Panasonic reliability ??

DVD nor VCR doesn’t work
I bought a Panasonic DMR-ES35VS combination VCR and DVD recorder, because I have bought many Panasonic items before (I really like their still cameras and video cameras). The VCR could play and record videos, and the DVD could play DVDs and record DVDs. I got it so I could copy some VCR tapes I have to DVDs.
I opened the box, and it was brand new. Great. I hooked it up to the TV, and tried to play a tape, but at first it wouldn’t load the tape right so it could play, so I tried to eject the tape, and it wouldn’t eject. So, I shoved the tape back in, and it loaded right. It played OK. Then I tried to eject it again, and it wouldn’t eject. I stuck my finger in the slot, and with some help, the tape came out. I pushed the tape back in, it loaded right, then I tried to eject it and it wouldn’t unless I prodded it with my finger. Reminded me of 10 years ago, when I had similar problems with VCRs.
So, I put opened the DVD drawer, and put in a new DVD. It closed OK, and I got a message that the DVD needed formatting, and it wouldn’t continue. So I looked it up in the manual, and after reading the whole manual, it said to format the disk. It showed me how to get to the menu, but the unit would not go to the formatting menu. So, it never did format anything. So, obviously, the DVD would not record. Now, I have a Cyberhome DVD recorder which I have used to 2 years, and it knows when you put in a new “unformatted” DVD, and it proceeds to format it automatically. But, it seems that with Panasonic, they don’t know that yet.
So, then I put in a DVD “Moulin Rouge”, and it decided that it didn’t know how to play a DVD I bought ! When using the remote control, it kept going to the start of the movie, which I saw about 15 times. I prefer my Cyberhome, which lets me go wherever I want on the DVD. I then tried a DVD I had recorded with the Cyberhome DVD, and it had lots of trouble going through the disk, making me go to the start over and over again.
So, great. The VCR didn’t load or eject, and the DVD didn’t record or play properly. Looks like the combination VCR-DVD didn’t work. Looks like a software problem. Maybe looks like a VCR-DVD made in China has a quality assurance and a reliability problem. Maybe we are learning everything all over again (SPC, Manufacturing, Weibull, Systems Engineering, Deming) with the China products.
I returned the VCR-DVD the next day, because nothing worked.