Home > Consumer Reviews > Toshiba MV13L4 13-Inch TV/VCR Combo

Picked up this Toshiba thinking the small TV / VCR combination would be perfect as a TV in a bedroom without cable hook up. What I was looking for here was a way to watch TV and videos on a unit that was 1) small and 2) worked out of the box, requiring minimum set-up time. (I dislike making trips to Radio Shack or Best Buys to get little cables and connectors.)

It has been about two years since my last TV purchase. Looks like things have changed as far as what standard equipment is included. I was shocked that this TV didn't come with any antenna whatsoever -- not even the cheapie snap on rabbit ears. As there is no cable connection in this room, the TV picked up absolutely nothing until I was able to go out and buy an antenna for it. (At minimum, this will add another $30 to the price of the set.) Once the antenna was in place, the set found all the local channels.

The power cord on this set seems very short...at least two feet shorter than on any of the other six TV's in my house. You're either going to have to be able to place the set within three feet of the room's power outlet, or use an extension cord.

If space is a consideration (and why else are you getting at 13-inch screen?) check the dimensions of the box. The back of the set juts out all out of proportion to the business end of the unit.

There are a couple of input jacks located on the front of the unit for auxiliary games or equipment. I can't understand why these weren't put on the back of the set. For those who want to use them, they'd be perfectly accessible on the back -- for those who don't want to use them, they wouldn't have to look at these relatively large chrome jacks on an otherwise matte black panel. (The 10-15 age bracket would probably enjoy this and consider it a feature.)

The VCR works perfectly. It does all the basic stuff...Play, Record, Pause, Mute, etc. No problems with that. The remote control unit is adequate at best. All the TV control buttons are very small, and gray on gray color. The channel up and down, and volume up and down buttons are next to each other and easily confused. If it got more use, this would be worth replacing.

The TV and VCR work fine once you get it set up. The picture colors are true...bright and sharp. By accessing the menu you can control the language set up, various clocks, calendars, timers, and lots of other things which didn't interest me.

Corners were cut in the design of this model that make it seem cheap. Note: that's cheap -- not inexpensive. I found the surprises to be very annoying.

When I was out looking for small TV/VCR combo units, I stumbled upon this.

Here are my impressions of this machine:
* light and portable enough to position on a kitchen counter or ironing board (so you can eat while you watch tv or a video)
* easy to move around for cleaning or to move from room to room
* mono (one speaker in the front, combo units like this usually are)
* speaker volume doesn't increase much from 30 onwards (goes up to 50)
* requires cable (doesn't come with antenna)

* short power cord (about 3 feet)
* neat glow in the dark remote control buttons (but not really useful) and it comes with 2 AA batteries
* channel and volume control buttons are small and right below the power button (easy to confuse these)
* vcr works great (you have the usual forward, rewind, pause, stop, play, timer, counter reset, zero return, 30-second skip search features, no slow motion play though)
* has input ports (so you can hook up a gaming system) but no output port (so you won't be able to hook up another vcr and record to it)

I would really recommend this for people who want a decent, reliable and portable TV in small areas like the kitchen, bathroom or even a dorm room.

This is one of the better combination TV-VCRs I have seen lately. Panasonic and Sony also both make good 13inch TVs. Unfortunately, Toshiba's combination TV-VCRs continue to get overlooked. Notwithstanding, this is an excellent set and performs equally well. The picture is crisp and sharp. The built-in Digital tracking 4 head VCR makes VHS tapes look very good. You get front A/V (RCA type) inputs with a TV/game switch. It also has time-shift recording capability and a built-in head cleaner. The front panel features a useful headphone jack. The `Black' cabinet design has a good retro look.

This is a really good television for a small room or a first television for anyone. This is my first tv, and I love it. I can watch movies, record movies and it has a nice, clear picture. There is also really nice sound and a good remote. Though the screen is fairly small, the price is very good for the quality the buyer is recieving. In two years, I have not had one problem with this tv! This is a great buy for an excellent television.