What has happened to VCRs?

I am in the market for a new VCR. It doesn't have to be anything fancy.
A $100 model will do nicely, and even that is overkill. I just want
the basics.

Yet I'm dismayed by the choices I'm seeing. First of all, not many
choices--either manufacturers have stopped making them or stores have
stopped stocking them. A Circuit City I was in today had exactly TWO
models, both of them junk. A Best Buy wasn't much better--they had
four, the same two as the CC, plus two more cheapies.

More to the point, they all look and feel like they are going to fall
apart in a month. I mean, the obsolescence and wear-and-tear factors
seem deliberately built in. I know I just want a basic model, but can't
I get a machine that plays and records and is put together decently and
doesn't feel like a cheap Fisher-Price toy? Seriously, some of the
buttons on these models, if I pressed just a little harder I think they
would snap or break. And these were "name" models: Panasonic, Sony,
Pioneer, Hitachi, JVC.

A few years ago I bought a basic VCR for about $100. It was reasonably
well-built (though even it was a step down from my former model) and I
liked it fine. But then I bought a combo unit and didn't need the
separate player, and since I'm pressed for space I sold it. I always
figured I could get something comparable in the future, and if anything
it would be even better and cheaper, because that's the way I thought
electronics were supposed to go. Wrong, apparently.

I almost want to say screw it and not buy anything.




John

 

You do realize you're postin gthis question in a dvd NG, in fact you posted
it in 2 dvd NGs. Thats what happened to vcrs....Almost zero demand. If you
want to record tv, you buy/rent/lease a DVR/PVR or even a DVD recorder...If
you like to rent movies, everyone has a dvd player now. The ONLY good
reason to have a vcr today is for old stuff you have.

 

Check with B&H on the web. Fast glance shows VHS machines from $55.00 to
just under $1,000. I'm pretty sure the 1K machine will last more than a
fortnight.

Regards,

Marv

 

And don't overlook Goodwill and Cash Convertors/thrift stores. I have
a great Toshiba machine, one of the best pictures I've seen, HiFi, 7
heads, adjustable noise reduction and sharpness, editing with flying
erase, and it cost $12 at Goodwill! Also I've seen SVHS decks at
thrift shops, and Betamaxes in good shape.. (Have you tried to buy a
Betamax on Ebay lately?)

These older machines are very very well made. My twenty-one year old
SLHF900 is still going strong.

... Steve ..

 

Did you try looking at the combo players (which's what all the models
have essentially been reduced to)?

Derek Janssen

 

No. What are you inferring?

--
Mac Breck (KoshN)
-------------------------------

"Brimstone" (1998)
[Stone lights a candle for the dead in a Catholic church]
Gina: Who's that for?
Ezekiel Stone: Me.

 

While it's not for the budget-minded, Crutchfeld still stocks
decent 4-head stereo units.

--

Aaron J. Bossig

http://www.GodsLabRat.com
http://www.dvdverdict.com

 

Great attitude. Try to buy a technology that has gone by the wayside
and then wonder why the hell they do not make it anymore. Can you
comprehend that the productin of VCRs are going the way of the film
cameras. Having said that you should really check Ebay.

 

They can go for 100s of dollars, which is ridiculous on the face of
it.

... Steve ..

 

Ebay is one of the biggest ripoffs around these days. I stopped using
it a few years ago.

 

First off, don't compare those new VCRs to Fisher-Price toys.
Fisher-Price toys are designed to take a lot of abuse. Those recent
build VCRs could never stand up to the level of abuse those toys get
in a single day with a kid.

I doubt you could buy a better built unit new right now. Almost every
VCR built today seem to be sourced from the same factory in China
(similar circuit board and connector layout). Probably made by the
same sweatshop kids that make your Nikes.

If you've still got the old one and don't mind tinkering a bit, 90% of
the time, the VCR is salvageable. The only parts that usually need
replacing are the rubber rollers and belts. According to an old guy
that repaired TVs and VCRs (before disposable units put him out of
business), those parts are supposed to be replaced every 2-3 years
anyways, which is typically why your average VCR also starts eating
tapes at that point too. The older VCRs are much more durable and it
usually only needs about $10 worth of parts to get them back in
service. There are a bunch of sites online that give you detailed
instructions on how to replace the parts, and some give links to site
tht sell the parts -- you only need to specify the model# to get the
right parts kit.

 

What's a VCR?

 

Look at a history site.

 

His nym should be "large feces"

 

http://www.crutchfield.com/

 

Why is that a "great attitude"? I have 20 years worth of VHS tapes that
I would still like to watch. What are you telling me, that I can't
watch them anymore? That I have to buy a DVD recorder and burn them to
DVD? What happens five years from now when the next technology comes
out: transfer my 100+ DVDs to that new technology? That's the "bad
attitude." It keeps businesses making money off retarded consumers who
just keep lining up with their wallets open.

Can you comprehend that you're a rude asshole? can you comprehend that
some people have lives and don't want to convert their libraries to the
format-of-the-month every few years?



John

 

I'm glad I didn't ask you for advice on buying a turntable--which I just
did, btw, a very nice one.

The problem is the stores, which don't want to serve anyone except the
lowest common denominator. You're going to have to shop online, like I did
for my turntable. I suggest using froogle.google.com -- over 24,000 hits
for VHS VCR, ranging in price from $40 to $5300.

 

I'm glad I didn't ask you for advice on buying a turntable--which I just
did, btw, a very nice one.

The problem is the stores, which don't want to serve anyone except the
lowest common denominator. The best thing to do is to shop online, like I
did for my turntable. I suggest using froogle.google.com -- over 24,000
hits for VHS VCR, ranging in price from $40 to $5300.

 

Yeah, really. I just love the mentality--oh, they don't make that
anymore, so let's just throw everything we have away and buy it in new
format, even as they're telling us they won't be making this in five
years either. No consumer left behind.

What about those of us who have material that has not been put on DVD,
or hasn't been put on DVD in region 1? (This whole region crap just
hurts DVD sales in my opinion; it prevents me from buying things I
want!) --Oh, burn the tape to DVD yourself. But what about the
packaging, the booklets, photographs, etc? What if we don't want BOTH
DVD copies and VHS copies cluttering our already-limited shelf space?
What if we don't want to pay the cost of buying a DVDR just so we can
have what we should be able to have access to in the first place?

Just because DVDs are now the thing, that should not invalidate 20+
years' worth of VHS.



John

 

Thanks. I'll give that a try!



John