Quote:
Originally posted by andy
Keep an eye out for a mid 80's high end Panasonic, or JVC, or one of the many brands they were sold under such as Magnavox, Philco, Sylvania, GE and Zenith. You can have hi-fi sound, full cable channels and stereo reception in a good quality VCR. Sonys from about 1988 to 1992 were not bad, and a lot easier to find.
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andy,
Another good place to find NIB VCRs at dirt-cheap prices is at discount stores like Circuit City, Best Buy and the like. (Used but good late-model VHS VCRs, often with high-end features, may also be found, of course, at yard and garage sales at ridiculously cheap prices or even free, if the seller wants to or must get rid of them absolutely ASAP--say if they have to move on a tight schedule and must dispose of a lot of stuff in a hurry.) VHS VCRs are being phased out in favor of DVD and DVD-R decks, so the former can be had very cheaply--even VHS machines with all the bells and whistles (stereo/MTS sound, cable ready, VCR Plus+, etc).
Even Betamax machines can be found if you do a little searching. These VCRs are long outdated and the cassettes difficult to find, but there probably are a few still reposing in basements, attics, or in dark corners of second-hand stores--and don't forget treelawns and curbs. (Yes, there are people who do not realize the value of things like this like we do here at AK; witness the old but repairable radios, TVs and other electronic gadgets we have all found by the side of the road on trash day [or that we've found on ebay, for that matter]. I once saw a late-'70s RCA color console, in a beautiful mahogany or walnut wood cabinet without a scratch on it, just a couple blocks from my apartment; if I were still living in a house, I would have grabbed that set, as we all probably would. I'm not at all sure, but I'd be willing to bet, if I were a betting man, that the set was likely perfectly good yet, with just minor problems, or none at all [e . g. the owner decided the cabinet didn't match the decor of his/her living room], or something as ridiculously simple as the remote was lost. There are people who think their TV is hopelessly broken if the remote fails or gets lost, or even if the batteries go dead. Go figure.
One can only guess how many perfectly good televisions, radios, VCRs, etc. are trashed every week just because of easily repaired/corrected problems such as bad tubes, missing remotes (have these folks never heard of universal remotes?), defective power cords and the like.