This is a thread I opened to discuss anything about the mid-90s VCRs made from 1990 to 2000 before VCRs became all plastic and fragile today. What did you like about them, and what did you miss from your old VCR you bought 15 years ago.

VCRs gradually became more cheaply-produced, more troublesome, and disposable, although more feature and convenience to enhance your viewing experience. When DVD player came out in 1997, VCR sales decline and many brands were force to outsource to Funai to get out of the VCR business.

Please share your story.

Well, my one and only VCR I have right now is a Philips Magnavox Hi-Fi Stereo unit manufactured sometime between 1997 and 1999. It's extremely light weight. The audio quality is good but the video recordings made with the unit are kind of dark, grainy, and saturated I think.

I had, and still have, but it does not work anymore a very wide mostly plastic vcr from around '96 that would play a tape and at the end would rewind it and play it again, over and over until you stopped it. Our new ones can't do that, and I miss it.

Well, my one and only VCR I have right now is a Philips Magnavox Hi-Fi Stereo unit manufactured sometime between 1997 and 1999. It's extremely light weight. The audio quality is good but the video recordings made with the unit are kind of dark, grainy, and saturated I think.
This one was made by Funai, and I am indeed surprised that it's still running. My parents also bought a Philips Magnavox Hi-Fi Stereo VCR in 1998, and it conked out only in 1 year. The problem was it played a tape, and then it turned off in only 15 seconds. This was caused by a bad LED sensor. Extremely common problem. I'm sure many technicians here did repair many of these plastic-boxes.

I had, and still have, but it does not work anymore a very wide mostly plastic vcr from around '96 that would play a tape and at the end would rewind it and play it again, over and over until you stopped it. Our new ones can't do that, and I miss it.
This function is called auto repeat. The first VCR I've seen with auto repeat was made in 1985.

After a careful evaluation of all VCR makers, the best and most-reliable 90s VCR turns out to be from Hitachi made between 1992 and 1997 (excluding Funai-made ones). It is possible that this chassis is more reliable and durable than any VCRs made in the 80s. This chassis uses zero (nada) rubber belt, but instead it uses a nylon-teeth belt that rarely or never breaks. :yes: It is Hitachi's most reliable VCR chassis ever built (no, it is not the 6-belt chassis you really love and adore). Zero rubber belt is always better than six rubber belts plus idler tire.

The second year, 1993 models, is my most favorite and the best one here because this was Hitachi's final year putting in a linear power supply for a VCR (big, heavy transformer). Of course, a linear power supply is always better than a switching power supply.

Even the owner at Studio Sound Electronics, largest source of VCR parts, agrees with me, because he told me he rarely or never saw one coming in for service. He's the guy who can tell me which VCR chassis is good and junk, and I was surprised and amazed to hear that this is the only 90s VCR chassis he has nothing bad to say about it. He only saw the 6-belt, 1-belt, late-90s, and Funai chassis. He was surprised to see this and originally thought all Hitachi's mid-90s VCRs were made by Funai.

I attached pictures of this chassis to see what they look inside. It came from a Hitachi VT-F391A unit: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?VISuperSize&item=170579153793

I loved working on Hitachi's. Especially the six belt ones. Got so I could install the whole belt kit in about 6 minutes or less if I was on a roll.

They were very well built and reliable. My favorite old VCR. Panasonics were nearly as good only having the power supply issues once in a while. Nothing a diode or two couldn't fix along with a new tire so you wouldn't see it back for a while.

A nice, 1993 Hitachi VT-M273A with this reliable chassis and linear power supply I discussed earlier. This one is too good to pass up. In excellent condition:

http://cgi.ebay.com/HITACHI-4-HEAD-DIGITAL-AUTO-TRACKING-HQ-VHS-VCR-/290525267907?pt=VCRs&hash=item43a4a7c7c3

Just yesterday I picked up 2 Panasonic "Omnivision" VCRs. One was manufactured in 1995 and the other, a 1997 (PV-7400). They seem to be great units. Both are made in Japan. The PV-7400 had extremely muffled sound so I opened 'er up and discovered the audio head to be out of adjustment. She sings beautifully now for a mono unit.

Just yesterday I picked up 2 Panasonic "Omnivision" VCRs. One was manufactured in 1995 and the other, a 1997 (PV-7400). They seem to be great units. Both are made in Japan. The PV-7400 had extremely muffled sound so I opened 'er up and discovered the audio head to be out of adjustment. She sings beautifully now for a mono unit.

We have a circa 1995 Samsung VCR that was originally used on our 1995 Sony Projection TV and now on our 2006 Samsung LCD TV. We still have the remote for the VCR, but it doesn't work. We never really recorded many television shows until we got DVR in late 2006 (I tried hooking up Tivo earlier but it required a phone line, which we did not have near the TV). I remember one time when I wanted to record something on the VCR and got really pissed when it didn't record properly. Surprisingly enough though, I didn't really mind always finding time to watch live TV.

A nice, 1993 Hitachi VT-M273A with this reliable chassis and linear power supply I discussed earlier.

The department I work for snagged a battered M270 (holes drilled in cabinet for security bracket, seen heavy use), which works quite well compared to the department's other snag, a JVC HR-410U from 1994--which needs new rubber. The HR-410U had an interesting feature: "Family Message" for quick reminders and an editing function. The family message function uses several preset messages on the top row ("Happy Birthday", "Please don't forget:", "Please pick up:", etc.), while the bottom row can add a custom message that is typed on the remote's 10key. When the VCR is switched on, the message appears on the screen. Both were great gimmicks and I would like to throw this question in: What were the oddest gimmicks on 1990s VCRs?

On another note, I also gave my department a six-belt Hitachi VT-33A that I picked up almost a couple of years ago. :D