The official "I still use VHS" thread

[soundman2]

I, personally, do not trust those DVD recorder things as far as I could throw one! I own a DVD recorder as does a friend of mine but hardly use it. I always use my machines (Panasonic) to record from digital satellite and a separate FREEVIEW digital terrestrial box.

The main advantage of a VCR over a DVD recorder is, when a DVD recorder comes across a bad disc....it just gives up therefore losing the programme you want to record. A VCR does not give a hoot about a bad bit of tape and just carries on regardless.

I have a stockpile of machines (about 22 last count) and even though we will be the last area to switch to digital full-time here in the UK, September 2012, I will continue to use VHS as long as I can.

[jedo1507r]

Originally Posted by soundman2

The main advantage of a VCR over a DVD recorder is, when a DVD recorder comes across a bad disc....it just gives up therefore losing the programme you want to record. A VCR does not give a hoot about a bad bit of tape and just carries on regardless.

That is so true. I've had a particular machine, a Funai-built DVD recorder, throw its hands up in the air (by way of an error message on the screen) after 10 seconds of recording a disc it didn't like--in this case, some Memorex DVD-Rs... though it certainly loved the Verbatims I regularly use. OTOH, that recorder has clocked at least a thousand hours of recording since it is used for tape transfer of old education videos for the department I work for, so they can abuse the discs instead of the tapes that are approaching 25 years of age.

The 1999 Sony SLV-M11HF I use for the transfers is a dream to use for this task because of the insanely fast wind/rewind and its picture quality. The 2000 Panasonic NV-SJ200 is also used for the few mono PAL tapes in the collection.

[Jeffhs]

I have an 8-year-old Panasonic Omnivision VCR that still works every bit as well as the day I bought it. Also have VHS videos I recorded from TV (old TV series and movies from the '50s through the '80s, plus a few professionally-recorded movies and travelogues) that still play well today, most of them (except the professionally-recorded ones) now at or approaching 25 years old. I do not own a DVD recorder, although I do have a Memorex DVD player I bought some 2.5 years ago that still works very well (despite a warning I read on one of the TV repair websites that recent-vintage Memorex DVDs have a capacitor that will swell and split open within nine months of initial purchase; the one in mine hasn't yet, knock on wood ).

[soundman2]

It's good to see others have the same mind-set when it comes to VHS. Surprising enough the vast bulk of my VCR's have come from the local dump or "tip" as we call them in the UK. Many people are now buying those PVR machines with HDD units in them and that includes SKY Plus satellite units as folks just throw their VHS machines.

Another thing I love about VHS is that you don't have to tell the machine how many hours recording you want on a disc as there are only 2 speeds SP/LP (or on Panasonic VHS machines EP) never used it myself but I understand that it slows the tape to a THIRD of normal speed enabling 9 hours recording on an E-180 cassette. No finalising needed either.

Some people I know have actually laughed at me for still having VHS in use, but I like to see it this way. All those with the fancy DVD recorders will probably cry their eyes out when the laser dies and all they can do is throw it away.

Whereas my VHS recorders will still be running like a dream.

By the way, has anyone noticed the rising prices of blank VHS tapes - a conspiracy I think!