Pencil Pusher
06-15-2008, 09:53 PM
We have a tv/vcr combo that we bought in 1999 for $200--the cheapest thing Sears sold. We immediately dropped & cracked it, but it has worked fine until a few mos ago when it began eating video tapes. Literally. We had to throw a couple away.
I'd say we have more than 100 video tapes (I haven't actually counted, though) that we haven't been able to watch. Some are out of print & irreplacable, some we don't nec. care to replace. BUT everything for school (science & Spanish tapes) is on VHS. Our lib doesn't have more than one copy of *anything* on DVD, so being flexible about format was nice.
Last week, our DVD player went out, lol. It doesn't recognize *anything* any more. Someone gave us a VCR, & it lights up & everything, but...no image, no sound. (I wonder if a tv/vcr combo just can't read another vcr? Probably the freebie just doesn't work.)
In Feb, when they do the big switch to digital broadcasting, our tv won't work anymore, either. So we've got this Frankenstein tower of electronics that don't work. LOL Although, our TV isn't actually hooked up to receive tv anyway. The only thing we watch is Lost, & we always watch it online.
So my question is this. I've decided that for school, we really must have a VCR. We use it a lot, & it's cheaper than replacing all of our tapes. We'll have to replace the DVD player, too, but those are cheap--that's less of a problem. What about the TV?
a) Keep it; it will probably work w/ a new vcr, & we don't watch tv on it anyway.
b) Replace it w/ the cheapest thing we can find. Reception doesn't matter, since we aren't really looking to use that feature anyway.
c) Replace it w/ something inexpensive but practical, looking to the fact that we'll use it for app. 10+ yrs. I.e., consider digital tuning, HDTV, etc., so that we're not facing the same thing (bought too cheap of a unit to begin w/) in a few yrs.
d) Other.
And MSB: is there somewhere that we can watch these online for free? Just hoping, since it's PBS & all. :)
I'd say we have more than 100 video tapes (I haven't actually counted, though) that we haven't been able to watch. Some are out of print & irreplacable, some we don't nec. care to replace. BUT everything for school (science & Spanish tapes) is on VHS. Our lib doesn't have more than one copy of *anything* on DVD, so being flexible about format was nice.
Last week, our DVD player went out, lol. It doesn't recognize *anything* any more. Someone gave us a VCR, & it lights up & everything, but...no image, no sound. (I wonder if a tv/vcr combo just can't read another vcr? Probably the freebie just doesn't work.)
In Feb, when they do the big switch to digital broadcasting, our tv won't work anymore, either. So we've got this Frankenstein tower of electronics that don't work. LOL Although, our TV isn't actually hooked up to receive tv anyway. The only thing we watch is Lost, & we always watch it online.
So my question is this. I've decided that for school, we really must have a VCR. We use it a lot, & it's cheaper than replacing all of our tapes. We'll have to replace the DVD player, too, but those are cheap--that's less of a problem. What about the TV?
a) Keep it; it will probably work w/ a new vcr, & we don't watch tv on it anyway.
b) Replace it w/ the cheapest thing we can find. Reception doesn't matter, since we aren't really looking to use that feature anyway.
c) Replace it w/ something inexpensive but practical, looking to the fact that we'll use it for app. 10+ yrs. I.e., consider digital tuning, HDTV, etc., so that we're not facing the same thing (bought too cheap of a unit to begin w/) in a few yrs.
d) Other.
And MSB: is there somewhere that we can watch these online for free? Just hoping, since it's PBS & all. :)