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So who still has a VCR in their entertainment center? (1 Viewer)

Sam_S

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I was looking at my brand new home theatre setup as its starting to come together, and I was pleasently supprised as I looked at my entertainment center shelving. All of my equipment is new and shiney, and some of it still has plastic wrapping affixed to the top- it's wonderful!

As my eyes wandered past the TV to the cardboard boxes that are sitting next to the set (I just moved), I glanced into the nearest one and saw, sitting at the bottom- my dusty, dejected Panasonic VCR.

Suddenly it hit me that I would probably never use or plug in that piece of equipment ever again. It made me slightly sad to think about it's poor doomed fate- because I know myself, and I'll never throw it out. The thing still works, and because of that I know I can't just get rid of it. So now is the critical question: Do I leave it in the box, pack it in the basement, and let it collect even more dust until it becomes a relic much like your old 8-track? Or do I take it out, dust it off a little bit, and put it on my entertainment center shelf?

If I do the unthinkable and put it on the shelf... do I dare try to CONNECT it so that it could be used at any given time? Do I give it a "battery powered" slot on my UPS so that it stops blinking 12:00? I still own some videos, so perhaps -maybe- someday it would see some use?

What do you guys think? What has become of your VCR? When will you retire it from your entertainment center, if it still resides there? I feel it's like having a dedicated cassete tape player in my audio rack!

Oh the many delemas...

~Sam
 

Dave Moritz

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Ah so very true Sam, lol.

I still have a Panasonic VHS in my system as well. I really have little use for VHS since LD and then DVD came out. I am currently trying to replace anything good on VHS with DVD. The VHS is slowly being fased out and basically the only thing the VHS is used for is recording programs off History or Discovery Channel. Sometimes I will tape something off Speed or SciFi Channel if it something I really want to record. I have played with the idea of D-VHS but there are not enough movies for that format. The only reason I would want that is that it plays the tapes I already have. And it records HD and now they have DTS HD prerecorded movies. I am not worried about power because I am installing a tripple dedicated outlet for my home theater.

I would wire it just because if family brings over tapes that they have made in there camcorder you can play it. And if you want to watch something you dont have on dvd, you might as well use it until such time when you don't need it anymore. If you do not need it or are not going to use it at all. I would suggest yard sale fodder, lmao. And lets not forget that the VCR makes a nice oversized clock if you dont have a clock in the room, rofl. It all depends on if you are going to use it enough to bother hooking it up? If not then I would sale it along with the tapes.

Hope that helps Sam

Dave
Whittier,CA
 

Rachael B

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It's a trick answer, he, he, he, I got D-VHS for D-Theater tapes and to make 1080i tapes. My deck is far from the unemployment line.;)
 

Jim Mcc

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My wife and kids still use our's, we have a lot of movies recorded off satellite, and still record off satellite.
But with our X1 projector, we just have a DVD player and HDTV.
 

Sam_S

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A D-VHS player? Sheesh... how much did THAT cost? I certainly can't stomach the thought of laying out more then $20 at this point for anything similar to VHS tech! It might still be functional and practical for your family... but I prefer to find more high-tech solutions :)

I just signed up for DVR service from my cable company, so my desire for VHS is almost nil, i'm afraid. I wonder how the DVR works- if I buy a DVD recorder... can I record onto DVD from my DVR? Hmm... I should go check out some threads and see. I doubt it- but either way, I don't ever record things to watch more then once, and the DVR's internal memory should hold me for that.

Anyway, this was less a serious question and more just a humorous observation I had :) I thought you might get a chuckle from my VHS plight.

~Sam
 

PaulDA

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Hey, I still have my S-VHS player in the rack (I have a lot of VHS movies and home movies that I won't be replacing anytime soon--plus I make copies of some broadcasts from my DVR for my bro-in-law who can't subscribe to some of the same stations I can). I even have a cassette tape recorder (was a top of the line model in its day) as I have a large collection of tapes. I also have a MD recorder and a CD burner on my PC and laptop. Still looking around for a reel to reel. I like to have all formats covered.
 

Patrick Sun

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I use my VCR everyday, mainly as my TV tuner when I channel-surf (it's faster than my ReplayTV tuner when changing channels). It's also my 4th option if I need to record stuff and all 3 of my ReplayTVs are recording something else in the same timeslot, which happens on Sundays and Tuesdays for me, and Mondays are going to get crowded too with the return of "24".
 

Rocky F

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I actually have three still hooked up but they all rarely get used. The ones in my bedroom and office can be used for taping things off the DVR for friends or family, but that's pretty rare. The one in my main system in the living room actually gets less use, and it actually has a sad use. I do not yet have an HD-DVR or D-VHS, so I have no way of recording HD. I have the composite out from my OTA HD reciever hooked into my VCR. I did this so I could record widescreen material if I have to. HD programs obviously lose all the resolution, but at least they are in widescreen. I very rarely use it like this, but sometimes I have to.
 

dany

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D-VHS also to copy from TiVo if needed but its not long before recordable DVD will be in its place.
 

ChuckSolo

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Even though I recently got a DVD recorder, I still have my JVC S-VHS machine I purchased a year ago to replace my 13 year old Sony VHS unit. I like the ability to watch one channel and record one on the DVDR and another on the S-VHS. I rarely miss anything I want to watch these days despite not having or wanting a TIVO.;)
 

Scott Merryfield

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I dubbed my few VHS tapes to DVD-R when I first purchased a DVD receorder, so our JVC S-VHS deck is now stashed away in the basement. I'll hang onto it in case I come across any more VHS tapes that I need to convert, but it no longer takes up space in the equipment rack.

Also, my very first vcr (a JVC Hi-Fi model purchased circa 1985) is connected to the TV in the basement, flashing 12:00, but has not been used in years. I'm too lazy to reset the clock whenever our power blips and too sentimental to get rid of it.
 

Jim Rakowiecki

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I still have two hooked up. One in the bedroom and one in my main system. I use the one in the bedroom to archive stuff off my DVR occasionally and I think my roomate used the the one in my main sytem to watch a movie less than a month ago.
I am sure that there will be a DVD recorder in my system in the next couple of months but I doubt that the VCR will be retired immediately. It will probably sit in my rack until it is either in the way or stops working which ever come first.
 

ChristopherDAC

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I've got an EIAJ half-inch open-reel machine in here now which I'm refurbishing, and I hope to get into 3/4 inch U-Matic [Betamax's broadcast-quality big brother] when I'm finished with that. I would never buy a movie on a tape medium, but it's a useful intermediate when dealing with my analog video equipment -- LD players, television camera, and so forth.
 

Yee-Ming

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I still use mine, probably 4-5 times a week, for time-shifting. We don't have anything resembling TiVo here, and two years ago when I got married and we bought new appliances to outfit our place, DVD recorders were still way too expensive, as were the media. I guess I'll move to a DVD/HDD recorder in the future, but for now, for timeshifting purposes the VCR works just fine.
 

Jerome Grate

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I have two S-VHS VCRs one in the main theater, one in den, two DVD/VCRs master bedroom and my son's room and one vcr in my daughter's room. She's two and my son is 3 years old. Looking into D-VHS to go with the HD OTA setup I'm looking to get into. Still pretty much used except for the one the main theater and that's the best one. Ever since I got the Zenith 318 it's hard to watch VHS or S-VHS on the Sony RPTV. The JVC 7600 has DNR but it just doesn't cut it anymore hence the need for D-VHS.

I'm looking in to DVD recorders too, entry level and maybe time shift from satellite and replay upscaled to 1080i. Hope it works.
 

Brad E

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I have 3 sitting in a box collecting dust. Haven't had one hooked up in almost a year.
 

Rachael B

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I'm suprised more people haven't gone for D-VHS. Even the 480i tapes I've made off satelite, that preserve the 16 x 9 aspect ratio if present, can look better than commercial DVD's. They don't sound as good, generally. The 1080i recordings I've made OTA amaze people and me. Disc recording may never be this good? D-Theater tapes are nirvana, IMO! I never thought I'd go back to tape but for all this, yeah. I stille feel weird about it now and then...:emoji_thumbsup: for D-VHS in the here and now!
 

Joseph Bolus

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My last VHS deck (which is a good one) was purchased two years ago and is still in use, but only for dubbing old VHS-C camcorder movies over to a DVD recorder.

Since I also own a cable-suppled DVR, as soon as I'm done transferring VHS "home movies" over to DVD, the VHS deck will be tossed into the basement!

I've owned some kind of home video tape machine since 1978 (the first deck was a Sony Betamax) so the day this last deck comes down will be a bittersweet one to be sure!
 

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