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What have you done with your VCR?

post #1 of 34
9/8/07 at 6:12pm
Thread Starter 
I have an old Sony VCR (SLV-750HF). It works great, as good as it did the day I got it over a decade ago. All those features and buttons...all I ever did was hit play and stop. It has been sitting in its box (with everything it came with, even the little twisties and baggies stuff comes in...sigh...am I the only one who keeps *everything*?) for over two years. I can't remember the last time I used it. I have two - yes, two - video tapes that I bought. (I never watched them more than once, but, you know, I could if I wanted to.)

I want to get rid of it, and I don't think I'll ever need it (but you never know...). (I'm still in apartment living, and it just seems to take up space.)

Do you still have your VCR?
If you do, do you still use it, or does it collect dust?
If not, what did you do with it?
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post #2 of 34
9/8/07 at 6:18pm

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

mines still hooked up to the lcd i have. play movies from time to time on it.
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post #3 of 34
9/8/07 at 8:03pm

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

I have one hooked up in by basement system which barely gets used (sometimes daytime sporting events in HD over the winter on my old 64 inch CRT). Every few yrs. perhaps someone asks me to put an old vacation tape or old tape of their kids onto DVD and I usually bring it upstairs and dub it onto DVD for them with the DVD recorder. It was used last about 2 yrs. ago to play back a recorded TV show for someone (I did not record it but we were watching a football game upstairs on the 100 inch screen and the women wanted to watch Desparate Housewives from last week so it made it easy as the person recorded it on VHS).
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post #4 of 34
9/9/07 at 12:30am

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

I still use mine occasionally. There are times when I'm out and there are two things on TV that I want to watch that happen to be on at the same time. In those cases I use the DVD-recorder to record one and the VCR for recording the other.

I'm also still in the process of transferring old tapes onto DVD-R.
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post #5 of 34
9/9/07 at 7:56am

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

i still use mine to record tv. no dvr here. use it a couple times a week.
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post #6 of 34
9/9/07 at 11:13am

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

^ my answer is the same as Darren's.

Though I am a MST3K fan so use it 4-5 times a week to watch one of the many episodes I have on VHS* and the numerous movies in that format I own that aren't quite good enough to blow $15 for the disc version.

* when I get a dvd recorder I'll transfer them but due to reports and personal experience with CD-Rs and DVD-R discs randomly failing even when taken care of (unstable ink?), I will not be throwing out those tapes anytime soon. Actually I have tapes that are almost 15 years that still work perfectly.
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post #7 of 34
9/9/07 at 2:13pm

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

We still use ours...as a clock
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post #8 of 34
9/9/07 at 2:50pm

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

Got 3: one in the family room system, one in the kids basement recroom system, and one VCR/DVD recorder in the kitchen. Gotta agree with Andrew Pratt, the clock has been the only thing that is used on the FR and RR systems. I guess I'm too lazy to move the racks away from the wall and disconnect them.
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post #9 of 34
9/9/07 at 3:31pm

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

Which begs the question, why don't DVD players have clocks on them? I've never owned a DVD recorder so do those have the clock function?
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post #10 of 34
9/9/07 at 4:18pm

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cameron Yee
Which begs the question, why don't DVD players have clocks on them? I've never owned a DVD recorder so do those have the clock function?

I would imagine it is because the VCR has a timer, and tuner, so that you can see if the clock is set correctly to record your show.
I still have the one and only one I ever bought, a Mitsubishi 4 head, that cost over $400 when new in '92. I was thinking of buying another one to record more than one show but got TIVO instead four years ago. That VCR hasn't been fired up since shortly there-after except for watching our wedding video once. I'll probably disconnect it one of these days since it is just taking up space.
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post #11 of 34
9/9/07 at 5:24pm

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

I use VCR because sometimes i come across old cassette tapes of movies that i find interesting!
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post #12 of 34
9/9/07 at 5:27pm

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cameron Yee
Which begs the question, why don't DVD players have clocks on them? I've never owned a DVD recorder so do those have the clock function?

Yes - My Philips DVD Recorder I got many moons ago with Philips VISA points does have a clock and also an analog tuner and RF pass through just like a VCR. I don't use it to record TV much as I really don't watch much TV and when I have, except for one instance, I used my HD Tuner and put it into the inputs on the back of the DVD recorder (which only accepts 480i even via component and also converts stuff to 2-channel DD even if you record from an analog source). Perhaps more modern units do a better job but I don't use mine enough be get overly concerned. I got a firewire input on the PC I got at the beginning of the yr. (which also has a DVD Recording Drive) and 4 pin to 6 pin adapter and played with it a drop when I was dubbing a mini-DV vacation tape a couple of mos. back and I did not want to deal with figuring out the software and just wanted to dub the tape ASAP so I used the Philips recorder. DVD recorders have become really cheap (like $100-150).
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post #13 of 34
9/9/07 at 10:07pm

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

Quote:
Originally Posted by LanceJ

* when I get a dvd recorder I'll transfer them but due to reports and personal experience with CD-Rs and DVD-R discs randomly failing even when taken care of (unstable ink?), I will not be throwing out those tapes anytime soon. Actually I have tapes that are almost 15 years that still work perfectly.

Smart move. I also have VHS tapes that are 20+ years old that still play fine.

Due to problems I've had with CD-Rs and DVD-Rs, I will only use Sony CD-Rs from now on, and only Sony or TDK DVD-Rs. I won't purchase another brand, even if it's on sale and really inexpensive.
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post #14 of 34
9/9/07 at 10:26pm
Thread Starter 

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

Quote:
Originally Posted by MielR
Smart move. I also have VHS tapes that are 20+ years old that still play fine.

Due to problems I've had with CD-Rs and DVD-Rs, I will only use Sony CD-Rs from now on, and only Sony or TDK DVD-Rs. I won't purchase another brand, even if it's on sale and really inexpensive.

Thanks for all the feedback! I started using a DVR back in 1998 or so when I got the Dishplayer, and I have only used DVRs since (currently, Directivo). And, naturally, rentals are DVDs.

I'm actually trying to move away from physical media altogether. That is, instead of tapes, or CDRs or DVDRs, just store things on disk.

I'm also trying to move away from satellite (and cable). I wish everything were available for download. Just about everything I do watch is available for download (one way or another), but live TV isn't available, which would be a bummer in case of a disaster or other current news item.
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post #15 of 34
9/14/07 at 3:17pm

Re: What have you done with your VCR?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Pratt
We still use ours...as a clock

Andrew my friend, that’s a lot of wasted rack real estate just for a clock! Here’s what you need. A digital clock with a large display that looks like a hi-fi component! All the popular Japanese brands sold these audio timers back on the 80s. Silver ones are easy to find; black is a little harder. Ours is a Yamaha, better-looking than this Poneer.

As to the VCR, our JVC S-VHS model is down to service as a TV tuner for our antenna, which we use as a back-up for when both channels of our TIVO are recording simultaneosly.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
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post #16 of 34
9/14/07 at 7:40pm

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

Actually truth be told we still have a pile of kids movies on VHS that get played every now and then so ours is still in the rack for that purpose as well.
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post #17 of 34
9/14/07 at 7:47pm

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

I have a few of them. One's in storage downstairs, one is in our master bedroom, and another is in the living room. VCR's are still the only way to view certain classics such as the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts. Other classic films [such as the Cannonball Run movies] had such horrible DVD transfers that the VHS versions became relative treasures.

Gunny
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post #18 of 34
9/15/07 at 6:08am

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

DVD Recorder has taken the place for the VCRs. I still have the JVC 7600 and frankly haven't put a tape in it for a year. Moving next to a Phillips DVD Recorder with HDMI that upscales DVDs to 1080i. Love the 90 minute setting as it records from satellite. As soon as I get the Phillips I will retire the JVC to the bedroom.
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post #19 of 34
9/15/07 at 6:48pm

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

I had a JVC S-VHS vcr and I gave it to my roomate when I moved out because honestly......when you drive the ferrari that is HD DVD and Blu-Ray.....you can't go back to that old chevy of a vcr no matter how reliable it is.
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post #20 of 34
9/16/07 at 8:00am

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

Our last VCR went to Goodwill about 3 years ago.
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post #21 of 34
9/16/07 at 8:13am

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Oren
I'm also trying to move away from satellite (and cable). I wish everything were available for download. Just about everything I do watch is available for download (one way or another), but live TV isn't available, which would be a bummer in case of a disaster or other current news item.
Being the paranoid person that I am and not enjoying the thought of everything being crammed onto one information pipeline i.e. the Internet, which is susceptible to hackers/viruses/IT incompetance & now the corporations fighting the concept of Net Neutrality , I recommend something like this to help make sure one has (near) constant access to emergency news:

AM/FM weather band radio

or this much smaller Sony, which has TV sound too.
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post #22 of 34
9/16/07 at 12:11pm

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

Quote:
Originally Posted by MielR
Due to problems I've had with CD-Rs and DVD-Rs, I will only use Sony CD-Rs from now on, and only Sony or TDK DVD-Rs. I won't purchase another brand, even if it's on sale and really inexpensive.
Sony and TDK both make highly rated media, but the best overall is Verbatim, for all types. Also, Sony and TDK are two of the few "Name Brands" who actually do manufacture their media. Many others outsource them, and you never really know what you will get untill you open them and check the manufacturer's code. Another good brand is Taiyo Yuden. I have found that good discs burned properly and stored away from light are very stable. The drive is also very important. Unfortunately, Panasonic recorders use Matsushita drives, which are complete garbage. Pioneer, on the other hand, makes excellent drives. I'm talking about the optical drive itself, not the entire recorder on the whole.
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post #23 of 34
10/6/07 at 10:03am

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnRice
Sony and TDK are two of the few "Name Brands" who actually do manufacture their media.

John,
I just read on another forum that TDK is no longer manufacturing their DVD media. Big disappointment to me as I very good luck with TDK DVD-Rs when I did any recording.

Ron
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post #24 of 34
10/6/07 at 10:29am

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

I have two older Sony VCRs that are both part of my AV production office. I only use them to convert people's tapes to DVD.
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post #25 of 34
10/6/07 at 11:34am

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

I use mine for specialty tapes, transferring tapes to disk, and as a backup when my two computer dvr's are busy recording something else.
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post #26 of 34
10/6/07 at 4:14pm

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

I still use a VCR but no longer use VHS!
I use D-VHS at least once every month for longer term time-shifting of High Def TV shows and movies.
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post #27 of 34
10/10/07 at 6:49pm

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

Am I the only one that immediately took my vcr outside and hit it with a sledge hammer after bringing home a dvd player?
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post #28 of 34
10/11/07 at 7:03am

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

It's now part of the kids' system. Can't beat the cost for used VHS at yard sales & they really don't care about ultimate picture quality.
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post #29 of 34
10/22/07 at 8:02am
Thread Starter 

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

Quote:
Originally Posted by LanceJ
Being the paranoid person that I am and not enjoying the thought of everything being crammed onto one information pipeline i.e. the Internet, which is susceptible to hackers/viruses/IT incompetance & now the corporations fighting the concept of Net Neutrality , I recommend something like this to help make sure one has (near) constant access to emergency news:

AM/FM weather band radio

or this much smaller Sony, which has TV sound too.

Funny, I was thinking of a situation of wanting to watch live TV in case of a disaster affecting other people. Heh. I didn't even consider that I might be in a disaster myself.
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post #30 of 34
10/23/07 at 2:46pm

Re: What have you done with your VCR?

I haven't had a VCR in my system for almost 8 years. The one we have left is in the closet "just in case" there is a tape that needs to be viewed for some odd reason. I have sold off or given away more or less all of my VHS tapes as each was replaced with a DVD (or Blu-ray now). Some of my DVDs are being retired in favor of the BD versions
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