My folks were one of those people who bought one of the early and expensive models of VHS VCRs. I think it was a top-loader and the remote control wasn’t even wireless but was on a cord.
One thing the old dinosaur had going for it was the perfectly calibrated speed for fast-forward while still in play mode (you know, where the video zings rapidly but does display on-screen) for purposes of FFWD’ing past broadcast commercials.
In all honesty, despite visiting the parentfolks and watching them cuss as they try to fast-forward past commercials, or playing back videotaped movies at the girlfriend’s apartment (beforementioned parents send them to us as a repeating gift, we don’t have TV reception) on her somewhat more modern equipment, or in my own pseudobachelor’s apartment-room (same source, mostly), which in total entails the deployment of a great many VCR decks, all total, I have yet to see one which is anywhere near as good as the ancient one my folks first had as far as responsiveness and perfect speed for FFWD-ing past commercials without overshooting the start of the resumption of the taped movie and then having to RWD which overshoots you into the trailing end of the commercials and you cuss and you cuss and you end up watching far more of the content of taped commercials than you’d like to.
a) QUESTION THE FIRST: Is this deliberate?[/color] OK, so I have immediately joined the ranks of Conspiracy Theorists and should be laughed at. This is really too silly to pursue, isn’t it? Even though it keeps occurring to me while I’m cussing and futzing with the fast-forward and rewind buttons…
b) QUESTION THE SECOND Is it because an ever-shrinking portion of the sales target is using them to tape broadcast movies and/or shows? I am wondering if to an ever-increasing extent the desire to tape a broadcast and then watch it later and fast-forward past the commercials is less and less part of why folks buy VCRs these days.
I could’ve stuck this in GQ but I knew you folks would come up with the forum-appropriate-if-by-extension answers quickest. If some person on whose brow the Moderator-Leaf has been laid feels that this inquiry would feel more at home in GQ, I readily bow to that person’s esteemed judgment and appreciate the benevolent attention (well I’m sorry, I know it’s puke-smiley inducing…I will make a concerted effort to pit a moderator or admistrator for due cause at the earliest apppropriate opportunity).