Daewoo 14F7T1

...was a very neat little Daewoo combination TV/VCR for £200, which when you consider that you are getting a basic mono VCR and a Teletext remote controlled 14” TV all rolled into one, is very reasonable.

OK, so it’s still got a slightly curved “TV Shaped” screen, there’s been no attempt to widen it or even flatten it, but the overall presentation is quite neat – if you like charcoal coloured appliances ...
...handle, but the upper ledge of the case has recessed slots, which facilitate a reasonably balanced lift.

Features-wise, it breaks no new ground, but at this price, what did you expect?

The VCR has a timer, the teletext works as per normal, and the picture on the main 5 channels is fine. There is a SCART lead input at the back, should you ever become a two-DVD-player family or have a set-top box, and the VCR can handle ... more

You know the way that old TV’s get “cascaded” to the bedroom, when replaced by something larger and/or wider in the lounge?

If you’re familiar with this phenomenon, then you will be also familiar with the fact that a relegated TV “don’t ‘alf look big” in the bedroom.

After accepting this situation for a couple of years, we decided to do something about it, and regain some dressing table, the timing of which coincided with Dixon’s sale!

There in the window was a very neat little Daewoo combination TV/VCR for £200, which when you consider that you are getting a basic mono VCR and a Teletext remote controlled 14” TV all rolled into one, is very reasonable.

OK, so it’s still got a slightly curved “TV Shaped” screen, there’s been no attempt to widen it or even flatten it, but the overall presentation is quite neat – if you like charcoal coloured appliances in the boudoir, that is. There is no visible carrying handle, but the upper ledge of the case has recessed slots, which facilitate a reasonably balanced lift.

Features-wise, it breaks no new ground, but at this price, what did you expect?

The VCR has a timer, the teletext works as per normal, and the picture on the main 5 channels is fine. There is a SCART lead input at the back, should you ever become a two-DVD-player family or have a set-top box, and the VCR can handle US-standard NTSC tapes on playback as well as the home country’s PAL system. It has provision for an external aerial and a set-top one. The latter works reasonably well, given that this set is likely to be used upstairs, with a better shot at getting a signal from a “coat-hanger” than it would at ground level, although we got fed up with fiddling with it to get rid of ghost images, and fitted a “proper” one instead.

Niggles? Well, as with all combinations TV/VCR’s that only have one tuner, you can only watch the same channel as is being recorded. Some other “combis” have two tuners, but then they cost more. Heh, how serious does your bedroom viewing get anyway (of TV I mean, not what you get up to with binoculars!)

Also, the timer is a bit quirky to operate, as the clock needs resetting before it will work since the on/off switch really does cut the supply to the whole thing. You COULD leave it on stand-by* to obviate the need for this but you end up with a red LED looking at you when trying to get to sleep. Better to regard this VCR as a playback machine that CAN record if pushed, pressing it into service when there are two simultaneous programmes worth recording (a VERY rare circumstance in my opinion)

*After what I read about the energy wasted in the UK by TV’s on standby, I wouldn’t dare!

One other very minor niggle – single-digit channels (i.e. all of the main ones), take an eternity to change via the remote control, until you get the knack of preceding them with a zero to make them two-digit,) 01 for BBC1 etc.

Reliability has been fine – lucky I didn’t get talked into the extra Dixon’s warranty – it would have been money down the drain!

Reasonably priced and reliable? That’ll be the DAEWOO!
 

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