Toshiba MW27F51 27" TV / DVD / VCR Conclusion

(3 star rating)

Watching DVDs
Using the MW27F51 to watch DVDs is certainly much easier than with other TV s that do not have a built-in DVD player. With the MW27F51, you just pop the DVD into the DVD player and press the play button. (You do still need to remember to change the TV to DVD Mode in order to play DVDs). You do not have to worry about connecting an external DVD player to the TV. This is nice as it is ready to play DVD s right out of the box.

Watching a DVD clears up the previous issue I had mentioned regarding the lack of image detail. I found that this TV produces clear and detailed images when using DVDs as the source signal. The resulting image quality is excellent and I did not see any instances of jaggedness. When watching DVDs, I found the level of detail to be comparable to my Sony 27" flat-screen CRT that I use at home.

Watching a DVD also produces clear, vibrant colors that exceed the image quality you get when watching cable TV. Again, when using the Movie picture mode, I found too much redness in the colors. I was able to select the Memory picture mode to change the color settings to what I had saved previously. After doing this, I was satisfied with the resulting color quality.

The sound quality when playing DVDs is no different than when watching cable TV. Again, I would definitely recommend using the coax digital output to connect to an external set of speakers for better sound quality.

The built-in DVD player is capable of playing Region 1 DVD s only.

Watching VHS Tapes
Using the MW27F51 to watch VHS tapes is also much easier than with other TVs that do not have a built-in VCR. With the MW27F51, you just pop the tape into the VCR and the tape begins to play automatically. The TV will even turn itself on automatically when you insert a VHS tape. So you don t need to worry about changing the TV to VCR mode when you want to play a tape, as the TV will automatically change to VCR mode whenever you insert a tape.

One nice feature of the MW27F51 is the auto-tracking. When you insert a tape, the auto-tracking kicks in and adjusts the tracking to obtain the best picture possible. If you want to, for whatever reason, you can still manually adjust the tracking using the remote control.

Another nice feature of this unit is the Commercial Skip. When you press the CM Skip button, it will advance the tape through 30 seconds of viewing. If you want to advance the tape by 60 seconds, you can press theCM Skip button twice. While this is not an exact science and you tend to either undershoot or overshoot the commercial time by a few seconds, it is easier than manually holding the Fast Forward button to skip through recorded commercials.

When viewing a VHS tape, the image detail quality and color quality is typical of any other current generation VCR on the market today. The displayed images are grainy and lack the detail that you find with DVD s, and the colors don t have as much depth or as much intensity as you find with DVD s. This is inherent to VHS tapes and does not reflect the capabilities of the MW27F51.

Recording to VHS Tapes
I did not have the opportunity to try this out first-hand, so I cannot comment on how well the MW27F51 performs when recording TV programs to VHS tapes. The unit is capable of recording in both SP (Standard Play) and SLP (Super Long Play) modes. It is also capable of using a DVD as the source and recording DVD content to a VHS tape. Why would anyone want to copy from a high-fidelity source, like a DVD, to a lower fidelity source, like a VHS tape? To be honest, I have no idea. But this unit has the capability to do just that.

Use of the Remote Control
There is nothing extraordinary about this remote control. It is a bland silver color with all of the standard buttons needed to operate a TV, VCR and DVD player. At the top of the remote are the  DVD and  TV / VCR buttons that allow you to change the remote control to operate the DVD player or the VCR. It does not have the capability to be programmed to work with additional components, such as an external DVD player or a home theater audio receiver. One design aspect of this remote control that really annoys me is that more than one control is assigned per button. For example, the  Channel Return function and the  CM Skip function is assigned to one button, and you are supposed to know which function applies depending on whether you are watching TV or watching a VHS tape. This is not exactly a difficult task, but when you crowd all of those labels onto a small remote it makes it very difficult to find the right button (especially if you are in poor lighting conditions).

Use of the On-Screen Menus
The available on-screen menus are similar to the on-screen menus of other TVs I have owned - they are pretty standard. They allow you to adjust or customize the settings for the picture, audio, VCR timer (for recording TV shows) and parental controls (using the V-Chip). The user-interface is somewhat intuitive, and it is not necessary to refer to the user manual in order to get the hang of the navigation. The VCR timer menu is fairly easy to use, but you still have to input the start time, end time, channel, and tape speed. This is certainly not as easy as using the on-screen menus for Tivo recording.

I will not go into details for each menu, but I will mention that most menus have sub-menus that allow you to customize a wide array of settings for the TV. This is useful if you have the desire to adjust the various picture settings or sound settings of the TV.

Conclusion
Overall, this TV has some useful features and excellent picture quality. The ease of setup and ease of use when watching DVDs and VHS tapes is also a definite advantage for people who do not want to trouble themselves with connecting an external VCR and DVD player.

However, the lack of HDTV support, 4:3 aspect ratio, average sound quality and the bulkiness of this TV did not impress me. I would only recommend this TV to someone who likes to occasionally watch DVDs and VHS movies and wants an easy to use TV / DVD / VCR combo TV for that purpose. I would not recommend this to someone who wanted to really enjoy movie watching or HD content to its fullest extent.