Quote:
Originally Posted by Blast
Those CRT's... Jeez... what a major disaster. I didn't work on that many TV's back in the day but I remember the TV service guys in the shop commenting on those tubes...
Yep, back in the late '80's you gave a VCR service estimate of $150-200 and you got a warm "Thank you" and a bottle of booze for Christmas. Then, about the late '90's-early '00's you tell someone they need minor alignment and a cleaning for $29 and they get all pissed off. I was so OUTTA THERE in '01!!!
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VCRs aren't even worth repairing anymore. My first VCR in 1984 was a GE, built by Panasonic, for which I paid $400 new. The heads went bad after six years; the repair shop gave me an estimate of $250 to replace them. I wound up throwing it out and getting a new one. Some years later I had a Panasonic VCR with VCR Plus+ that lasted three years, IIRC, then a cassette jammed in it (just hours [!] after I'd taped a program, a movie of some sort--I never saw the show). Had to practically wreck the machine to get the tape out. My present VCR is also a Panasonic, no VCR Plus+ but it's still working well, next to my DVD player, after three years (knock on wood).
My next VCR will almost certainly be a combination VCR and DVD player; I don't think stand-alone VCRs are available anymore, except on the used market. I may get one even before my present VCR goes bad, as I hear these combo units are selling for dirt-cheap prices--almost. I heard or read somewhere that these combo players are going for $30 in some stores, but there's a catch--they don't last all that long and aren't worth repairing when they do break down.