TV/VCR combo
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A TV/VCR combo (sometimes known as a televideo) is a television and VCR built into a single unit. These devices have the advantage (compared to a separate TV and VCR) of saving space, as well as increased portability. These kind of devices entered the market during the mid-to-late 1980s when VCRs had become ubiquitous. By this time, the VHS format had become standard; thus the majority of TV/VCR combos are VHS-based.
Almost all TV/VCR combo decks have mono sound; few have stereo sound, but there are a large number of TV/VCR combos with a stereo TV tuner but a mono VCR in addition to a mono sound input aside of a composite video input. A major exception to this convention is TV/DVD combos. TV/DVD combos can sometimes have stereo VCRs built in (i.e. TV/VCR/DVD combo).
Modern televisions tend to be mostly solid state machines, while VCRs require mechanical manipulation of VHS tape and require occasional servicing. For this reason, it is not uncommon for the VCR component to cease to function or to become unreliable years before a similar fate befalls the television component, leaving many households with only "half" of the combo in operation.
In recent years, flat-panel TVs with integrated DVD players have appeared on the market.
One of the major drawbacks of a TV/VCR combo is that the integrated VCR can sometimes activate the Macrovision on DVD players, making it impossible to watch DVDs on the unit.
