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My dad's VCR broke, what should he replace it with?

TreelootTreeloot Registered User regular
edited July 2014 in Help / Advice Forum
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  • bowenbowen Sup? Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    If you can get one with a hard drive, I'm sure that's fine. What they commonly do is use the drive to store shows so you can rewind in real time like you would with a DVR. Make no mistake though. You can't really schedule it (other than 9:30-10:30 type of thing) or get a show listing like you would with a DVR.

    However, that seems like a pretty solid choice, it's quality will be much better than VCR, but don't expect DVD quality on those things when you record.

    bowen on
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  • brandotheninjamasterbrandotheninjamaster Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=9203048#Item+Description

    This is pretty cheap and Magnavox is a pretty good brand.

    Does it have to have a hard drive? Would he be recording that much?

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  • ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    I have an excellent dual channel one with my Dish subscription.

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  • illigillig Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    if your dad records any premium channels, then avoid DVD recorders.... most premium channels (HBO, showtime, etc.) set the 'do not record' flag in their broadcasts which is obeyed by DVD recorders

    Hard Drive based recorders don't suffer from this problem since they're considered "time shifting" rather than "place shifting" (i.e. you won't take it to someone else's house, or sell it, like you could a recorded DVD)

    my dad recently went through a similar process, and found several DVD recorders to be basically useless for anything but basic cable

    illig on
  • TreelootTreeloot Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    illig wrote: »
    if your dad records any premium channels, then avoid DVD recorders.... most premium channels (HBO, showtime, etc.) set the 'do not record' flag in their broadcasts which is obeyed by DVD recorders

    Hard Drive based recorders don't suffer from this problem since they're considered "time shifting" rather than "place shifting" (i.e. you won't take it to someone else's house, or sell it, like you could a recorded DVD)

    my dad recently went through a similar process, and found several DVD recorders to be basically useless for anything but basic cable

    Are these do not record signals sent out through analog broadcasts or just through digital broadcasts? My dad only gets basic cable, but he'd be really disappointed if he couldn't record anything from Turner Classic Movies.

    Treeloot on
  • unilateralunilateral Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    If he already has a cable subscription, I would suggest getting a DVR through the cable company. This is what happened to my parents (their old VCR broke and my mom couldn't record her stupid soap operas anymore).

    But now they have a DVR box from our local cable place and just LOVE it. They love it so much they convinced me to get one.

    unilateral on
  • TreelootTreeloot Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    unilateral wrote: »
    If he already has a cable subscription, I would suggest getting a DVR through the cable company. This is what happened to my parents (their old VCR broke and my mom couldn't record her stupid soap operas anymore).

    But now they have a DVR box from our local cable place and just LOVE it. They love it so much they convinced me to get one.

    My dad is pretty against getting a DVR from the cable company because he doesn't want to pay an extra monthly fee for one.

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  • ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    Has he looked into how much more it will cost? Because it will be a pittance compared to what he would gain (imho).

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  • FantasmaFantasma Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    Perhaps the best solution is just to purchase a new VCR (or used one), including several high quality tapes for future use. Manufacture of these devices was stopped sometime ago, but it is possible to find them in Pawn Shops or just buy one at ebay.

    Here is a list of DVD recorders for your consideration:

    http://www.videohelp.com/dvdrecorders

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  • noir_bloodnoir_blood Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    Improvolone wrote: »
    Has he looked into how much more it will cost? Because it will be a pittance compared to what he would gain (imho).

    This. Is like, five or ten dollars a month.

    Otherwise, he might as well just get another VCR, as everything else is either unreliable, or comes with a suscription fee that will be far more expensive.

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  • UnknownUnknown
    edited February 2009
    This content has been removed.

  • VisionOfClarityVisionOfClarity Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    mcdermott wrote: »
    noir_blood wrote: »
    Improvolone wrote: »
    Has he looked into how much more it will cost? Because it will be a pittance compared to what he would gain (imho).

    This. Is like, five or ten dollars a month.

    Otherwise, he might as well just get another VCR, as everything else is either unreliable, or comes with a suscription fee that will be far more expensive.

    You'd be surprised. Some people are so horribly cheap that $10 a month is a high price to pay to completely untether themselves from the TV schedule with nearly zero effort.

    Personally, I think it's about the best money you'll ever spend if you watch several shows on a regular basis.

    But whatever.


    My mom went for DVR this past all and has not looked back. It is so easy to set things to record every week and have them indefinitely not to mention it beats recording over the same tape over and over again and watching the quality turn to shit.

    VisionOfClarity on
  • ElinElin Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    It may not be cheapness, some people are on fixed incomes and 120 a year is a big number in that situation.

    That being said, I'm not sure about the non cable box options. Maybe another VCR would be best.

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  • noir_bloodnoir_blood Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    If he's in a fixed income, he wouldn't be considering buying another recording device. Hell, VCR's are still relatively expensive aren't they? I mean, at least for a medium that's dead and everything.

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  • UnknownUnknown
    edited February 2009
    This content has been removed.

  • ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    But they are one time payments.

    Improvolone on
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  • FyreWulffFyreWulff YouRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    edited February 2009
    noir_blood wrote: »
    If he's in a fixed income, he wouldn't be considering buying another recording device. Hell, VCR's are still relatively expensive aren't they? I mean, at least for a medium that's dead and everything.

    You can get a VCR for like, 15$.

    FyreWulff on
  • UnknownUnknown
    edited February 2009
    This content has been removed.

  • Josiah_9Josiah_9 Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    I am pretty sure that no one manufacturers new VCRs

    Josiah_9 on
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  • VisionOfClarityVisionOfClarity Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    My boyfriend got me a VCR/DVD player at Wal-Mart about a year and a half ago. It was like $70+ though.

    VisionOfClarity on
  • noir_bloodnoir_blood Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    VisionOfClarity wrote: »
    My boyfriend got me a VCR/DVD player at Wal-Mart about a year and a half ago. It was like $70+ though.

    Yea, that's where my opinion about prices came out off. Around september I moved and can't get DVR in my place, so I started looking around and kept coming up with those prices in the big box stores.

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  • FyreWulffFyreWulff YouRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    edited February 2009
    the best place to find new blank VCR tapes are discount stores. Usually 1$ for 6 of them.

    FyreWulff on
  • UnknownUnknown
    edited February 2009
    This content has been removed.

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