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| Thread ID: 62345 | 2005-10-04 23:32:00 | The VCR just died... | Tony (4941) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 393423 | 2005-10-05 01:09:00 | A VHS videotape or DVD (no laserdisc or video CD players implement it) encoded with Macrovision will cause a VCR set to record it to fail (excluding very old models, modified VCRs as well as those approved for "professional usage" ) . This is usually visible as a scrambled picture as if the tracking was incorrect or the picture will fade between overly light and dark. This is achieved through a signal implanted within the offscreen range (vertical blanking interval) of the video signal—either physically recorded directly on the tape (as with VHS) or created on playback by a chip in the player (as with DVDs). en.wikipedia.org |
Metla (12) | ||
| 393424 | 2005-10-05 04:07:00 | I've just been to have a chat with my friendly local TV/VCR/DVD... serviceman, who thinks (without having seen the beast) that it could be repaired for maybe $160. It would cost me $45 to get that official. So my plan now is, if I can get it repaired for less than $200 I'll do it and maybe get another 12-24 months out of it. I think that would be better than getting a cheap new one at $200 - same price, but I suspect my oldish Mitsubishi is better built than a brand-new $200 job. I'm not desperate to go to DVD, and in 12 months or more I'm sure the price/performance will be better (unless of course the bottom falls out of the kiwi dollar - which it is forecast to do). Failing that I'll go for the full HDD thing. |
Tony (4941) | ||
| 393425 | 2005-10-05 04:21:00 | before you start spending money getting it repaired check out the prices of new ones (noelleeming.resultspage.com) | plod (107) | ||
| 393426 | 2005-10-05 04:36:00 | Search around I picked up the 6 head Panasonic a couple of months ago for $155 Nicam stereo and a super high speed rewind. And a 12 month warrenty. Best you'd get on a repair would be 3 months and your still stuck with old technology. :2cents: |
EX-WESTY (221) | ||
| 393427 | 2005-10-05 04:47:00 | Just my 1.5 cents worth. I had a combo TV / VCR and it died. Quotes to even look at it were enough for me to take it to the tip. I wouldn't get a combo device again. With discrete appliances at least you only lose one at a time. :) |
mark c (247) | ||
| 393428 | 2005-10-05 05:38:00 | Macrovision, makes the picture jump,rock and roll when you plug a DVD player into a Video, same issue happens if they are a combo or seperate units. I even had it happen when I plugged a standalone DVD player into my computer. Doesn't happen for me, I can do DVD -> VCR easily, in fact that's how I watch it all the time (through the VCR). |
george12 (7) | ||
| 393429 | 2005-10-05 05:46:00 | Sorry George, I must have imagined the entire Macrovision angle, I'll contact Macrovision and inform them they are just a phatom mirage spewed forth by my sick mind . Feels like I just stepped out of that Beautiful Mind movie . . . . . . Cept I suck at math, so Im thinking im a spelling genius . . . . Anyhow,its not the watching, its the recording . |
Metla (12) | ||
| 393430 | 2005-10-05 08:02:00 | Plod, Ex-Westy - I currently have a good quality Mitsubishi 4-head VCR (yeah, I know it doesn't work...), which is used as a second/backup VCR. I can replace it with a 2-head for $150 or a 6-head for $200 - maybe less if I can get a deal. I figure if I am going to spend about that money either way, I'd rather get my good-quality one mended by a repairer who's work I know and trust, and if I only get another year out of it, I'm still about even. I'm not sure what is meant by "old technology" - I didn't think VCR tech had moved much recently. It is all going to depend on the quote I get after I take it in tomorrow, and as I said before, if it is too much to repair, I will take the plunge and go HDD. |
Tony (4941) | ||
| 393431 | 2005-10-05 19:47:00 | Tony, the one thing to consider when spending a lot of $$ to repair your old VHS is the condition of the heads. After a year or so the heads may not be so good, but if you get a new VHS (check around - there are some great bargains) the heads will be good for years. I tend to agree with one of the comments above - get a cheap DVD player and an inexpensive but good VHS. Imho, the cost of repairing your old VHS sounds too high to bother. BTW, when you view movies on DVD, especially using external sound (stereo system or home theatre), you will NEVER use the VHS for movies again. Do you record lots of programs off the TV ? |
Strommer (42) | ||
| 393432 | 2005-10-05 20:02:00 | This is usually visible as a scrambled picture as if the tracking was incorrect or the picture will fade between overly light and dark . Yeah, thats the one . Right again Metla . Buggar . :angry |
Winston001 (3612) | ||
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