VCRs that will last forever

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by waltchan

This VCR was actually made in 2002, and it qualifies as "cheaply-made" and "disposable," regardless if it is still working fine after 8 years. Regardless of how old is the VCR, they were all designed by the manufacturer to run for 10 years normal, careful use.

"Cheaply-made" and "disposable"? And it was made by Panasonic, a firm which has been manufacturing home-entertainment equipment for decades. Hmmm. Panasonic states on its web site that its equipment is built to last. Unless this standard has changed drastically since the turn of the last century, I am expecting my Pana PV-V4022 to last at least two more years before I get a DVD/VHS combo. I know the latter are built cheaply and meant to be disposed of once they fail. I have a Memorex DVD player I bought new at a local Big Lots last summer for $40. It works well at the moment, but I read somewhere that these players will fail within nine months of initial purchase due to a cheap capacitor that swells and splits open. I don't remember whether I asked about the quality (or lack of it) my DVD player here or on some other forum, but wherever it was, I got back a response that all Memorex DVD players will fail within a year because of that capacitor. The point was also made that any manufacturer who intends its products to be sold for $40-$80 or thereabouts cannot use quality parts in them. If the part that fails the most, in this case the cheap cap in Memorex DVDs that splits open after only a year or less, is the only major problem with these units, I would think the manufacturer could put a half-decent cap in there in the first place (not expensive, but good enough not to split and leak just months after it is installed) so that it won't fail in such a short time after initial purchase.

However, I have a bookshelf stereo system I bought new nine years ago. The cassette decks no longer work. A local repair shop gave me an estimate of $175 to repair the decks, which I promptly turned down because the I did not feel the unit was worth repairing anymore (it was perhaps seven years old at the time). I gave up and bought an old stereo cassette deck, hooked it up through the aux inputs on the stereo, and it works every bit as well as the internal decks, only without such refinements as auto-reverse. The stereo cassette deck I bought to replace the defective decks in my system cost me just over $20, from John Kendall's Vintage Electronics (www.vintage-electronics.com). A lot cheaper than the estimate to have the stereo system's internal decks repaired.

My point is that, after nine years, most of today's consumer electronics equipment is not worth repairing--if it lasts that long in the first place. When my stereo finally dies (as in the amplifier fails--these days, I only use it for the amp and very rarely for the CD player; I've ripped almost all my CDs into my computer, now using the stereo's amplifier and speakers as the computer's audio system), I will get a new one, but the new unit probably, even likely, will not last anywhere nearly as long as this one has. Any new stereo system I get probably, again even more than likely (almost certainly, as a matter of fact) will not have a cassette deck, as those are considered obsolete in this age of CDs and downloadable mp3 files. Even VCRs are now obsolete, having been replaced by DVDs and Blu-ray.

BTW, what exactly is the difference, if there is one, between DVD and Blu-ray? I see advertisements on television for movies that are now available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. I always thought Blu-ray discs were DVDs, only Blu-ray discs may be recorded somewhat differently than standard DVDs. Are the two types of disc so different that they actually need their own classifications these days? I have heard that Blu-ray discs will not work in standard DVD players (and probably vice-versa), so there must be some difference between the two formats.

Speaking of Blu-ray: I recently read in a blog on one of the computing magazine websites (I don't remember which one offhand) that the Blu-ray format is all but dead. If the format is a dead duck, why on earth are movies and TV series still being offered in both formats? If Blu-ray is dead (or close to it), I would think Universal and other motion-picture studios will be losing money just making discs produced in that format. Has anyone here heard of the demise of Blu-ray? If the format is in fact nearly dead, what went wrong?

[andy]

...

[jfrog1983]

Fisher Hi-Fi from the 1980s, something im still searching for, and as for the person who had the rewind problem, very common with those Fishers, and fixed with a new idler, and parts can still be found from studiosoundelectronics.com.

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by jfrog1983

Fisher Hi-Fi from the 1980s, something im still searching for, and as for the person who had the rewind problem, very common with those Fishers, and fixed with a new idler, and parts can still be found from studiosoundelectronics.com.

There's one right now. It's made in 1989. This is one of Fisher's better VCR chassis with fewer problems:

http://cgi.ebay.com/FISHER-VCR-FVH-6...3286.m20.l1116

[bgadow]

I had a Fisher, I think I still have the owner's manual...but what did I do with the vcr itself? I don't remember tossing it. Might be stuck under a console TV somewhere around here! Something was wrong with it. If/when it turns up I'll pass it along!

[MisterFishey]

Originally Posted by Ed in Tx

Here's what I need.. a Betamax/HD-DVD combo unit! Then I can dub off my 75 or so Beta tapes to HD-DVD!

I can't say if the actual product is real, but according to my dad, when he went to an electronics megastore in Japan they had an entire wall of Betamax tapes.

We still use the same VCR we've always had since at least the mid 1990's... some junky cheap Sanyo that doesn't even record in stereo. Or play back stereo, for that matter. I can say with confidence we have taped over 500 hours on it, perhaps double that, and played back at least that much. Yet, it's still chugging along, with no lubrications or cleanings to speak of. It can only record 4 programs, and the display is hardly readable, but it still works. I assume we will use it until it dies.

However, I can't wait to start using the Betamax I just got, the Sony SL-HF550, which records in stereo (BIG step up, here) and can hold up to 8 programs. Still ironing out kinks with it, though.

[reggaenaut]

Sharp VC-673OU made in 1986. It weighs a ton:giving me a hernia to lift, and it is in good condition.

[ChrisW6ATV]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

BTW, what exactly is the difference, if there is one, between DVD and Blu-ray? I see advertisements on television for movies that are now available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. I always thought Blu-ray discs were DVDs, only Blu-ray discs may be recorded somewhat differently than standard DVDs. Are the two types of disc so different that they actually need their own classifications these days?

The difference between Blu-ray and DVD is like the difference between ham radio and CB radio...

Both are digital disc formats, but DVD is plain old standard-definition MPEG-2 video. Blu-ray is very high quality high-definition video and usually lossless multichannel audio (on most discs these days), along with optional multifunction special features far beyond what DVDs ever offered. No, Blu-ray discs will not play in DVD players, any more than LP records will play in a wind-up Victrola. (DVDs will play in Blu-ray players, though, and they will probably look better than in most regular DVD-only players as well.)

[jfrog1983]

Sony SLV-676UC is what I record pretty much everything with. Its tapes seem to play in almost anything.

BTW I did get the Mitsubishi HS-430UR, fixed the tape not loading problem caused by the cassette door opener falling out of the carriage. The IC behind the mechanism was also bad so I got it jumped right now so the VCR can operate normally, a new one is on order, and thanks Ed for helping me locate the part.

All this beast needs besides that is a tape path alignment, right now it will play SP fine but has noise and lines on EP tapes.

Of course, I will need to get new rubber for it, I resurfaced the pinch roller and idler with my sander drum attachment for my dremel. It's gonna be a little tougher because studiosoundelectronics does not seem to have the rubber parts for this VCR, unless maybe I can get generic ones...

This VCR is the coolest one I've found to date, and is built like a tank, which is why I am gonna focus on this one for now.

[Bogframe]

Originally Posted by waltchan

There's one right now. It's made in 1989. This is one of Fisher's better VCR chassis with fewer problems:

http://cgi.ebay.com/FISHER-VCR-FVH-6...3286.m20.l1116

That's the model I have now. Too bad I can't afford it at the moment; it even has the original remote!

Originally Posted by jfrog1983

Fisher Hi-Fi from the 1980s, something im still searching for, and as for the person who had the rewind problem, very common with those Fishers, and fixed with a new idler, and parts can still be found from studiosoundelectronics.com.

I wouldn't know what to do with an idler even if I had one!

[zenith2134]

I assume these Fisherw were built in Japan by Sanyo, correct?

[Steelman]

Sony SLV-575...

[jfrog1983]

Lost the Zenith SVHS. It's funny how no one wanted it (was relisted 3 times!) and then when I bid on it all of a sudden someone else out of nowhere beats me.

It's not a bad thing though, because now I can use that money to fix up the Mitsubishi.

[jfrog1983]

And that Mitsubishi is now fixed, just waiting on the IC to come in the mail, then I'll install it and it will be done!

This is a VCR that will last a very long time, as long as the known problems are dealt with, and puts all of today's VCR's to shame!

[breetie]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

--BTW, what exactly is the difference, if there is one, between DVD and Blu-ray? I see advertisements on television for movies that are now available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. I always thought Blu-ray discs were DVDs, only Blu-ray discs may be recorded somewhat differently than standard DVDs. Are the two types of disc so different that they actually need their own classifications these days? I have heard that Blu-ray discs will not work in standard DVD players (and probably vice-versa), so there must be some difference between the two formats.

Yes, as mentioned earlier, the formats are not interchangeable, though DVD is actually readable by most Blu-Ray players. That said, the two formats could not be more different. The least of which being compression method and sheer capacity. DVD, at it's height (i.e. DVD-9, or 'dual-layer'--there were others but they were not nearly as popular) could only manage ~9G of data. They managed to get nearly 15G of data from DVD-18, but by then HD DVD and Blu-Ray had appeared on the scene. Blu-Ray, on the other hand, is pushing beyond 60G. Need all that space to add a multitude of features, enhancements, and of course 7.1 and 9.1 surround audio information and 1920x1080 progressive-scan image vs. DVD's 720x480 (i.e. 400 lines).

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

--Speaking of Blu-ray: I recently read in a blog on one of the computing magazine websites (I don't remember which one offhand) that the Blu-ray format is all but dead. If the format is a dead duck, why on earth are movies and TV series still being offered in both formats? If Blu-ray is dead (or close to it), I would think Universal and other motion-picture studios will be losing money just making discs produced in that format. Has anyone here heard of the demise of Blu-ray? If the format is in fact nearly dead, what went wrong?

Some have said Blu-Ray and HD DVD were dead before they began, mainly due to the change of venue by a vast majority of video rental and video streaming sources. While it certainly is true that Blu-Ray is quite a bit more advanced than DVD or any other digital optical media, the trend is actually digital downloads via network connected cellphones, televisions, and recorders. Netflix has taken a huge jump in this direction by teaming up with Microsoft on their broadband Xbox Live! Netflix video rental system. This all spins the direction of movies, television and even the local news itself in digital-only mode, where eventually it would be possible to view a movie or the news only through a networked device that could download it directly from the internet. Depending on which side of the conspiracy boat you happen to float on, the movement to abolish "ownership" as we know it regarding movies specifically and place them purely in the realm of 'virtual goods' may seem to be a step in the direction of ending piracy and other forms of copyright violation. That said, the argument continues to rage on whether or not optically-read media is as dead as the magnetic tape era that preceeded it.