Toshiba MW26G71 26 Pure Flat Tube TV/DVD/VCR Combination

A very good, compact HDTV monitor

Strengths: DVD/VHS/Card Reader combo, Great HD piture quality.

Weaknesses: No internal HD tunner, heavy, screen menu dificult to follow.

Summary: The Toshiba MW26G71 is a very neat 26” wide screen HDTV monitor. It has a progressive scan DVD, 4-head VHS players, and a 4 in1 memory card reader slot, all compiled in to one machine. It does, however, require an external HD tuner in order to display HD content, and the resolution can be set between 540p and 1080i. The monitor can be automatically turned on by simply pressing the DVD player eject or play buttons, or inserting a VHS thus minimizing button pressing. A very clever feature! It also has the ability to record from DVD to VHS, as long as the DVD is not copy protected. The overall performance of this unit is very impressive as well. HD content looks great when the resolution is set to 1080i. The screen geometry is one of the most accurate I’ve seen. When playing a DVD or HD content with an aspect ratio wider than 16x9, the black bars that appear on top and bottom of the screen, seam to be perfectly parallel with the edge of the monitor. Better than my more expensive 34” Panasonic HD monitor. Another cool feature of the MW26G71 is that it can also auto detect between 480i and 480p (or higher) input signals and adjust the screen between 4x3 (with side gray bars) and 16x9 (wide screen) formats respectively when set to “natural” mode. The user may override this feature with a choice of three more screen settings however. The only minor issues I found is that the card reader display resolution is not exactly computer monitor quality. But I guess is enough for those who just want to view a few digital pictures. Also the non-universal remote control is very busy and somewhat intimidating. I guess that’s the best Toshiba could do considering all the functions that it can control. A backlight would have been helpful too. I’m very pleased with the overall performance of this compact unit, and considering all the features and reasonable price I truly recommend this HD monitor.

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Toshiba MW26G71 TV/DVD/VCR

Strengths: Good picture quality, integrated VCR, DVD player and memory card reader, compact size

Weaknesses: No HD tuner, limited audio output options

Summary: This TV was purchased to replace a TV that wouldn't fit into a new TV cabinet, and it's primarily used for SD TV content. In that role, with the aspect ratio set to stretch 4:3 into 16:9, it does well. The DVD player works well, though it's not as good as a separate DVD player. The VCR is a nice touch for the older non-DVD content on-hand. The memory card reader works well enough, though only recommended for short-term usage. When HD tuners get cheaper, one will be added for HD viewing. As it's in a bedroom, the lack of external audio output, save the DVD player, it's acceptable.

Overall, for a TV for SD content with a VCR and DVD player, that's upgradeable to HD, it does well.

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Major flaw in otherwise good TV, DVD, VCR combo

Strengths: Great picture using DVD, easy to use, nice looking TV.

Weaknesses: Major weakness. No analog audio outputs! This means only the DVD audio can be output to a sound system! The TV and VCR audio outputs do not exist. I find this to be a very stupid design flaw!

Summary: I agree witht he other reviewer. the TV has beautiful picture and many plusses. But not having analog audio outputs - meaning that you cannot ouput the sound of the TV or VCR to a sound system is terrible. You can only listen to the DVD through a sound system. If you do not intend to use sound system with the TV - then it doesnt matter. If you want to use a sound system with this TV - then it is unacceptable.

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