VHS recorders

[MrT]

How long will VHS recorders be available to purchase? With many shops ceasing to stock them, sooner rather than later might be the time to invest in one (or even two) new machines so that tapes can continue to be played even when the technology is well and truly in oblivion.

Now on that point let me recommend the "FUNAI" brand VHS recorders which may still be found on the shelves of larger TESCO stores. At £31, I casually threw one into the trolley yesterday and what a great little player it turned out to be - It handles NTSC playback, and gives a nice steady picture even on older tapes.

Sound is clear but only mono - not really a problem though for anyone into films of the 30s, 40s, and 50s..... get one while you can!

Mike (MrT)

[mark windley]

i will haft to agree with. MR.T. i done the same thing not so long ago
a .LG.player a good investment for around .. &40 pound about $150 australian dollars ....

[orpheum]

To be honest i have 3 spare machines.I just have so many tapes built up since 1979 that transferring everything to DVD is a non starter.

[boilerboy]

Well I managed to get a stack from our local video shop for a song. I have a new vcr on laybye
so I now have200 or so films and they're all good.

[Carmel]

Sainsburys were selling them a couple of months ago for £20 so i bought 2 and have them in storage just in case, it was a great deal so im sure you can still buy them in some stores.

[smudge]

Originally Posted by orpheum To be honest i have 3 spare machines.I just have so many tapes built up since 1979 that transferring everything to DVD is a non starter.

I have to admit that even now, some 5 years later, I still have the dregs of my VHS to transfer to DVD. I did somewhat underestimate how long it would take to transfer my considerable collection. This was with 2 DVD recorders running after the first 6 months too....

Smudge

[Wolfgang]

You can still get tape cassette players 20 years after CD become popular so I think VCR's will continue to at least be built into combo DVD/VCR for years yet.

[jamiesd]

I've still got 2 betamax video recorders along with my vhs one
All still going strong

[JohnB_Toronto]

Originally Posted by Wolfgang You can still get tape cassette players 20 years after CD become popular so I think VCR's will continue to at least be built into combo DVD/VCR for years yet.

I agree wholeheartedly - you can also still buy turntables, needles, cartridges etc. despite CDs having taken over. Even if the big manufacturers drop VHS players from their lineups because of insufficient demand, we'll still have smaller, more specialized firms producing them for a long time after that.

[MrT]

Hopefully what you say may be true but prices could rise quite significantly once general mass production of the machines ceases. The same is true of turntables that can play at 78 rpm - still available if you're prepared to fork out several hundred quid, but nothing comparable on the market price wise to the decks that Garrard and similar manufacturers turned out in their thousands until the early 1980s.

It still makes sense to take advantage of the special offers now because my belief is that free standing VHS recorders will disappear from shops very very soon - me I'm back off to Tesco at the weekend to try and get another £31 bargain.

Mike (MrT)

[Wolfgang]

Those Funai VCR's are going for £20 on ebay:

eBay.co.uk - video recorder, video recorder VCRs, vcr, sony video recorder items at low prices

[marker]

Originally Posted by Wolfgang Those Funai VCR's are going for £20 on ebay: eBay.co.uk - video recorder, video recorder VCRs, vcr, sony video recorder items at low prices

at this silly price I am tempted to buy one

[essaljay]

I consider myself very lucky in that I bought a Sony VCR/DVD recorder, transferred all my tapes (a mammoth task) and on completion the dvd laser unit broke down but as it was within a year of purchase it went back to the factory and a new complete unit was installed.

[image45]

Originally Posted by jamiesd I've still got 2 betamax video recorders along with my vhs one All still going strong

I have two S-VHS machines and a standard VHS machine. One of the JVC S-VHS Machines is away been serviced at the moment, as its clutch needs changing as well as its pinch roller! You need to watch your tape machines all the time to keep them running well. I still get the odd rare TV show on video so it’s vital you have these machines running at optimum condition. Well done on having some Betamax machines running too at your end! I stopped using the Betamax machines, as the video noise level on tape-to-tape copies was much higher than on VHS machines with digital tracking. Once S-VHS became more affordable there was no turning back for me!!!!

[oldmantv]

i miss the vhs recorders, you could have one and keep it and use many times for years without the quality of the video being affected ... while now when i buy a dvd, i have to be very carefull with them for them to last longer... *sigh*