Written by James Fohl

It seems that every time I find myself in the electronics department of a department store, I always look to see how many VCR tape decks are for sale. Upon the piles and piles of assorted DVD players, I usually only find one or two VCR decks. Sure there are a couple DVD / VCR combo decks for sale, but the fact is the number of VCR decks is declining at an alarming rate.

Before DVDs took the center stage of the media spotlight, stores carried a wide array of different VCR models. Then, after the explosion of cheap DVD players, the VCR seemed to take a backseat, as cheaper and supposedly better DVD decks took center stage.

Large Department Stores Carry Very Small Assortments Of VCR Decks

Today, as mentioned earlier in this article, stores seem to carry only one or two VCR decks, and the decks being sold are not being manufactured by household brand names, such as Panasonic or Sony. Instead the VCR units are being manufactured by cheap companies such as Emerson Electronics, and are about as feature-rich as the very first VCRs of the 1970's.

For example, an Emerson unit I looked at during a recent visit to my local Wal-Mart retailed for $49.99. This was twenty dollars more than the cheapest DVD player, yet still looked like a big pile of garbage. There were no stereo RCA inputs / outputs, only mono. This is pretty crazy for this day and age. Another major problem I found with the unit was the lack of the small LCD screen on the front of the unit. For years and years, VCRs of all brands had a front LCD that displayed the time, as well as informed the user of events that were occurring with the unit.

Today's VCR Decks Lack Features That Were Standard On Units From Ten Years Ago

Instead of the LCD, the Emerson unit had a series of LEDs that simply light up whenever the unit was turned on, recording a program, or playing a tape. The little lights do there job nicely, but they can not compare to the classic LCD screens of older units.

Even on the expensive model at Wal-Mart, manufactured by Sanyo lacked the LCD display, and also relied on the whole LED concept. On the plus side, the expensive model, which retailed for $69.99, did have stereo input / outputs. The remote sported "universal abilities with name-brand television sets" however the remote felt so cheap that I threw it in my desk, replacing it with a universal remote I purchased for $4.94.

I understand the fact that DVDs are mainstream now, but what are people supposed to do with their huge collections of VHS video tapes that they have been collecting for the last couple of decades? All VCRs will eventually wear out because of their mechanical design, and thus they will all need to be replaced. Unfortunately it is getting increasingly harder and harder to buy a feature rich VCR.

A Last Hope For VCR Fans

While standalone VCR units seem to be a dying trend, hopefully DVD / VCR combo units will continue to be manufactured so that people with large collections of VHS video tapes will not have to throw their entire collections away when their VCRs break.