Was this worth saving?

[Carmine]

I was at an estate sale recently and remembered somebody saying these old VCRs where "desirable". True???

This is a Panasonic Omnivision (as opposed to the Plymouth Horizonvision?) Anybody interested? Why was I supposed to buy this again?

[bgadow]

Horizonvision? Ha! Still slapping my knee

If I came across this cheap I'd have bought it. Why? Cause like most of the folks on these forums I'm a little nuts!

[Celt]

A friend of mine still has a Magnavox (made by Panasonic) VHS that has the clickity-clack-round-the-railroad-track tuners on it. You can program it to record ONE show!

[Eric H]

This one's downright modern, it has an electronic tuner

"Why was I supposed to buy this again?"
Because it will keep the lid from blowing off your trash can on a windy day.

[Charlie]

I recently threw away a Sears beta recorder and camera. It worked, but not so well. Looks like I should have asked here first... it might have been saved from the trash.

[Chad Hauris]

I don't think these are real "collector's items" although they usually still work pretty well and are a lot more robust than later VCR's. I don't buy the VHS's unless they are the real old ones like with the knobs...generally I will pick up any Beta or 3/4" machines I come across to have a good amount of back-up machines to play these type tapes in the future.

[Carmine]

...but wasn't it something about being able to record without "macrovision" or some other such hooey?

Aye, no macrovision as I understand it.......also, don't forget to watch out for smashed oil pans on those early Horizons with the VW engines, remember Carmine? Check those stem seals too! LOL

Anthony

[Carmine]

Wouldn't waste any time on a Horizon with the VW engine.

I'm a 2-point-2 guy through-and-through.

[andy]

Beta VCRs have a very loyal following. Some of the high end Betas regularly sell for hundreds on ebay.

[kc8adu]

Originally posted by Carmine
Wouldn't waste any time on a Horizon with the VW engine.

I'm a 2-point-2 guy through-and-through.

seems they were stuffing whatever they bought cheap that week into the omni/horizon.
hell i had one with a peugot engine.
seen mopar,vw and mitsubishi too.

[Jeffhs]

Panasonic still makes VHS VCRs under its "Omnivision" label. I had one with VCR Plus (which went west about two years ago when it ate a cassette--of a program I had taped only about two hours earlier and hadn't even seen yet). ARGH!!!!!!!! Bought another one right after that (the next day), which I still have, and it still works. Mine will record up to eight shows in, IIRC, a 7-day period, but since I have digital cable with a cable box, I have to manually change channels at the box if I want to record shows on different channels (sorta' like the original Omni systems). The VCR itself must remain on channel 3 or 4 to receive the output of the cable converter, of course, much as the UHF TV converters of the '50s and early '60s (and today's VCRs) operate.

Speaking of Omnivision, I wonder what, if anything, that label was or is supposed to have meant? Or is this just another example of a company using these fancy labels as marketing symbols, as Zenith, RCA/GE and Magnavox, etc. have been for about the last 15 years since their operations went offshore?

Personally, however, I don't think the label had anything to do with Macrovision (as another poster mentioned here). This was supposed to have been, IIRC, a system meant to thwart illegal copying of commercial VHS movie cassettes; if all Panasonic Omnivision machines (including current production) had had this feature, it probably (IMO) would have sent the price through the roof.