Another problem with these things is that all of the ones that I've worked with have shared remote commands for both the DVD and the VCR.

In other words, the play button works for either device depending upon the mode that the machine is switched to.

How do you find out what mode the machine is in? Walk up to it and look for a tiny indicator that says DVD or VCR. Can't figure out why the DVD's not playing? Walk up to it and make sure that the little "DVD" indicator is lit up and not the little "VCR" indicator.

Integration aside, these things are worthless. Besides, of all of my customers, less then 10 percent ever record anything and of that 10 percent, 8 percent of them have DVRs. Where does that leave the lowly VCR? For the occasional playback of Juniors first soccer match, or Grandma's 90th birthday party.

In other words, most people who buy these things think that it's great to be able to have both formats, but wind up using the VCR section once every other year.