The official "I still use VHS" thread

[colorfixer]

I find that the biggest issue with anything mechanical is the belts and idler tires that are becoming unobtanium. My Panasonic NV-G50 has a great picture, if I could only get an idler tire for it.

Don't forget that laserdisc still offers an analog picture as well

[Jeffhs]

These formats may still produce excellent pictures, comparable to analog TV. However, it is next to impossible to find prerecorded VHS videos (except on the used market; look on eBay or CL) these days -- the same goes for laser discs. LD was popular 25+ years ago, with several major US manufacturers, RCA among them, marketing players that hooked up to standard TVs the same as a VCR. These were the late '70s-'80s forerunners of today's DVDs, but the picture quality was almost certainly nowhere near that of today's digital media; it didn't have to be, as digital and high-definition TV hadn't been thought of yet in this country. Consider as well the fact that laser discs were about the size of an LP phonograph record and could only hold one movie at a time, whereas today it is possible to fit an entire season of a TV series on one DVD.

The cost of laser discs was a factor as well. Whereas today DVDs can be obtained in department stores for dirt-cheap prices in many cases (I have a DVD with 1970s police programs like Charlie's Angels, et al. that I purchased for $3 at Big Lots a couple years ago) and are even available for rent from Netflix, Blockbuster Video and even machines in some stores, new laser discs often went for $10 or more apiece in their heyday.

If laser discs are available used, however, I would think they would sell for a fraction of that, as hardly anyone uses them anymore. If anyone here has (or knows someone who has) a laser disc player or VCR and is looking for prerecorded discs or VHS tapes, the only place, again, to find such is probably on eBay or perhaps at garage/yard/moving sales.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by colorfixer

I find that the biggest issue with anything mechanical is the belts and idler tires that are becoming unobtanium. My Panasonic NV-G50 has a great picture, if I could only get an idler tire for it.

Don't forget that laserdisc still offers an analog picture as well

The "unobtanium" nature of parts for older VCRs is why so many of them show up on eBay or CL, or even in the trash (!), these days. As for the current crop of DVD/VHS players, I'd say forget trying to repair them after the warranty expires, the reason being that they are built cheaply to sell cheaply -- to have one of these looked at in a repair station is likely to cost more than the owner originally paid for it or than the machine is worth, and this is before any work is ever done on the unit.