JVC HR-XVC25U Progressive-Scan DVD/Hi-Fi VCR Combo
By: JVC Average Rating: 2.0 Total Reviews: 27
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 On: 2005-06-27
The product description here, as well as in other advertising, claims that the HR-XVC25U handles DVD+RW, DVD-RW, and DVD-R DVD formats. Before you buy, check with JVC. All they will claim is the DVD-Video format. This player DOES NOT handle DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD-R correctly. It will read them up to a certain point, and then it will lock up; probably the result of a data buffer overload or some such technical detail. I have had this player for almost a year, and have not had any other issues with it, but with at least 5 different DVD formats in common use out there, you really should buy a player that can handle all of them; give this one a miss. Ive already written Amazon about the mistake in advertising, but theyre not the only ones making these claims. Everyone except JVC.
 On: 2005-04-07
We bought this unit refurbished over a year ago. We use it almost daily and never have had any problems. In fact this product has performed excellent. I have read many negative reviews about this unit - so I thought Id just try and balance it out a little. The only gripe we have is that the remote control is insane. The thing is huge and it has buttons all over it. It wasnt thought out very well, very confusing. Other than that it has been a great product.
On: 2004-11-23
The one I currently have is actually the second DVD/VCR combo... the first one arrived damaged in the mail. However, the return policy worked out great and I very quickly received a new one that has worked great over the past year. It does everything I could hope for (except for multi-national playing) and is extremely good. Also, fairly quiet and adaptable. Very much enjoying it.
On: 2004-11-22
The one I currently have is actually the second DVD/VCR combo... the first one arrived damaged in the mail. However, the return policy worked out great and I very quickly received a new one that has worked great over the past year. It does everything I could hope for (except for multi-national playing) and is extremely good. Also, fairly quiet and adaptable. Very much enjoying it.
On: 2004-10-14
I bought this unit really cheap on closeout at an unnamed local chain (that also sells pretty good tools). Then we moved our Sony combo upstairs. I loved the remote but then noticed these faint, flashing diagonal lines (that started to drive me crazy) and it would not play tapes from the Sony combo that it replaced well even using manual tracking. I tried different connections and settings to no avail. The eject mechanisms sounded clunky and after reading the reviews it got on my nerves.
Well I took it back after 2 weeks to the local store and for just a few dollars more got a Sony combo on sale. Even though it has the teeny-weeny buttons the picture and sound rock. Thank You!!!
On: 2004-10-13
I bought this unit really cheap on closeout at an unnamed local chain (that also sells pretty good tools). Then we moved our Sony combo upstairs. I loved the remote but then noticed these faint, flashing diagonal lines (that started to drive me crazy) and it would not play tapes from the Sony combo that it replaced well even using manual tracking. I tried different connections and settings to no avail. The eject mechanisms sounded clunky and after reading the reviews it got on my nerves.
Well I took it back after 2 weeks to the local store and for just a few dollars more got a Sony combo on sale. Even though it has the teeny-weeny buttons the picture and sound rock. Thank You!!!
 On: 2004-09-28
We loved this unit until two weeks ago (after 11 months of use) when it suddenly died. Ok, it maybe cuz my two year old did something to it, but we are not sure. Even if he did shove something in the VCR slot (which is possible) - the DVD player should still work, and it wont! The power mechanism flickers on and off and seems to try to initialize the VCR and then poof - the whole unit dies. over and over. No need to try to fix such an inexpensive product.
 On: 2004-09-27
I dont know who the bad reviews from below are coming from... but I have had nothing but enjoyment from this unit. I use the DVD player heavily... but the VCR part only once or so a month... however I have had absolutely no problems.
On: 2004-09-19
Had this DVD/VCR combo for 11 months and it worked ok, though it got very light use on our second TV.
Then a piece of plastic broke on the vcr mechanism and the shop wanted $65 to repair (woohoo--the parts were under warranty, that was just for labor). Id paid $140 from Amazon when it was new.
Consumers should not put up with this shoddy quality.
Wish there had been more reviews at the time. Am so disappointed in the JVC (the J stands for JUNK!) brand, needless to say Ill not be buying any of their lousy products in the future.
On: 2004-04-29
I bought this oversized paper weight in September thinking I got a great deal for a Christmas gift. The unit stayed in the box until December. We cracked it open just before Christmas. The hook up sucks and is pretty confusing for those not literate with electronics. The DVD player which is the main reason I bought this, only worked for 30 days. Here I joined a damn DVD club and ordered a truck load of kid videos for my daughter. The wonderful warranty only covers labor for 30 days. Well since I didnt take it out of the box until I past that date I was out of warranty. The repair center wanted $70.00 for labor, which is more than 1/2 the cost of the machine. Because it freezes all the time we only use the VCR, which I already had, now I have an extra VCR. Whoopie. I hate JVC and will never buy their stuff. My next machine is comming from ebay for under a $100.00. Or from Sears and I will get the extended labor warranty because its obvious you need it these days. Quality is just not important to manufacturers anymore. What a shame.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-04-19
Ive had this unit for about 4 months now. I bought it so I could play some DVDs that I was burning on my computer. I still need a VCR for the off chance I might watch a video but I dont watch videos enough to buy a seperate VCR. This seemed like the perfect solution.
What a pile of crap. Freezes up ALL the time. CANT play DVDs that I burn. My little portable DVD player does! This hunk of junk has been nothing but problems. It is too late to take back so I will just toss it in the trash and get a better model.
About 200 bucks right into the garbage! Thanks JVC!
by: Anonymous On: 2004-04-05
Never worked well. After 4 months it does not work at all.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-03-25
Put in the first DVD, got about 5 minutes in then shut the DVD off automatically and loaded the disc from the beginning, only to stop at the same spot again. Cleaned the DVD tried it again with the same results. Tried another DVD and it shut it off about 5 minutes in. Back into the box and back to Amazon the day after it arrived. DVD was noisier than our other players.
On: 2004-03-14
Purchased this unit refurbished online, which I wont do again. Doubt any repair had gone on at all. From the start the DVD door would not open with the remote or the button on the unit. You could hear the motor trying, the machine just showed ERR across the front of the screen. Called JVC, they talked me through a reprogram, which of course did nothing, then suggested I take it in for repair! Yeah, right. While moving the unit around I could hear something rattling, so I unscrewed the side and shook it out, a broken chunk of plastic and a plastic dial, I would imagine the DVD door opening mechanism. Good thing it had been refurbished, eh? On the plus side, the VCR side worked fine, good picture and sound. Did not try recording. The remote was nice, thorough yet easy to use, and worked great with the TV. I was considering trying the unit again until reading all these reviews. Those of you that got well functioning units, it sounds like you got lucky. Im looking elsewhere.
On: 2004-02-24
The DVD player freezes all the time. It gets worse the more you use it. If you let it sit with the power off for a few days you can usually watch 1 DVD before it starts freezing again. Now our remote control is busted (and we havent used it that much). We cannot get the VCR set-up to take line 1 as input so cannot use the VCR to record from our replay TV or our camcorder. I will NOT buy another JVC product again.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-02-24
I am so much disappointed as my credit card has been charged for the item. But the item is never received. I tried to contact the seller to no avail.
On: 2004-02-21
I never had a DVD player, and mistakenly thought that I was doing something wrong. The DVDs get stuck, they wont advance even with fast forward. Also, I cant advance through the onscreen menu, the remote either isnt programmed right or this is broken, too. I should have returned it, now its too late. I e-mailed JVC Customer Service but got no reply.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-01-09
Purchased new DOA. Very disappointed. DVD tray wouldnt open.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-12-12
Just got this item yesterday, so I cant speak for long-term durability, but so far we like it. And I have no idea what anyone is talking about when they say it wont play Disney DVDs. I just put in The Lion King and then Finding Nemo, and both worked fine. ????? Maybe the bug has been fixed?
On: 2003-12-03
I have it hooked up to my Cablevision digital box. Everything works fine for me for both the VHS and DVD. Recording is a snap. The only complaint I have is that they have the input RCA ports on the front for gamers. But if you use them for connecting your cable box then they get in the way of the VHS tapes going in and out. They should have put a set in the back also.
Alert Alert alas I spoke too soon. DVD has broke after a year and about 30 uses. Never again JVC. Amazon wont let me change the star rating here. SO I GIVE IT 0 STARS NOW.
On: 2003-11-25
I did quite a bit of research and decided on this vcr/dvd combo because of the DVD flexibility, but was very disappointed with the VCR component. It produced all sorts of noise feedback when it hit rough spots on the tape it was playing, sometimes over and over every few seconds. I ended up returning it and am now seeking an alternative, and I rarely return items. I have a huge collection of video tapes and could not stand the thought of having to deal with all of that feedback. It essentially made it into a DVD-only player.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-11-16
I purchased my first one and had to return it the same day. The DVD player didnt recognize that I had inserted a DVD. I brought home the second one, but this one worked. I noticed that after about 2 months, the DVD was sticking, so I cleaned it. The cleaning CD even got stuck! Im lucky if I can watch a DVD without it sticking 50 times. Find a more reliable model, this one stinks!
by: Anonymous On: 2003-11-06
I recently got this JVC dvd/vcr and Ive had nothing but pleasure from it. Ive had no problems. Its played all the dvds I have (admittedly I dont have any Disneys), and I love the features. Its nice and compact, saves me lots of wiring. It works well with my little TV antenna and does a great job recording tapes. The remote works with my Toshiba flat screen tv. It has a great zoom feature. It also remembers where you were on a dvd when you turn it off, so when you turn it back on it starts playing at the right spot. Its also progressive scan, so when I get an hdtv compatible set it will play at the higher resolutions, something that my older panasonic dvd player wont do, even though it also has component cable capability. All in all, I have to give it 5 stars. For the price (especially if you buy it during one of the "offers" in Electronics, like I did) its a pretty good deal.
On: 2003-10-26
I got this machine to replace my 20 year old VCR that was eating tapes. Since I dont use a VCR that much I figured how could I go wrong. WrongThe one thing I have to have is my TIVO macine, which I bought at Amazon over 3 years ago and love. I have the TIVO machine hooked up with an A/B box along with the VCR/DVD. I got all the wires hooked up and everything kinda worked to I started playing with the setup menu. The setup menu is way to hard to figure out. I have to press the input button to get some things to register and nowhere in the instructions does it tell you that. I am an engineer and can usually figure these thing out. I spent 20 minutes to change from daylight savings time to standard time. The setup menu is not intuitive and way too complicated. I cant play the VC-Rs and the DVD-Rs that I make on my computer on the machine so that is another minus. Keep looking
by: Anonymous On: 2003-10-19
I am now on my 2nd unit and this one just crashed. Unit is not able to play any DVD and or CD. I am going to have to go thru the hassle of pulling it out of my rack, box the unit up and ship it back. If you read this and still decide to purchase, you may want to keep box.
On: 2003-10-19
I received this player from Amazon.com one week ago. It will not play ANY Disney movies (apparently, they contain code that is not recognized by this JVC unit). The DVDs work fine on other players, and all other DVDs work fine on this player- including VCD burned on my computer. I have tried 6 different Disney movies with the same result - the disc is not recognized and will not play. NO RESPONSE from JVC support!! The good news...returns at Amazon are simple - mines going back. If you have any intention of ever playing Disney movies, the player may not work...
On: 2003-10-10
I have owned the JVC HR-XVC25U Progressive-Scan DVD/Hi-Fi VCR Combo for 3 months now. In this time frame, I exchanged one unit within two weeks of purchase and am hoping I can do it again today. The reason, when I insert a DVD or CD, it tells me theres "NO DISK" in the drive. When the unit works, I really enjoyed the picture quality and features of this product from JVC but Im afraid after this experience, Ill be taking a pass on this brand from now on. Theres just too many quality products out there competing for my $200.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-10-08
Works great,saves space and easy setup
On: 2003-09-21
works well for me and my family thank - you jvc.
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