High Street chains that still sell video recorders?.

[RetroTechRules]

Re: High Street chains that still sell video recorders?.

Argos are definitely still selling VHS/DVD combi units (including one which has built-in Freeview+)

I don't know of any high street retailer selling brand new stand-alone VHS units though. However, I have in the past 12 months seen more than 1 pop up in Cash Generator, which had come from the manufacturer as "graded", i.e. they can't go to a regular retail outlet due to a scratch, or incorrect printing on the shipping label, etc.

[darren]

Re: High Street chains that still sell video recorders?.

thats amazing that anyone does vcr's even if it is a combination with dvd and freeview thrown in.
could not think of anyone else who would do it.

id expect them to be reasonably dear because of the dvd freeview part.

i think if you want an actual vcr on its own you have to send away for it.
ive not seen any high street shop selling them for a very long time new or otherwise.

Argos are definitely still selling VHS/DVD combi units (including one which has built-in Freeview+)


I don't know of any high street retailer selling brand new stand-alone VHS units though. However, I have in the past 12 months seen more than 1 pop up in Cash Generator, which had come from the manufacturer as "graded", i.e. they can't go to a regular retail outlet due to a scratch, or incorrect printing on the shipping label, etc.

[escorteclipse1990]

Re: High Street chains that still sell video recorders?.

Argos are definitely still selling VHS/DVD combi units (including one which has built-in Freeview+)

I don't know of any high street retailer selling brand new stand-alone VHS units though. However, I have in the past 12 months seen more than 1 pop up in Cash Generator, which had come from the manufacturer as "graded", i.e. they can't go to a regular retail outlet due to a scratch, or incorrect printing on the shipping label, etc.

Yes Argos do sell VHS/DVD Combi units they cost between £299.00 and £350.00 i think.

[Retrogames]

Re: High Street chains that still sell video recorders?.

I picked up a DVD/VHS Panasonic unit with a HDMI out from a booter last summer for £2! It makes my video collection (I've also recently been given 200 cracking films by a friend) look pretty good. Apparently these HDMI out ones are the £300+ units as they have top-end electronics in them to make the videos look and sound as good as possible- through the projector on a 92" screen they look like cinema films used to, it's quite amazing. £2 was because it had no remote and the DVD player doesn't record DVD-R discs. I talked the lady down from £3

[PC66]

Re: High Street chains that still sell video recorders?.

A little late, but as this point doesn't seem to have been fully addressed:

Wouldn't you also have problems with it having an an American tuner (though that doesn't matter much no the analogue signals are being turned off) & the DVD being region 1?

Yes, there are multiple compatibility issues for video equipment, aside from the 120 vs. 240V power supply difference.

As far as analogue is concerned, the VHS recording format on the tape is different to cater for the 525-line NTSC American TV system versus the 625-line PAL British system. Some U.K. VHS models, especially the later ones, will play back an American-format VHS tape, albeit not always very well and somewhat erratically since they often rely on the TV set itself being able to display something of a hybrid signal (i.e. they don't actually perform a full format conversion). The converse is usually not true, however, in that few domestic VHS machines for the North American market will play anything but 525-line NTSC format tapes. The broadcast signal is also a different format, on different channel assignments, and so on, so as you suggested, the tuners and decoder circuitry are also incompatible.

As for digital, the new ASTC digital broadcast format in the U.S. is incompatible with the Freeview digital format in the U.K. as well. DVD's have two issues, first that the basic recording format of the signal is different and second that DVD's are generally region coded, as you mentioned. Many DVD players will correctly output the appropriate video signal for the type of disc being played, so as long as the TV can cope with the different video format it will play all right (most modern TV's will accept both). The region code lock can be defeated with some players with appropriate re-programming to make them "region free."