Home > Consumer Reviews > Toshiba W512 Hi-Fi VCR

This is a nice VCR. The video quality of pre-recorded movies is good, and the record quality is nearly as good as playback quality. The on-screen menus are a nice feature, as is the automatic time and channel setup. But the best feature of the VCR is easily the rewind/fast-forward speed. It rewinds a two-hour movie in about a minute. I was amazed the first time I rewinded a tape.

But there are two problems I have with this VCR (which keep it from 5 stars). First, the VCR counter is defaulted to be on-screen. This is very inconvenient, as you have to turn it off every time you put in a tape. And secondly, the remote isn't so great. For some reason it's fat in the middle, making it awkard to hold. Also, the remote is not lighted.

But aside from these minor inconveniences, this is still a good VCR in this price-level.

I bought this as a third VCR for our exercise room, for my wife to work out with her exercise videos. I didn't need the best, as this was for light use only, so I didn't spend much, and boy was I surprised at the quality!

My premier VCR is a six-head Toshiba which I bought reconditioned for somewhat more money than this one, and I'm perfectly happy with it. This one has similar picture qualit but was much easier to set up-- easiest setup experience yet for me. After plugging it in, the clock set itself in seconds. No it doesn't have VCR Plus, but after harping on that as a necessary feature for the previous four VCRs, I found myself not using it much. The rewind is lightning quick and it feels like a very solidly built electronic item, despite the fact that it weighs next to nothing (making it very portable if you want to do some dubbing to another machine).

The only small drawbacks are (1) an awkward tiny two button combination you have to push on the remote to set the timer. This seems to be a feature on all Toshibas, and they don't get the idea that this is poor design. (2) There are no plugs on the front of the VCR, which is not a huge deal for me, since this one is so light, I just move it to the other Toshiba with the front plugs, if I want to do any dubbing. (3) The system defaults to showing the counter and other display items on the screen, so you have to turn it off every time you start a new video. Not too big a deal.

Overall, I got way more than I expected in what was a rock bottom low price on a hi-fi VCR. Treat yourself to that third VCR-- you can't lose with this one.

This VCR is ok for technically-savvy people used to joysticks, but is an absolute nightmare for older or fat-fingered people.

Dissolusioned and surprisingly dissapointed with a product from what I thought is the name brand I could trust. The only reason I'm putting 2 stars instead of 1 is good picture quality and rewind speed, no denying that. But the other reviews are beyond me - I'm about to get rid of this stupid thing and get a better one.
My #1 complaint: USER INTERFACE SSSSSSSUCKS!!!! I can't emphasise that enough - Toshiba designers scored a guinnes record on the unfriendliness of use here. I'm a product designer, and I think the interface, i.e. ability to program this thing to simply record things, is a design crime. I so hope that they (toshiba) actually check out user reviews, may be they'll get a clue.