State of the VCR market?

[melman1]

I've used a two-VCR setup for many years.  One VCR gets used for timed recordings and the other for making archive copies.  I use VCR's pretty hard and replace them every 5 years or so.  (I thought about learning how to repair them but they just aren't designed for repair, and parts are next to impossible to get if you're not in the trade.)

The last new VCR I bought was in 2002 - you could see that the trend was toward a limited selection of flimsy low-end junk.  I got a Sony that has held up well so far (the remote died during the warranty period), but as compared to older units the tape control is a lot less precise.  By that, I mean if you're ff-ing and hit Stop the old machines would stop "right there", but the Sony overshoots by several minutes.

I was back in the market this week, and was shocked to see that stores like Sam's Club and Walmart didn't have ANY VCR's at all (Walmart had a few VCR/DVD combo units), and Fry's Electronics only had 3 - their one-time wall of VCR's is now almost all DVD's.  One VCR was a JVC that didn't even have rear RCA inputs.  The other two were Panasonic's (same machine inside, different cases and remotes).  And that was all.  I bought the PV-V4524S for $59, the cheaper of the two.

The tape control on this machine is much worse than the 2-year-old Sony, which is much worse than the 1997-vintage machines that they replaced.  I do a LOT of taping, time-shifting and dubbing and the performance is completely unacceptable.  However, it was either this machine or none at all.  I guess I don't expect a lot for $59 but I'd gladly spend more for a good machine.

Those of you out there with big VHS collections - what are you doing?  My collection of stuff is relatively small, but even so I can't imagine copying it all to DVD.  I am worried that "next time" I need to replace a VCR I'll find that they don't exist anymore.

[MikeK]

Your Sam's Club must have a real crappy selection of electronic equipment.  I saw one standalone VCR there yesterday (some crappy brand name I wouldn't spend a wooden nickel on) and two, maybe three DVD/VCR combos, the most expensive of which was a hair over $100.

I've thought about archiving my stuff but I don't have enough time, patience, or money (for both a DVD recorder and blank media) to pursue that endeavor.  An article on Yahoo about 2 or 3 months ago said that the prices of DVD recorders should drop a bit around Thanksgiving, both because of the holiday season and because the cost to create DVD recorders has gone down significantly over the past few months.  Just like all technology, I'll wait several years and snag a 2006 technology product for probably 1/3 the current price of 2004 technology.

I wish there was some way to archive VHS recordings to a TiVo.  That would be a pretty decent alternative to DVD recorders, at least in my opinion...

[Matt Ottinger]

The virtual disappearance of the VHS format surprises me because I would think there are still a lot of average users recording shows, and I have yet to be convinced that DVD recorders have gotten easy enough for mom and dad to use yet.

I can't even comprehend the amount of time it would take to transfer my VHS collection to DVD, especially since recording DVDs is what I do at work all the time anyway, and coming home to the same sort of thing would almost be too much to bear.  Still, at some point, that's going to be what people will have to do.

[Chief-O]

I still use VHS to record shows, but it doesn't get used TOO much [especially not for game shows lately]. It's a Memorex, and I hope I can whack it with a sledgehammer soon. Although VHS is easier to work with, I honestly wouldn't mind having a DVD recorder.

[roadgeek]

Even though I could record directly to DVD if I wanted to, I don't feel confident enough with the technology to do that.  Sure, there are always going to be faulty video cassettes, but it seems like the chances of getting one are slim compared to getting a bum DVD disc.  Plus, in my experience, my analog devices tended to wear down gradually -- giving me fair warning to look for a replacement -- whereas my digital devices would simply fail one day without warning.  But if the technological economics and reliability continue on, this might not be an issue another two or three years from now.

[DjohnsonCB]

What I use now is a Panasonic Hard Drive DVD Recorder, which has a VCR patched into it.  GSN and other digital channels get recorded on the VCR, and if I want to save a certain show, I transfer it to the hard drive, then eventually to a disc.  I've been mostly using spindle-pack Memorexes along with a few Sonys and Panasonics with their own cases, and nothing's given me trouble yet.

The Pannie set me back a little over $500 online, but other companies are introducing their own HDD-DVD recorders for less.  Toshiba recently came out with one priced less than the Pannie, possibly due to what I can only assume was consumer apathy toward their earlier non-HDD DVD recorder which I bought and quickly returned last year due to unpredictable timer recording shortcomings and a pain-in-the-butt Military-only clock timer.

[johnnyd1788]

When I first got my Dish, it came with a box that recorded certain shows. I think later on you can burn them directly to DVDs once you hook it into your DVD player or someting...
Unfortunately, my parents are the ones who use it the most.

[Robert Hutchinson]

Maybe it's a regional thing, but my local Wal-Mart still has a fair number of VCRs, of several different levels of quality. They have a good selection of blank tapes as well.

[mystery7]

If you must use tape, and you're a geek for picture quality like I am (hey, I work in TV, I have to be), consider a Super VHS-ET machine like this one. I've had mine for 4 years now and it's just terrific. Super VHS resolution on a high-grade VHS tape. You can get one for less than $150 now.

Then again, a DirecTiVo goes for as low as $100. But you still need something to save those really good shows to, and DVD recorders are getting cheaper and easier to use. Some even have VCR Plus+. So there's a case against a new VCR.

[Michael Brandenburg]

In response to "hmtriplecrown's" post in this thread:

I wish there was some way to archive VHS recordings to a TiVo. That would be a pretty decent alternative to DVD recorders, at least in my opinion...

So would be recording to your computer hard drive -- in fact, when I put together my own "do-it-yourself" PC last winter, I installed in it an ATI "All-In-Wonder" video card, a Memorex DVD recording drive, a Athalon 2.4 GHz. processor and a large hard drive to give it that capability.

Here's a link to an article on the website of PC World magazine with more details and instructions:

http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid...032,pg,1,00.asp.


Michael Brandenburg
(Now if only Bill Gates & Co. could come up with a version of "crashproof" Windows!)

[melman1]

[quote name=\'mystery7\' date=\'Sep 25 2004, 11:04 PM\'] consider a Super VHS-ET machine like this one (JVC HR-S2902U) [/quote]
 Does that have AV inputs on the back?  Doesn't look like it does, that's absurdly cheap to drop a basic feature like that.  Since S-VHS nor Digital VHS never gained much popularity, I have always avoided them.  Over the years I've found that I'm not a picture quality geek - as long as tapes I recorded 20 years ago will still play, I'm happy.  I used to worry about tapes wearing out, but my oldest tapes are still holding up well.

Does anyone have a VCR/DVD combo unit?  I imagine they do not allow taping of DVD's, which is fine.  Just wondering if the VCR's in those machines are of better quality.  (For $129 or so, I'm guessing not.)

[Rastaub]

I have a Samsung  DVD/VCR combo that I got at my local Sam's Club last Christmas ($149), and I can definitly say that the VCR is not all that great. The DVD player is decent.  

For my collection and trading purposes I have 2 Hitachis. Both were purchased at Sam's for less than $70, and both (at least in my opinion) are superior to the Samsung combo.

[MikeK]

[quote name=\'melman1\' date=\'Sep 26 2004, 02:10 PM\'] Does anyone have a VCR/DVD combo unit?  I imagine they do not allow taping of DVD's, which is fine.  Just wondering if the VCR's in those machines are of better quality.  (For $129 or so, I'm guessing not.) [/quote]
 I have a Sony DVD/VCR combo, purchased around the first of this year.  I have no complaints about either the DVD or VCR capabilities or quality.  Since August, my only uses for the VCR are to watch archived tapes, to transfer programs from the TiVo to tape, for dubbing from another VCR, and to occasionally record a program when the TiVo is in use e.g. TiVoing Jeopardy! and taping Millionaire when I'm in class on Monday nights.

I've tried recording DVDs to another VCR but with no success.

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'hmtriplecrown\' date=\'Sep 26 2004, 03:26 PM\'] I've tried recording DVDs to another VCR but with no success. [/quote]
 Pre-recorded DVDs like the ones you would rent at your video store are coded to prevent you from making VHS copies of them.  Clever souls find ways around that, but it's more complicated than just hooking the two units up to each other.

[Ian Wallis]

I can't even comprehend the amount of time it would take to transfer my VHS collection to DVD, especially since recording DVDs is what I do at work all the time anyway, and coming home to the same sort of thing would almost be too much to bear. Still, at some point, that's going to be what people will have to do.

I intend to transfer my stuff to DVD eventually.  I'll probably wait at least a couple more years until the technology becomes a bit better, and the media is more reliable.  

When I do start the process, I figure I'll give it a few hours a week in any spare time and just go gradually.  It will be kind of fun to match up certain episodes of certain shows and put them in chronological order, etc.  It will also give me the chance to weed out a few shows - I'm sure we've all got shows which we're not overly fond of for one reason or another - those ones I probably won't end up transferring!