The Last VCR Manufacturer to end production at the end of July 2016

[sparker]

Used to sell all these machines back in the late '70's/early 80's, my recall of the actual technical specifications (not always necessary for sales applications) of the units is vague at best after 30+ years.  I still have an old (ca. 1987) Magnavox 6-head VHS machine stashed in a storage unit -- with no immediate plans to retrieve it!   Never had any large (10") original laser discs, but I did have a Pioneer LD player from about 1990-91; at the time, they were about the most accurate disc transport (the things would play any size disc, including CD) around; I used it as such with a separate DAC (digital/analog converter) for my audio needs -- the Pioneer LD player had a SP/DIF digital-stream output for this purpose.  Used it for a couple of years until a specialty audio company (Audio Alchemy, based in Calabasas, CA) introduced a even better dedicated CD  transport.   

[slorydn1]

It's sad, in a way. My brother was in Kuwait during the entirety of the 2004 racing season so he asked me to record all of the NASCAR Nextel Cup races as well as the entire F1 season (FP2, qually and race) for him so he could watch it it on his return. I have all 38 Cup races as well as every televised F1 event from that season sitting on my shelf and no longer have any way to watch them.

I'm going to need someone to teach me how to digitize them.

[sparker]

You may be in luck -- right now on ebay there are a number of Toshiba VHS-to-DVD converters available (model DVR620) -- new (probably old stock), for between $220-280 plus shipping.  I know a couple of local folks who are in the same boat as you -- so good luck; I'm advising my friends to snag these before they disappear.  There are services which will convert your videotapes to either disc or flash-drive format, but if you've got a whole NASCAR season plus a lot of F1 stuff, the cost of doing so would easily exceed buying a conversion machine and doing it yourself.  Plus, once you're done, you've got a DVD burner to use. 

And thanks for the local take on the I-42 development -- please keep up the good reportage!

[slorydn1]

You may be in luck -- right now on ebay there are a number of Toshiba VHS-to-DVD converters available (model DVR620) -- new (probably old stock), for between $220-280 plus shipping.  I know a couple of local folks who are in the same boat as you -- so good luck; I'm advising my friends to snag these before they disappear.  There are services which will convert your videotapes to either disc or flash-drive format, but if you've got a whole NASCAR season plus a lot of F1 stuff, the cost of doing so would easily exceed buying a conversion machine and doing it yourself.  Plus, once you're done, you've got a DVD burner to use. 

And thanks for the local take on the I-42 development -- please keep up the good reportage!

I may have just gotten even luckier than that! I showed my wife this post (ya know the old "Honey I think it would be a good idea if we spent the money to..." conversation) and she informed me that one of her co-workers was bragging that he has been converting his old vcr tapes to dvd's just this past week. He also happens to be the guy that lost his license (too many tickets) so he has been carpooling with her to work so he owes her!




As to your last comment, I will try my best to keep y'all as up to date as me crazy work schedule allows!

[sparker]

Nice -- you get to get the job done by effectively using OPM (other people's money).  You'll need to use DVD "Recordable Audio" discs.  Sometimes these aren't clearly labeled; buy a small amount (a 6-pack or the like) to see if they'll not only record on your friend's converter/burner, but will play on whatever DVD player you're using in your home.   Stick with a major brand (Sony, TDK) -- and make sure the vendor you use has a liberal refund/exchange policy!  Good luck!

[8.Lug]

Betamax produced a much better quality of recording/playback because of one thing:  3 times the tape-to-head contact.  Unfortunately, that came with a much more complicated tape-threading mechanism that actually bent the tape in a C-shape around the head.  VHS simply pushed the tape up against the rotating head; only about a 1 1/4-inch section of tape contacted the head at any point.  The Betamax format was a consumer-grade derivative of the industry-standard Sony "U-Matic" commercial video tape system, while VHS was strictly a consumer-grade concept from the get-go.  Eventually VHS won the format "war" when most of the major recorder vendors signed on (RCA, Samsung, Philips, Matsushita/Panasonic); by 1983 or so Beta ceased to be a viable format, and production ceased for pre-recorded Beta tapes -- although, as has been stated earlier in this thread, blank tape production from Sony, the format originator, continued through mid-2015.   

None of that is true. Both Betamax and VHS pull the tape out of the cassette and wrap it around the head. What made Betamax negligibly better at quality was its higher tape speed. That's it. Betamax died because the cassette was too small to hold enough tape to record anything with that "superior" image quality. Slowing down the tape to fit more onto it, well that just brought the quality down, so what's the point in paying all that extra money for a Betamax if the quality is no better?

[sparker]

Since the drums on which the actual heads are located were the same diameter (about 2.5") on both Beta and VHS (no one wanted to re-invent the wheel here), there was the same potential for intimate tape contact.  With about 7.8 linear inches available, the Beta format maintained contact with the head for about 5.4 inches of that due to the tight-C tape path.  VHS, on the other hand, used a "W" configuration, with the center portion pressed against the head; at any time there was about 2.8 inches of tape available for recording purposes; but the tension against the rotating head was less than that of the Beta format.  It is true that both methods drew the tape out of the cassette itself to contact the heads, but the advantage of Beta is that the tape path was much more controlled and the tape subject to less lateral "play" than with VHS; as a derivative of a professional format, precision was deemed more important than serviceability -- which WAS a Beta drawback -- the machines were much more costly to repair than VHS units.  And that was a Sony marketing mistake -- they had sold virtually every U-Matic pro unit to TV stations and production companies, which tended to have internal service departments -- so they had unrealistic expectations as to Beta serviceability -- not wise when dealing with consumer products.   So the simpler -- and more serviceable -- VHS became the consumer standard, despite the visual superiority of Beta (I've seen the formats side-by-side over the years, and the definition of the Beta format -- at the same rate of speed -- was noticeably more pronounced). 

By the way, I never personally owned a Beta machine; had about 5 different VHS machines over the years (mostly Magnavox/Philips; I knew the local distributor, and could get a deal!).  VHS was more than adequate for my purposes, which was simple time-shifting of otherwise missed broadcasts.

[LM117]

Damn, that sucks. I've got a bunch of tapes that my dad used to record WWF wrestling PPV's from September 2000-January 2001 and a handful from 2002-2004. Plus, I also have WCW Starrcade from December 2000. Seeing as WCW hasn't existed since March 2001, it's quite the collector's item!

In case you haven't noticed, I was a huge wrestling fan back in the late 90's-early 00's (Stone Cold Steve Austin was my favorite, with The Rock being a close second). And no, I don't watch today's crap, but I still pop in an old classic match from time to time, such as Stone Cold vs. The Rock for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania 17 on April 1, 2001 from the Reliant Astrodome in Houston.

Oh well. Time to go VCR hunting. Funny that VCR's are finally given the ol' heave-ho when the Roses Express store on US-29 near Chatham not far from me still sells brand new Sony blank VHS tapes.

[sparker]

Well, maybe now's the time to look for closeouts on VHS recorder/players; I'd be surprised if a lot of audio/video chains don't have some NOS (new-old-stock) pieces laying around to be had on the cheap (get 'em before demand outstrips supply!).  Check the online stores (ebay, amazon, etc.); probably find players well under $100!  There's always the used/refurbished market, but you're buying the proverbial pig in a poke!  They're certainly not in the collectible category as of yet!

[epzik8]

I'm old enough to remember watching many VHS tapes; I think it was 2002, when I was 7 years old, when we got our first DVD player.

[vdeane]

WWF wrestling

[bing101]

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/retailers/iconic-vidiots-video-store-closes-its-doors-now-39614

Here's an update the Vidiots store has closed. I didn't even realize video stores still existed too up to 2017. They cited DVD's and Blurays lower sales as the cause here.

[sparker]

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/retailers/iconic-vidiots-video-store-closes-its-doors-now-39614

Here's an update the Vidiots store has closed. I didn't even realize video stores still existed too up to 2017. They cited DVD's and Blurays lower sales as the cause here.

Yeah -- with Netflix and other services expanding, owning a batch of DVD's doesn't have the same level of urgency as well as cachet that it used to.  The only exception would be "niche" films that are unlikely to be included in a distribution queue -- or maintaining a library of all the films in a series (like all the James Bond flicks, etc.). 

[kphoger]

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/retailers/iconic-vidiots-video-store-closes-its-doors-now-39614

Here's an update the Vidiots store has closed. I didn't even realize video stores still existed too up to 2017. They cited DVD's and Blurays lower sales as the cause here.

Yeah -- with Netflix and other services expanding, owning a batch of DVD's doesn't have the same level of urgency as well as cachet that it used to.  The only exception would be "niche" films that are unlikely to be included in a distribution queue -- or maintaining a library of all the films in a series (like all the James Bond flicks, etc.). 

We are frustrated every so often by series and movies having been removed from the Netflix or Amazon library.  There have been times when we had company over to watch a movie, only to find that it had been removed from the library.  Then, another time, we were making our way through a series, episode by episode, in the evenings; then, partway through the series, we found that the series had been removed from the library.  As a family, we sometimes like to watch Food Network shows on Netflix; the other day we we searched for some, and it appears all the reality-type ones we like have been removed and only a handful of mediocre ones are left.  It's also happened with kids' shows, which my wife plays not only for our own kids but also kids she takes care of in home daycare.

There is still no substitute for hard copies, in my opinion.  And VHS tapes, in my experience, last longer than DVDs before wearing out.  The only reason we don't still regularly watch VHS tapes is because our VCR makes noise.

Then there is the issue of streaming itself.  I suspect the wireless card in our Blu-Ray player is going out, because the Amazon and Pandora apps can't buffer fast enough to keep up with the play of the show we're watching; although Netflix is doing OK so far still, no other wireless devices in our house have any issues, even with the same Amazon shows, plus we recently switched out our modem and router with little to no effect.  And, backing out to the menu and going back in again, I can watch the connection speed tick down to near-zero before the show even starts up again.  My Blu-Ray player has no Ethernet port and the USB port is being used to power an HDMI-to-composite signal converter, so I have no way of hard-wiring it in to know for sure that it's a wireless card issue.  Basically, I'm stuck unless I buy a a new device, hoping my diagnosis is correct.

[sparker]

There is still no substitute for hard copies, in my opinion.  And VHS tapes, in my experience, last longer than DVDs before wearing out.  The only reason we don't still regularly watch VHS tapes is because our VCR makes noise.

If you're experiencing problems with DVD's or CD's "wearing out", they might just need ultrasonic cleaning and/or demagnetization.  I'm using an ultrasonic cleaner (model CD7800) from Hammacher Schlemmer; if you also need demagnetization, a company called Bedini (based in Idaho) makes a "Clarifier" that does that as well (if a little pricey); if you have a large DVD/CD collection, this might be a solution.  Just keep your discs in their cases and free of dust & scratches if at all possible. 

[NJRoadfan]

You do realize that DVDs aren't made of any ferrous material, right? They can't hold a magnetic charge.

[bing101]

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/retailers/iconic-vidiots-video-store-closes-its-doors-now-39614

Here's an update the Vidiots store has closed. I didn't even realize video stores still existed too up to 2017. They cited DVD's and Blurays lower sales as the cause here.

Apparently Family Video is still doing OK in some parts of the country.

http://www.chillicothegazette.com/story/news/local/2017/02/13/family-video-chain-survives-chillicothe/97748432/

[sparker]

You do realize that DVDs aren't made of any ferrous material, right? They can't hold a magnetic charge.

Normally, that's supposed to be true.  But some discs, generally made in Asian factories, utilized aluminum alloys that contained a small amount of chromium dioxide -- and those could become partially magnetized via the motor assemblies of some CD/DVD transports -- particularly those in inexpensive players with little or no component shielding.  While the slight stray magnetism didn't affect the optical reading of the disc, it did occasionally affect the servo-drive circuits that propelled the laser-bearing sleds or arms across the disc, causing mistracking.  Most of the affected discs, generally from the earlier CD production lines in the '80's and early '90's, were manufactured in plants that also made magnetic recording tape; it was surmised that stray oxides from the tape production made their way into the CD plating process inadvertently.  Some discs were affected to the point that most transports wouldn't read the CD's table of contents (the mostly plastic transports made by Philips and Sony and used in entry-level CD players were particularly vulnerable).

Some enterprising soul back about 1987 or so discovered that using a tape-head demagnetizer on CD's seemed to work at ameliorating the problem -- so some firms cobbled together CD demagnetizer units, which were more often than not a series of bar magnets built into an oversized CD box.  Some of these worked, some did not; more high-end companies (including the Bedini company mentioned in an earlier post) started combining ultrasound cleaners with the magnets to "cover all the bases", so to speak.  Most later CD and pretty much all DVD production is now done in dedicated plants without significant contaminants; the problem of disc magnetism has all but disappeared.  Nevertheless -- at least in my experience -- an ultrasound cleaning does remove some built-up airborne contaminants on the disc surface (many of my CD's were with me in my L.A. years -- and smog is a culprit here!).  Magnets -- not so much anymore.  Some disc cleaning products still employ magnets -- probably to burn through inventory!