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Apple forces music onto iTunes customers, then releases "U2 removal tool".

Gmash said:
At least you don't need a special tool to eject the tape and throw it in the garbage lol.
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You might need a special tool to eject it when the cheap'n'nasty "Made in Hong Kong" Alba or Cathay chews it up though. :D ...but that's not necessarily Bono's fault this time.

Elftone and Binatone were also horrible cheapo cassette players as well at the time, early '80s.
 
I agree with Gmash about Toshiba, I had one that lasted a wee before the cassette door fell off. I swapped it for a Sony.
 
It might be the Mayberry mentality around here, but seeing a new cassette player for $29 at Best Buy made me cringe. Then there was the presence of VCRs still being sold!

Browsing a Best Buy in Owensboro, KY is like taking a trip back to 1999
 
Part of me wishes they still would sell VCRs.

My parents have a closet full of old videos at home that we can't watch anymore. :(
 
nickdalzell said:
It might be the Mayberry mentality around here, but seeing a new cassette player for $29 at Best Buy made me cringe. Then there was the presence of VCRs still being sold!

Browsing a Best Buy in Owensboro, KY is like taking a trip back to 1999
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Best Buy, Owensboro stocking VCRs? AFAIK no company even makes a domestic VCR now. What are they, old stock?

As for cassettes, those are still being made, some people may still want to play their tapes.
 
I dunno. Maybe old stock but I'm unsure. Some are DVD-R/VCR combos, the rest standalone VCRs.

The appear to be new, and carry the Dynex branding.

I have a VCR simply because I have movies still on VHS that to get digital replacements would cost an arm and a leg. It's a Sharp unit I found in the garbage that needed a simple wipe with a rag of isopropyl alcohol on the heads and it worked great.

RadioShack here still sells blank Beta max cassettes and Duo - phone answering machine tapes.
 
Radio Shack often hold out on old things like that, it's something they've always specialised in. They were the last company to distribute and sell new 8track players and carts.
 
Some years ago I hooked my VCR to my hdd/dvd recorder and made copies of anything I thought I might want to watch again.

I suspect the VCR still works (decades old Sony), but haven't tried it for quite a while.
 
I have an old JVC somewhere that worked fine the last time I used it a few years ago. Don't know if it would work today.

I was never a fan of those VCR/DVD recorder combos, we never had one that lasted very long or worked particularly well.
 
I would suspect that a two decade old VCR would not function today, main problem being all the rubber drive belts and rubber idler wheels these things use would very likely perished and degraded. Also the tapes themselves can degrade, the oxide separates from the backing over time.


BTW anyone have any Iomega Zip or Jaz disks with data on them? :D
 
mikedt said:
I would suspect that a two decade old VCR would not function today, main problem being all the rubber drive belts and rubber idler wheels these things use would very likely perished and degraded. Also the tapes themselves can degrade, the oxide separates from the backing over time.


BTW anyone have any Iomega Zip or Jaz disks with data on them? :D
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Yep. I might even have a SyQuest cartridge or two. :p
 
I have a JVC VCR/DVD combo, still works fine, though the VCR side never got used much. I did a quick search on Amazon for "VCR", a few VCRs and combos are still available.
 
This one is a later model, made in 2000. It's a Sharp and has the now defunct VCR Plus feature. Also an anti theft key lock that locks the front panel buttons and illuminates a 'Anti-Theft' light on the front. It's one of those with five lights on the front and no flashing clock display. Still works just needed a head cleaning. I would be daft to pay 200 bucks on a new VCR.

They ran out of stock of standalone units last time I looked. There is one VCR DVD combo left though. All the older stuff is in the back row, this includes record players, hi-fi stereos, VCRs, s video and older coax cables, and the like.

There is one sound bar and one Samsung TV being sold with vacuum tubes. Creepy. Like I want to go back to hearing sound for ten minutes before the picture appears...
 
I've still got working zip drives, including one built into the desktop. It could still be hooked up. We do have a Panasonic VCR/DVD combo. The Vulcan records golf and watches it at his convenience. I still have working Sony Clie PDAs. We still have some CRT TVs. We use converter boxes. We might have a VCR recorder down the basement. I've still got a Quasar - TV with VCR built in.

On the Panasonic - the tape side always works perfectly. The DVD side has crazy glitches.

We even have a turntable. The Vulcan found it in the trash by the college radio station and brought it home. Still works.

We don't have cable or satellite. Just OTA.
 
I need a turntable for my vinyl collection. A bit on the new topic- any good alternatives to a VCR? Maybe getting a DTV Tuner for one of my computers? Or an Android device that can do it?
 
There are turntables available. You would have to find a group that really loves the fidelity and sound of the old vinyl. You can even find replacement styli for some of the old ones. (needles)

You will need a good filter if you try to convert to digital. You will get hiss and pop, and noise from the drive on the turntable. (ours has a belt) Your best bet still might be analog.
 
zuben el genub said:
There are turntables available. You would have to find a group that really loves the fidelity and sound of the old vinyl. You can even find replacement styli for some of the old ones. (needles)

You will need a good filter if you try to convert to digital. You will get hiss and pop, and noise from the drive on the turntable. (ours has a belt) Your best bet still might be analog.
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My fiance has a great eye and ear for turntables. I more need something to record television in occasion.
 
Unless it's the one dollar VHS movies you prefer over ten dollar DVDs which is why I even have a VCR at all, I'd find more use from a tivo. Buying a brand new turntable or VHS player for the prices they're charging is flat out ridiculous. I remember when DDR SDRAM became the in thing, you could buy a stick for ten dollars, yet for reasons unknown, ancient 8mb EDO sticks cost 49 bucks!

Keeping older tech so long as it works I admire myself. If not for the amount of space it took up, horribly low resolution for console gaming, bad habit of blowing vacuum tubes and needing constant repairs, I'd have kept the multiplex Stereo/8-Track/25 inch TV cabinet.

Here's the VCR I use. I should have said 'tamper proof' not anti-theft

 
nickdalzell said:
Unless it's the one dollar VHS movies you prefer over ten dollar DVDs which is why I even have a VCR at all, I'd find more use from a tivo. Buying a brand new turntable or VHS player for the prices they're charging is flat out ridiculous.
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Depends on what sort of turntable you want, you can get a USB one for about $40-$60, which is what you might use to copy some vinyls to MP3. or you can go right up to thousands for an audiophile deck, e.g. Linn Sondek LP12 (Made in Scotland not China).
 
The turntables here were from Sony or Bose (latter offering conversion to digital) so suffice to say they weren't cheap.

You might turn up an 80s Harmon Kardon unit at a Goodwill for $20, though be mindful you're likely to see a note taped to it saying 'needs new needle' and good luck finding those.
 
Toshiba still has one on Amazon. I've got one. I record OTA and can then edit crap out in Kubuntu. It's also good at dealing with older video cameras. Got all the stuff from tapes the kid made and burned a couple of DVDs.
 
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