INTEQ by Zenith, Anyone had/have one?

[radiotvnut]

Our first VCR was a Magnavox by Panasonic from around '86. It worked for years until It got so that anything recorded on it had static and popping in the audio for the first several minutes of the tape. The problem kept getting worse until my Dad just bought a new one. I continued to use the old one in my room for just a player and it would still played fine when I gave it away.

I've seen those Funal made DVD/VCR combo units for $50-$60 at Wal-Mart. They weigh about 2 lbs. and do not have an RF output. The only way you can record with one is to feed it a line level signal from a converter box, etc.
I've seen others that have a built in RF modulator but still no tuner. I think the more expensive ones have a digital tuner built in. If I buy one, I want it to have a built in tuner. I've had friends bring me those low cost Funai made units for repair and I usually won't even bother to open them. I just explain that they are meant to be thrown away when they break.

My current VCR line-up is a late '90's Sharp that I bought from my neighbor and a 2-3 year old JVC that I bought new for $59, I think. It was the last one on the shelf.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by radiotvnut

I've seen those Funal made DVD/VCR combo units for $50-$60 at Wal-Mart. They weigh about 2 lbs. and do not have an RF output. The only way you can record with one is to feed it a line level signal from a converter box, etc.
I've seen others that have a built in RF modulator but still no tuner. I think the more expensive ones have a digital tuner built in. If I buy one, I want it to have a built in tuner. I've had friends bring me those low cost Funai made units for repair and I usually won't even bother to open them. I just explain that they are meant to be thrown away when they break.

That sounds exactly like my Panasonic VCR with VCR Plus+ and also the one I have now. The Pana VCR that replaced the first one is also one of those cheap things with plastic parts, but since it still works I'll hang on to it until it goes bad. Even if it gets to the point where it won't record, I'll keep it so I can play my 60+ VHS cassettes I've recorded over the last 25 years or so. Other than that, I really have no use for a VCR, as most of my favorite old shows and movies are on DVD and the Internet (hulu.com, et al.) these days (I have had a subscription to Netflix since shortly after getting my DVD player almost three years ago and just recently discovered hulu.com); no one bothers with VHS movie rentals anymore and no one can buy hit movies on VHS any longer either. I guess we have to face facts; it's as I read somewhere (I don't remember exactly where)--VHS is a dead or dying format. The price of blank VHS cassettes bears that out; at Big Lots one can find blank VHS tapes for under a buck. Those cheap DVD/VHS players apparently do not record either, unless they are fed an external signal from, say, a digital cable box. Until now I didn't know that. How much more than a combo player without an RF tuner would a unit with a digital tuner be? The latter will be what I'll get to replace my VCR; I'll probably be killing two birds with one stone if I go that route, since with a digital tuner in the DVD/VCR combo I won't need a cable box. I have digital cable but no scrambled movie channels (oh, please! I had HBO about 15 years ago and could not believe the garbage [read XXX-rated filth] I saw there, not to mention they showed the same thing over and over again; I had the service disconnected after a month--after that I made up my mind: never again), so a VCR/DVD player with a digital tuner would not only replace the cable STB (set top box) I currently rent from Time-Warner Cable (no more monthly converter rental fees--I don't think), but would open up at least three spaces in my entertainment center as well: where my DVD player is now, where its RF modulator is presently sitting (next to the STB), and the space where the STB itself sits.

I will admit, I used to resist the idea of digital television with great zest, but now I can hardly wait for 02.19.2009. It will be interesting to see what will actually change on that date; I don't think we'll see that much real change, save for having to get used to watching HD programming in letterbox format on a standard analog TV (unless the STB from your cable company has conversion circuitry to downconvert 16:9 to the old 4:3 aspect ratio) and having to use a cable STB ahead of the old set to get the new channels once the analog stations sign off for good. The only folks who will have anything to really worry about will be those few who still get their TV reception over an outdoor antenna or rabbit ears; these are the folks for whom the government's converter coupon program is meant. Note, however, that if you already have cable you will not need such a box ahead of your TV; in fact, those converters have nothing to do with and will not work with cable.

BTW, I laughed out loud when I read a post from kx250rider, in which he said the customer for whom he replaced a CRT in a television set actually got upset when the customer found out the CRT was branded Zenith, not Inteq.
I've been in electronics as a hobby over 40 years and have never, in all that time, heard of "Inteq" CRTs. Inteq was a video-enhancement system used in high-end Zenith color TVs of 1980s vintage; it was not the brand of and in fact had nothing whatsoever to do with the CRT. I also laughed my head off when I read about the person who demanded Volvo spark plugs in her automobile of the same name, and got upset when she found out the replacement plugs were branded Bosch. Obviously she did not realize that there is no such thing as "Volvo" brand spark plugs; the poster mentioned that Volvo automobiles are factory-equipped with (and those plugs are meant to be replaced by) Bosch brand plugs. That person looking for Volvo plugs was probably (almost certainly) misinformed. And that little sentence at the end of the post that said, "I hope he doesn't buy a Lexus and find out it's a Toyota"--I laughed out loud at that one as well. The crazy ideas some folks get....sheeeesh!

[JohnAdams]

I have a 32" Zenith AVI from around 1995. It has been perfect and the picture is every bit as good as that on a newer Sony 36" WEGA that I own. I did find an undated owners manual for "Zenith Inteq TV" Looks like after 1st year, they added the Zenith name to it. My Inteq brochure only showed 1 DVD player and 1 VCR.

[andy]

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[radiotvnut]

Originally Posted by andy

That was a common problem with 80's Panasonics that was caused by a dirty record protect tab sensor switch. It also caused the timer record funtion to stop working.

Thanks, I'll remember that if I run into the problem again. I forgot to mention that my Dad took our VCR in for repair and the technician kept giving my Dad the usual runaround like "what I thought was bad really was not" and "I'll have it fixed tomorrow" and "I ran into this problem and it will take another week." My Dad finally got PO'd and called the shop and told him that he was coming after the VCR in one hour and it had better be back together. The VCR that replaced the Magnavox was a Thomson/GE (also made by Panasonic) that was a POS. It didn't last near as long as the mid '80's Magnavox.