Support NeoGAF

Rösti · Jul 21, 2016

From Nikkei, via BBC:

Production of the last videocassette recorder (VCR) to be made in Japan will cease by the end of the month, according to the Nikkei newspaper.
Funai Electric has been producing VHS-playing VCRs for 33 years, most recently for Chinese company Sanyo.

But last year it sold just 750,000 units, down from a peak of 15 million a year, and has been finding it difficult to source the necessary parts.

VCRs were introduced in the 1970s but were superseded by DVD technology.
Last year, Sony announced it would stop selling Betamax video cassettes - a rival to the VHS. VCRs were required to play or record such tapes.

It was 12 years ago that UK High Street retailer Dixons decided to phase out the sale of VCRs due to the popularity of DVD players.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-36857370?ocid=socialflow_twitter

I haven't used a VCR in years. The last time I came into contact with the format was a Christmas many years ago where I used VHS tape as decorations for the Christmas tree.

Do you still use VCR?

DrFunk · Jul 21, 2016

R.I. *tracking* P.

Heroman · Jul 21, 2016

They sold 750000 vcr last years, to who?

platakul · Jul 21, 2016

What a necropost! Wait oh

outunderthestars · Jul 21, 2016

I have one that I use to watch tapes I find in yard sales, abandoned buildings etc.

Might be time to grab another one as a backup unit.

strafer · Jul 21, 2016

I still have my VCR. I'm keeping it. It will sell for 1 million bucks later in the future.

darkwing · Jul 21, 2016

be kind rewind

marrec · Jul 21, 2016

Man.... now I kinda wanna buy a VCR and tape a bunch of X-Files reruns and get a CRT and have a nice nostalgia wank.

Dougald · Jul 21, 2016

Heroman said:
They sold 750000 vcr last years, to who?

Businesses using outdated equipment (security cameras maybe?) would be my guess. I can't think there are many consumers buying the things any more...

Maniel · Jul 21, 2016

The real news is that Betamax lasted until last year.

Takamura-San · Jul 21, 2016

But..... I was planning on buying one for christmas ...

gnexus · Jul 21, 2016

Finally, now I can finally let my NIB mint condition VCR skyrocket in value.

See you suckers later, I'm gonna retire early.

ShirAhava · Jul 21, 2016

Still have my dual deck VCR from 2002 I need to stock up on spares a ridiculous amount content only came out on VHS and never made it to DVD or digital.

Hickbilly Deluxe · Jul 21, 2016

I bought one last year actually, just to watch a few movoes I own that are damn hard to find on DVD, and some old made for TV movies I recorded yeara ago.

PumpkinSpice · Jul 21, 2016

Heroman said:
They sold 750000 vcr last years, to who?

Old people.

Ratrat · Jul 21, 2016

Kind of want to buy one now...

Sakura · Jul 21, 2016

Sony was still selling Betamax...?

Majine · Jul 21, 2016

The market is still booming for these two fucks.

Foggy · Jul 21, 2016

I still have a VCR for all the gold that never made its way to dvd or blu. Oddly enough, watching the trailers and seeing the fuzz can be comforting.

MikeHattsu · Jul 21, 2016

Sakura said:
Sony was still selling Betamax...?

Was still used recently by smaller local TV stations and such in the US.

Sanjuro · Jul 21, 2016

VHS offers a pure experience. It's basically like vinyl for film. The imperfections get people hard.

Mathezar · Jul 21, 2016

I've digitized all my old VHS tapes but I still have a spare VCR laying around, just in case...

Amazing they even still sold that much. Wherever I go I never see any units for sale.

thecouncil · Jul 21, 2016

I feel like there are people approaching college that wouldn't even know what a VCR is.

Bluth54 · Jul 21, 2016

My parents still use VCRs because they dont want to pay extra for DVR service.

outunderthestars · Jul 21, 2016

Ratrat said:
Kind of want to buy one now...

Walmart sells them. You can get one that will let you copy the to DVD as well.

Anth0ny · Jul 21, 2016

More VCRs sell in a month in Japan than Xbox Ones sell in a year.

Easy_D · Jul 21, 2016

DrFunk said:
R.I. *tracking* P.

I've never ever seen a VCR do the whole "tracking" thing, ever.

SliceSabre · Jul 21, 2016

I think my dad still has a VCR/DVD combo. Man.....VCRs fucking sucked. Fuck extra fees for not rewinding the movie.

Sanjuro · Jul 21, 2016

SliceSabre said:
I think my dad still has a VCR/DVD combo. Man.....VCRs fucking sucked. Fuck extra fees for not rewinding the movie.

Fuck you for not rewinding.

Sephzilla · Jul 21, 2016

Anth0ny said:
More VCRs sell in a month in Japan than Xbox Ones sell in a year.

wow

Kysen · Jul 21, 2016

Was it Cowboy Beebop where they had to go to some abandoned sky scraper to find a VCR? That's what this reminds me of.

Dougald · Jul 21, 2016

Anth0ny said:
More VCRs sell in a month in Japan than Xbox Ones sell in a year.

They are about the same size, maybe the Japanese market is confused

HStallion · Jul 21, 2016

Don't worry in like ten or twenty years there will be a retro resurgence of VCR's by future hipsters. They'll be talking about how the sub HD picture is pure and how they have mastered using the tracking knob.

br3wnor · Jul 21, 2016

SheepyGuy said:
Old people.

Yeah, my parents (mid 50's so not 'old' really) still have an extensive VHS collection that they use. Their movie watching split between tapes and DVD's is probably 50/50. They have a VCR/DVD combo player and still use a 25" CRT TV they've had for over 20 years now.

It boggles my mind. I got them a DVD player 15 years ago for their anniversary, and it took them YEARS to even begin buying DVD's. They refuse to buy an HDTV because it won't fit in their 'entertainment center'.

Nerdkiller · Jul 21, 2016

But what does this mean for any future VHS/4K BD combo?

Yeah, I'm just as amazed as you are they they actually made VHS/BD combo players.

sixteen-bit · Jul 21, 2016

end of an era

Khaz · Jul 21, 2016

So what's the best VCR ~~still in~~ last to be in production?

Sanjuro · Jul 21, 2016

Khaz said:
So what's the best VCR ~~still in~~ last to be in production?

One that pops up the cassette. What luxury. Wow.

Grizzlyjin · Jul 21, 2016

I want to buy one just to have it around. I haven't actually used a VCR in maybe 16 or 17 years. As a kid, I mainly used ours to tape TV shows so I wouldn't miss them. I could run home after school and make it just in time for Dragon Ball Z but I taped it so I could chill with friends and watch it on my own time. Shit was life changing at the time.

VariantX · Jul 21, 2016

Anth0ny said:
More VCRs sell in a month in Japan than Xbox Ones sell in a year.

More like ever.

Ninja Scooter · Jul 21, 2016

Sanjuro said:
Fuck you for not rewinding.

Remember when dedicated tape rewinding machines were a thing?

NimbusD · Jul 21, 2016

Guess it's time I should grab one. Imagine these guys will be super expensive in a few years.

Sanjuro · Jul 21, 2016

Ninja Scooter said:
Remember when dedicated tape rewinding machines were a thing?

I still got a few of those! When I worked at the video store we had a bunch of them lined up near the return slot to correct the mouth breather's mistakes.

Crayolan · Jul 21, 2016

Anth0ny said:
More VCRs sell in a month in Japan than Xbox Ones sell in a year.

Some "all in One entertainment system," doesn't even have VCR support!

jmood88 · Jul 21, 2016

Cowboys fans better hurry up and get as many as possible do that they can continue reliving their glory days.

Foggy · Jul 21, 2016

HStallion said:
Don't worry in like ten or twenty years there will be a retro resurgence of VCR's by future hipsters. They'll be talking about how the sub HD picture is pure and how they have mastered using the tracking knob.

This has been happening for the past couple years. Bleedingskull.com is their church and Zack Carlson is their messiah.

Ray Wonder · Jul 21, 2016

The best noise was the "CLACK!" that happened when you were done rewinding.

RetroDLC · Jul 21, 2016

As long stock remains for VHS players with 1080p upscaling and HDMI output (like my Panasonic DMR-EZ49V), all will be fine for us insane people who engage in archiving worthwhile VHS tapes.

Redd · Jul 21, 2016

Kysen said:
Was it Cowboy Beebop where they had to go to some abandoned sky scraper to find a VCR? That's what this reminds me of.

An old museum. If I remember it they needed a beta but grabbed the vcr machine because it was bigger.

Stinkles · Jul 21, 2016

Now hipsters can create a market for "warm, organic, compact analog image quality"

Support NeoGAF

Japan ceasing production of VCR players

Rösti

Unconfirmed Member

not licensed in your state

Banned

Banned

Banned

member

Member

Banned

Member

Banned

Member

Member

Plays with kids toys, in the adult gaming world

Banned

Banned

Member

Member

Banned

Member

Member

Member

Member

Banned

Member

Banned

Member

never left the stone age

Banned

Member

Member

Member

Member

Now what's the next step in your master plan?

Member

Membeur

Member

Member

Member

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Founder of the Wounded Tagless Children

Foundations of Burden

Member

Clothed, sober, cooperative

Similar threads