The last nail in the VCR's coffin?

The problem gets worse...

VHS actually is a long piece of plastic with metallic material bonded to it that makes physical contact with a spinning reader. That bond doesn't last forever. The tapes will degrade in storage and becoming increasingly difficult to playback.

Some professional quality analog recordings made on tape for the original Star Wars movie had already become worthless when the prequals began filming. Others could only be revived by being carefully baked in an oven to loosen the tape enough for playback.

DVD doesn't degrade that way. And it can be archived onto a different storage medium or simply transferred to another DVD years later without any quality loss, because it is digital.

 

1000s of old magnetic tapes (I have audio cassette,
VHS and DAT tapes) is a real problem. I wish I new
an eco friendly way to recycle them. Doesn't seem
right to just dump them all into the blue bin.

Does replay have season passes, wish lists and
recording on spec? TiVo records programs it
thinks you might want to watch, based on viewing
preferences you program in with thumbs up or
thumbs down buttons. But I think it also looks
at what you have in your season passes. These
features are what sets TiVo apart from other DVRs,
the one that came with Dish network comes to mind.

I've had 99% success rate with my Panasonic DVD
recorder, a couple of failures making 200 disks.

I suspect in five or ten years the question will be
how to recycle thousands of CD and DVD discs.

 

Easy. Keep using a VCR to watch them. There is no reason to throw away the 'older' technology just because there is something newer, especially if you can use both.

 

I use TiVo, but as I recall from my limited experience with Replay is that to record shows you create a "channel" for each program you want to record. I don't think it does suggestion recording. I find Replay a bit more difficult to navigate than TiVo, but it could just be my familiarity with TiVo. The old appeal of Replay used to be that there was not subscription fee with Replay, but I don't know if that's the case anymore (or if Replay still exists... I thought maybe they stopped making their own box-tops and are working with TV manufacturers, etc, to integrate Replay functions into the set).

 

ReplayTV is still around. Older models still have free subscriptions to the channel guide, but newer models adhere to the Tivo model of monthly or lifetime subscriptions in addition to the cost of the hardware.

As for recording programs, you can select shows to record either at specific times (show-based) or any time on any channel (replay channel). You can also set up channels that will record programs based on certain criteria (actors, directors, titles, info in show description). Right now, I'm planning a trip to New Zealand, so I use this feature to record programs with "New Zealand" in the title. It works pretty well, although it does keep recording an episode of "Full House" where two of the kids stow away aboard a flight to NZ... :wink: And no, Replay does not record "suggested" programs, which is just fine with me, and was in fact the feature that steered me toward Replay when I was first deciding to buy a DVR. Of course, now that I hear that Tivo is thinking about including ads in its service, I am happier than ever about my choice...

 

Yeah, Replay doesn't go out and find stuff for you. You can create "themes", ie, basketball, and it will record all basketball related shows. Does a real good job with that.
They can still be bought on the web, but I don't know what retailers have them. I liked it better than Tivo as I didn't want suggestive recording and didn't want to tie up phone line.
Honestly I use a cable box dvr now. I just hope the software gets better

 

DVD-R, -RW, +R, +RW DO degrade. So do CD-R and CD-RW. Keep them in a place with a consistent cool temperature and consistent humidity. Keep them out of the SUN! If you really want to keep something, pick your media carefully, don't write on it, and don't label it. Label the jewel case and the very inside of the disc (which is clear).

http://www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Technology/CD-.../Media/TDK.html

The good news is that degradation is not widespread and can be mitigated.

http://www.mscience.com/faq30.html

The guy who runs the above site (msciencecom) knows more about recordable media than anyone else I know. (I have spoken to him personally). He is very helpful, and passionate about optical recording.

On another note, not only is VHS dead, but so is 8mm and miniDV. I just got my new Sony DVD camcorder. It records directly on dvd-r and dvd-rw. Record, drop in any player, and chapters are created for each time you start and stop the recording.

Blanks are down to under $2 for -R and $3 for -RW. 20, 30, 60 min per 3" disc depending on quality (compression artifacts may show up on the 60 min mode if there is a lot of motion or a lot of color).

Model is DCR-DVD301.

Nate

 

God, I certainly hope not. Although miniDVD is an excellent format, it's not really well suited for doing any kind of extensive editing. It's also a "lossy" format in the sense that a lot of compression is going on in the camera; similar to what occurs when a DV AVI file is compressed to DVD format.

 

The VCR is not going anywhere for a long time. One can still buy record players( turntables) even today. I am sure VCRs will also remain available for quite a while. People will need a combination of devices as few ( if any) new movies will remain avialble in VHS. However, lots of people will continue to have old tapes, home movies etc and some will just like it for nostalgia. I bought a record player recently and even though I mostlu use my computer to play music these days, I love to see a record turning.

 

For the uber young, VCR= Video Cassette Recorder.
Cassette= a magnetic reel for storing and reproducing video and audio.

 

Well, yes.

In the case of audio cassettes and video (including audio) cassettes, the reels are enclosed in a little case (hence the name) which could then be inserted in the recorder/player.

This as opposed to reel-to-reel audio tape, which had to be threaded past the play/record heads and onto a blank take-up reel (and if necessary, turned over when through).

You know, just like threading a movie for playback. Gather round, kids...

 

"Be kind, please REWIND."

Thank goodness that statement is no longer relevant.

 

My dad had a good laugh when dual-layer DVDs appeared and once again it WAS necessary (in some players) to turn the disc over as if playing vinyl.

 

You actually mean "dual side".

The term "dual layer" refers to 2 layers on the same side of the disc.

And most of the "dual side" discs were just for the sake of backward compatibility, for those using the old fashion televisions in the 4:3 shape. So it wasn't a mid-movie change like you had to do for "laser" discs.

 

We have TiVo and just recently bought a Panasonic DVD recorder with hard drive. I can now send stuff from TiVo directly to the DVD like I used to send it to the VCR. I also split the cable signal so that I can record on the DVD hard drive while watching the TiVo. TiVo is hooked up to the cable box and DVD has the non-premium stations. I don't think I could live without my TiVo anymore. I am in the process of copying some of our home videos to DVD.

 

My cable box dvr is pretty slick and so far has the tivo's and replaytv's beat. It's a dual stream/tuner box so you get:

• 
  
  I would like the hard drive to be larger but at least I can copy off shows to make room.
  
  Replay's are slick in the way they can network together for automatic schedule conflict resolution and drive space management. You can also schedule programming remotely via the internet, load photos from your PC and stream a show from any networked replay box in the house or even have other networked users send you a show. Unfortunately you'd have to drop a few bucks on hardware to get all of that functionality.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ms. Piggy\";p=\"56084)</div>

What do you consider annoyances? (not flaming, just curious)

I have a regular TiVo and a HiDef Tivo both hooked up to a DVD+RW. I also have a VCR feeding the DVD+RW. Obviously the DVD+RW does not record in HiDef, but it does come in handy if someone at work misses a show or I want to bring something in to watch on my lunch break. I was surprised at how good a VHS camcorder tape from 1984 looked after it was transferred to DVD.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pjo1966\";p=\"60221)</div>

Basically the feature that records programs Tivo thinks you MIGHT like based on your recording patterns. I'm already annoyed enough by the amazon.com recommendations.... Although I suppose it might be amusing to see what it would record for someone who watches Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Everwood, Lost, Desperate Housewives, ER, Without a Trace, Alias, Scrubs, and NYPD Blue (among others...)

:wink: