This week we’re talking about . . . the death of the VCR

Videocassette recorders recedes into history as last machines roll off factory line

Hopes of a revival of the VCR are set to be dashed as the last manufacturer plans to throw in the towel as of the end of this month.

Fri Jul 29 2016 - 15:08

VCR?

Videocassette recorder. The bulky box next to the television used to be the focal point of family Saturday night entertainment because the handful of TV channels you could get were showing absolutely nothing worth watching.

Videocassettes? I thought they had gone ages ago

Most people have swapped over their VCR for a DVD player or even Blu-ray. But it turns out there was still a market for the old video format.

Really?

Really. Betamax – the competing standard for VHS – ceased production only in March, years after it lost the format war. The reason it has come up again is that Japanese firm Funai Electric was still making VCRs, but it plans to throw in the towel as of the end of this month.

Surely it’s time?

Maybe. But Funai was still selling about 750,000 of the recorders every year, mostly in China. The reason it is pulling out is because it can’t get the components any more.

Some people were holding out for a resurgence in popularity for video tapes, similar to vinyl. But it looks like they were hoping in vain. Digital standards are more convenient, of a higher visual quality and far more convenient to store – just look at the size of the videocassette and see how many Blu-rays you could squeeze in there. Or go digital and keep thousands of movies on a hard drive.

Why would anyone want to resurrect VHS?

Who knows. Maybe they found rewinding tapes therapeutic. Or they really, really loved trying to detangle magnetic tape from the inner workings of a VCR.

One thing we do know though: it was far easier and more satisfying to wedge some Lego or a Farley’s rusk into a VCR than into a DVD player.

So what do I do with the stack of videocassettes I still have lurking in the attic?

Depends on what they are. If they’re home movies get them transferred on to discs and ditch the tapes. You can pay someone to do it for you (worth the money if you have a bit to get through) or you can buy a converter, hook it up to your VCR and digitise your cassettes yourself. If you have hours to spend doing it, that is.

For studio movies, it might be easier and cheaper in the long run to buy the ones you want to keep on DVD or digital download, if available.

But maybe you should hang on to the tapes just a little longer. Vinyl became more expensive the rarer it got; who knows if VHS will suffer the same effect? The more unusual films are already changing hands for large sums. That old copy of Top Gun might fetch a few quid if you hang on long enough. (We'd recommend binning Far and Away though)