|   Why are VCR's so cheaply built? | grampi44
Nov 9, 2003 12:41 AM | | It doesn't seem to matter which brand I buy anymore, none of them last much more than a year, if that. And it isn't like we play movies in them 24/7/365 either. On the average, they probably play 3-4 movies a week. So why don't any of the companies build them to last anymore? My Mom has a dinosaur of a VCR that she bought new in 1979, and it still works just fine. You won't see one built today lasting that long. Something else that gets me is these companies will go to great length to put a bunch of bells and whistles on their VCR's that most people could give a sh1t less about, but they won't build a unit that will last. They can keep the dam bells and whistles, give me a stinkin' play, rewind, fast forward, and eject buttons on a unit that'll last 10 years or so. I'm so sick of this outsourcing, penny-pinching crap! It's gotten so bad, the Japanese companies aren't even building their own stuff anymore. They're outsourcing their stuff to Korea and China. Where's the pride? Where's the sense of wanting to put out a superior product? Nobody seems to care anymore and Joe consumer is getting crappy products because of it. This sucks! |
| re: Why are VCR's so cheaply built? | joel27862
Nov 9, 2003 8:12 AM | | It's because the companies don't give a hoot about the product. All they want is your money. "Why should we build a good VCR, no one uses them anymore" That's what the companies think. So they build a crap VCR, stick the Sony, JVC or whatever name on it and charge an outstanding price and it's built out of cheap crap plastic. "Oh look. It's sony. It's expensive. It must be good" That's what they're trying to do. I'm not sure the companies care at all about what they're selling. As long as they get the money. That's it. |
| re: Why are VCR's so cheaply built? | grampi44
Nov 9, 2003 9:03 AM | | But they'll continue to make up for the crappy build quality by adding more features. Here's a feature they're all overlooking; quality! |
| re: Why are VCR's so cheaply built? | joel27862
Nov 9, 2003 2:02 PM | | That's exactly what they're doing! Lots of features-Lots of cheap junk. Some features are nice. But to add features doesn't mean you have to go skimpy on quality. |
| Actually . . . | IsmaVA
Nov 11, 2003 8:00 AM | | I think it is because most CONSUMERS "don't give a hoot about the product", all they want is a machine that is cheap and will work when they get it home today and, maybe, tommorrow.
When was the last time that were willing to pay more than $200 for a vcr? I mean, I have a Mitsubishi HS-U71 that still works like new, but I paid a lot of money for it back in the late 80's. Hell, stand-alone DVD recorders are now under $500!
We are in the era of "cheap is better", and while YOU and I might not be directly at blame, the truth is that WE all are.
:-( |
| Actually . . . | Willow
Nov 11, 2003 10:13 AM | | well I bought a toshiba VCR 2 head about 9 years ago works like new (its what we use on our second tv in the spare room to record shows while we watch tv in the family room or for guest to watch movies when they sleep over....our main vcr wich only gets used to watch taped tv shows...is a sony 4 head which was bought 6 yrs ago and workd great to...but with DVD players being so inexpensive these days why buy a VCR ??? |
| I Don't Know? | jackz4000
Nov 9, 2003 3:30 PM | | I have an 10 year old Hitachi, still works great and takes a good beating in the course of a year. Few hundred hours per year usage, maybe. Cost was $279. For what it can do for me, like record programs and playback movies, I think it was a great value. Last year I bought a JVC, it records and plays s-vhs and regular vhs, stereo-hi-fi etc, lottsa bells & whistles. Works great. Cost me $50. Will it last 10 years like the Hitachi???...don't know? Seems like a good value to me. |
| re: Why are VCR's so cheaply built? | prash
Nov 10, 2003 5:09 PM | | I have a 5 yr old sharp 4 head Hi-Fi VCR that i've tried to beat the crap out of, but it just doesn't give in.
am i just lucky ?
-prashant |
| re: Why are VCR's so cheaply built? | joel27862
Nov 10, 2003 7:22 PM | | That was 5 years ago. A lot has changed since then. They al went cheap. |
| They aren't | Norm Strong
Nov 10, 2003 9:16 PM | | I can't see that the quality has gone down, even a little. 6 years ago I bought a GE VCR for $85--delivered. It runs about 3 hours/day, and has required no service, cleaning or adjustment.
I think the reason people think the quality has gone down because VCRs are so much lighter these days that they seem insubstantial. They're lighter, of course, because they contain so many VLSI chips. Each VLSI chip probably replaces an entire PCB with dozens of parts.
I've owned about 16 VCRs in the past 19 years, and the latest crop of 5, none of which cost over $100, are just as reliable as the previous ones, many costing over $500. |
| 16 VCRs in 19 years? That's not a good track record | Woochifer
Nov 10, 2003 11:11 PM | | "I can't see that the quality has gone down, even a little. 6 years ago I bought a GE VCR for $85--delivered. It runs about 3 hours/day, and has required no service, cleaning or adjustment."
A lot has happened over the past six years. With DVD, the midlevel VCR market has pretty much disappeared. It's all been commodified and the VCRs are not built to last. My friend in AV sales told me that the failure rate for VCRs is a lot higher than when midlevel VCRs were still going for around $300 (which was the case six years ago if you wanted a S-VHS machine).
"I think the reason people think the quality has gone down because VCRs are so much lighter these days that they seem insubstantial. They're lighter, of course, because they contain so many VLSI chips. Each VLSI chip probably replaces an entire PCB with dozens of parts."
Yes and no. The VLSI chips replaced a lot of mechanical parts from older machines, but even so VCRs remain highly mechanical devices and a lot of the skimping has occurred in things like the tape transports.
"I've owned about 16 VCRs in the past 19 years, and the latest crop of 5, none of which cost over $100, are just as reliable as the previous ones, many costing over $500."
This means that you're buying a new VCR roughly every year. That doesn't speak to reliability -- it illustrates disposability. I bought my Mitsubishi VCR for $350 in 1994, it's still running, and it's still the only VCR I've ever bought. |
| re: Why are VCR's so cheaply built? | Woochifer
Nov 10, 2003 10:56 PM | | For one thing, VCRs are now totally commodified products, unless you're going for D-VHS (those machines are more ruggedly built). With VHS on the way out, there's little to no incentive to make something built to last. The thing is that performance is a lot better than what got built 20 years ago, but the durability is definitely not built into the product anymore. Then again, with S-VHS machines nowadays selling for under $100, they're basically disposable products. |
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