Home > Consumer Reviews > Toshiba MW24FP1 24-Inch TV/DVD/VCR Combo

I purchased one of these for the bedroom. I thought 24" would be a bit too big, but it's actually a nice size for widescreen letterbox DVDs when it's near the foot of your bed. The unit does take up a lot of space though, and it's heavy. 24-25 inches is kind of an awkward size for a TV--too big for a bedroom but too small for a living room. I thought it'd be convenient to have the DVD and VCR combined with the TV, especially only having one remote. Unfortunately while the TV picture quality's pretty good, the built-in VCR and DVD aren't up to par with units I could have bought separately.

The way you get the VCR to record, or stop recording, isn't completely intuitive to me, and the programming options are minimal. It doesn't rewind tapes too fast either. The good thing is, you can record a TV program while watching a DVD. The DVD player, however, is even worse--it takes forever to load a disc, move between chapters, etc. and it's very finicky about disc condition, sometimes refusing to load/play ones at all when my Pioneer unit in the living room doesn't even flinch. It's also very annoying that DVD subtitles seem to be on by default, and even when you turn them off some still appear (like a French translation of a sign in the movie, or a commentary speaker's name) depending on the DVD.

Although it does have the desirable side-mounted speakers, there's only one on each side and they're a paltry 1.5 watts each, hardly adequate for DVD soundtracks or playing music CDs. But, at least is has digital audio output if you want to use an external amp and speakers.

The remote glows nicely if you've left it in direct light, doesn't have awkward buttons at the very bottom, and you can use many of the buttons by feel, however, a lot of them are same-sized and in a perfect grid pattern, and while the button glows the labels do not, so in the dark they really all look the same. The on-screen menus aren't the best I've seen either.

Overall though, I'm pretty happy with this product except for the slow and finicky DVD player. The flat screen does provide a good picture, and the speakers aren't too bad for low-volume listening. It's certainly nice to only have one remote for three devices, and which can actually control all the features.

With entry-level DVD players, CRT TVs, and VCRs all available at commodity pricing, the attraction of an all-in-one set like this is not cost, but setup simplicity and freedom from a rat's nest of wires.

Setup is straightforward, as you would expect it to be. Once unboxed and plugged in, you're up and running in 5-10 minutes.

Out of the box the picture seemed a bit intense. Sure enough, the set is shipped from the factory with the contrast at the maximum (+32) setting. I dialed it back to flat. To correct the slightly oversaturated color and overly-bright reds and oranges, I was able to adjust the color and tint to get a very good (for the price range) picture. Your taste and set may differ, but it is worth spending a few minutes getting the picture right.

You can pick up a well designed remote and immediately find the channel and volume buttons with your thumb. Not so here. These oft-used controls are hidden in plain sight amid identical numerical, mute, and display keys. You find yourself spending too much looking at the remote, which can be annoying in the dark.

The DVD player and VCR both work well. The DVD player loaded and changed scenes fairly quickly and played without odd artifacts. The VCR performed well, if unspectacularly. There is no flashing 12:00 to remind you of the days before ergonomics -- that is the remote's job.

The set has small (1-13/16 x 3 7/8 inch) front-firing speakers on either side of the screen driven by 1.5 watts per channel. Not surprisingly, they sound like they look -- thin. I keep finding myself turning the volume up to "find" bass which isn't there. The obvious solution would be to route around the issue and run RCA plugs from the back panel audio out jacks to a stereo, but this negates some of the appeal of a combo set.

The instruction manual included is clear, which is a good thing because the on-screen menus are only average.

CONCLUSION
The picture is pretty good for this price point. Spending some time looking at much more expensive plasma, LCD and DLP sets, you appreciate how good CRT (picture tube) technology has become, even as it heads into the sunset. I found the MW24FP1 did everything competently. The sound is thin and the remote could be better, but combined these only merit a one star deduction.

If you're going to spend this kind of money, then get something else. This TV's sound is terrible. It works acceptably for routine network programs, but for stereo broadcasts and VCR/DVD playback, it reeks of dead skunk. You have to keep increasing the volume, which then serves to blur what you're trying to hear, and people who are watching continually ask each other, "What did he say?" For this price, far better products are available. I definitely wish I had not bought this one.

And yes, the microscopic little buttons on the remote are a pain in the derriere too. This TV/DVD/VCR system looks a lot better on the department store floor than it functions in your home TV room. Don't waste your money or time with this thing.

I can't review this product's performance and image-quality, etc, because the poor thing didn't even survive its journey by truck from the vendor. [see also shipping-damage reports for the "Toshiba MW20FN1" 20-inch Flat Screen TV-DVD-VCR Combo]. The first reason is that the TV's case (outer shell) is a lovely but very thin PLASTIC, silver-colored and very high-tech looking, but about as impact-proof as the average plastic model car.
Worse, the Toshiba shipping-carton for this product uses minimal styrofoam on all inside corners, especially the upper corners; on the FRONT, the top corner foam is barely over 2 inches thick -- this for a heavy TV which may bounce on its head many times before delivery to the customer??! My TV's outer cardboard-box had only some minor scuffs, arrived still sealed, unpunctured and in apparently great shape, but the TV-case inside had BOTH upper front corners crushed, and the TV tube (CRT) had totally fallen inward away from the outer case.
This is not the distributor's fault (unless they refuse to replace/exchange the damaged merchandise), and I don't think any trucking company should be expected to transport heavy CRT's in packaging this flimsy. Check the package contents before accepting, and save your receipt....

a handy tv for a kid's room or any spot. tape program is too complicated. DVD and TV straight foward and useful. does it all, making extra equipment unneccassary. a good price for what it does.