In December, I bought a JVC DVD/VCR to replace our old VCR. JVC was one of the few mfrs who made a black unit (everyone else seems to prefer silver for some rage-inspiring reason), and they’re a decent brand name, so I bought it.
Should ave checked the reviews, though. Many many people apparently bought this based on name recognition (and the JVC DVD player we have is excellent), but the things just breaks down. And they have a 90 day warranty. 90 days!!
So, of course, mine is broken now. The VCR part won’t play or record tapes anymore. So I just have a large, bulky DVD player on top of my television.
Looking over many of the major brands, Samsung and Toshiba also have black models, but both also only warranty for 90 days. Sorry guys, I am not taking this thing off-roading, so if you don’t have the confidence to warranty your prdduct for longer than 90 days, I ain’t buying it.
Many consumer electronics warranties are typically 90 days. Has been since I was first buying my own stereo equipment in the mid 70s. 90 days parts and labor / 1 year parts. Extended warranties available for extra cost.
Cameras were about the only things that had longer. Usually 1 yr parts and labor.
I’m not saying don’t rant about it breaking down, but that warranty length is standard and normal, in my experience.
To the rest of you…my 3 year old is pissed that she can’t watch Lion King until we get a new unit. You do not want to suffer the grumpy wrath of a man with a newborn and a whiny 3-year old.
So, to update everyone on the edge of their seat, I am in real danger of having a rage-fueled aneurism.
It seems that all of the DVD\VCR combo units out there now (that are available in black) come without tuners (ie I can’t use an antenna to tune the channels, or use my Dish Network box because – you guessed it-- it uses the antenna input).
Well, JVC makes some, but fuck them, their shit broke on me in 6 months.
If I want, I can get a DVD Recorder\VCR combo, and those usually have antenna inputs, but they are also significantly more expensive. (usually about 3x the price).
Fuck. What the hell happened? VCRs used to be nearly indestructable, my last, super-cheap one lasted for 10 years. ARG!!!
Well, the current DVD\VCR I have allows for some addiitonal inputs (like for my PlayStation2) and allows me to switch between all of my components very easily. If I get a VCR, it becomes somewhat of a hassle because then I have to get an A\V switch in order to change between the DVD and the PS2. The DVD\VCR combo units bypass that problem, plus it is one less piece if hardware in the entertainment center, where space is at a premium.
This is because they are either required to have a digital tuner in them or none at all. Since no one wants to make something you can record digital signals with, except Tivos and such, they just do away with tuners. This only just happened the last couple of months.
You should be able to find a stand alone VCR, I’ve seen them at Best Buy. Though I guess they could have gone in the last couple of months as well.
Maybe instead of fucking with the whole VCR thing you should start investing in DVD copies of all the VHS movies you have. Any home-made movies can easily be put on to DVD.
Replacing VHS tapes might actually be less time-consuming, stressful and cheaper than getting a DVD/VCR combo that lasts
Read a book, why don’t you? That’s what we used to do while we were waiting for TV to become cheap enough to buy. Or we listened to the radio. And we liked it even though it was uphill both ways through the snow. If your three year old whines about it, send her out to mow the yard or something. Just keep her off my lawn.
