Review on Toshiba SD-V593 Progressive Scan DVD/VCR Combo with HDMI: The Ultimate Entertainment Solution by Josh Chenier

After reading several reviews over a few months I reluctantly bought this device because it had the features I needed. I didn't want to buy it due to the difficulties that many reviewers have expressed here in terms of setting up and getting the picture. I had no trouble setting it up and it used to work fine. However, we've had it for several months and the unit doesn't recognize DVDs. I was reading online reviews of other Toshiba DVD products today and it seems their products are giving up after a few months. I've always been a Sony guy and have bought LOTS of stuff from them over the years with no problems (like any company I'm sure Sony has some random defective products but I've never come across them personally). . In any case, based on my limited experience and what I have read, I cannot recommend buying DVD products from Toshiba. I went to Toshiba's website to see if they offer troubleshooting. It seems logical to highlight a spot on the website that lists various error messages with suggested actions. This is not on the site. I've looked at the user guide that suggests a fix, but it doesn't address this particular error message. Toshiba Customer Support is open on Mondays from 10:00am to 7:00pm ET. I'll call them when they open. Customer support is clearly another Toshiba weakness. I'm in California so I need to call between 7am and 4pm California time and either I go to the office or I'll be there. As such, their hours of operation are inconvenient for most people in the western United States. To be honest I don't know Sony's support hours (or if they are any better) but that's only because I've never had an issue with Sony or had a reason to call them.