.

I've played several tapes and DVDs, and have noticed no trouble with either. Since I've only had the unit a week that may not be determinative, but if any problems develop I'll let you know.

The only criticism I have is with the remote. It works perfectly with my ancient Sharp brand TV, and I haven't had any trouble using the various buttons, but I do find myself picking it up--and trying to use it!--upside down (pointing toward me) an awful lot. I think that in the next iteration, Samsung should consider distinguishing the two ends by the shape of the remote, and some lighted keys would be nice, too...But all in all, I'm very satisfied.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Beware the red screen!
Review: I recently purchased this combo player. I was initially very impressed with it. When I tried to play a DVD, the drawer failed to open so I exchanged the first unit. On the second unit, the DVD drawer did open and the player operated normally. The picture appeared normal on the line component feed. When I switched my television to the component DVD signal (the "high quality" signal), the screen was tinted red. I swapped out the new cable thinking that the cable must be defective. It was not. I returned the second unit and had the retailer's video department verify that the player produced the reddish signal on the display model of my television. It did. I was given a replacement player. When I got unit number three home, I connected it to find the same frustrating result as the second unit. I returned the third unit and had the video department test a fourth unit on another make of television. It worked perfectly. They then tested my model; red screen. They then tested another sized television from the manufacturer of my television; red screen.
Here's the unbelievable part. My television is a Samsung LTM1775W LCD flat panel. The smaller unit was the 15-inch model. Samsung has marketed this player and it doesn't work with their own televisions.
I will spare everyone my opinion of a manufacturer that creates this kind of consumer nightmare. I bought this unit to avoid cross-manufacturer issues and ended up with an intra-manufacturer incompatibility. In my email to Samsung I simply referred to it as "ridiculous". I now have a Toshiba player.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: This player isn't that bad
Review: This is a good DVD/VCR combo player. It plays almost all kinds of discs except asian standard VCD/SVCD. I bought it to play my MP3s since I have a more decent Pioneer DVD player to play my DVDs/CDs.

Sometimes, it pays to read the manual and use common sense when evaluating DVD players. Though it is a lot easier to blame it on the manufacturer when people can get their stuffs to work :D but most of the reviews I read involved user errors

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: No zero star rating??
Review: Don't waste your money on this thing. I got it as a gift and wish I could get rid of it and get something that works. It has never actually played an entire DVD without us having to get up and smack the thing - the DVD's keep getting stuck. I don't watch VCR tapes much but my sister got one as a gift and uses the VCR all the time - or tries to. She's taken it apart 3 times in 6 months to get the tape out of the VCR. While it's playing, the tape sqeaks so loudly sometimes you can't hear the TV. The only good thing I have to say is that the DVD does eject when you tell it to. In short: this thing isn't worthy of taking up space in my trash can. I'm only keeping it until Dad comes to visit and see that we're using it. After that, it's a gonner.


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