TERMS, TIPS, AND TRICKS FOR BUYING A VCR IN 2024 AND BEYOND

There are many misconceptions and negative assumptions made regarding VCRs: VHS players are obsolete…no one needs a VCR…you can’t buy a working VCR anymore even if you wanted to….

Understandable, as many people haven’t seen, let alone used, a VCR in a couple of decades. But we at SpenCertified are of the opinion that VHS is still king! So let's tackle these misconceptions and assumptions, find out what terms and features you should be aware of, and learn where to buy a VCR.

Pro tip: If you’re looking for a certain term or feature, you can use CTRL+F on your keyboard to quickly search this page for it.

WHAT IS A VCR?

VCR stands for Video Cassette Recorder. A VCR playbacks and records VHS (Video Home System) tapes. A VHS tape is a consumer-level analog video recording on magnetic tape cassettes.

WHY IS VHS STILL KING?

Our buddy the VHS tape may be outdated, but it has features that DVDs, Blu-rays, and streaming just can’t beat! Here are a few:

• Own VCRs and VHS tapes and you own a piece of history.
• No internet or monthly subscription required.
• You can't scratch a VHS tape or get it dirty.
• A VHS tape will always remember where you left off, no matter how long it’s been.
• It's easier to skip the previews and FBI warnings.
• If you fall asleep watching a movie, you won't be woken up by those loud, repetitive menus.

REASONS TO OWN A VCR

You may want a VCR for multiple reasons. Rewatching those timeless VHS tapes you have laying around, recording your favorite TV shows, and transferring VHS tapes to DVD are a few great ones. Plus, everyone has that box of VHS tapes of home videos from family reunions or birthdays that they've been hanging on to for years. Get a VCR so you can watch your cousin trip down the stairs over and over again.

You can also record from anything you want! Just get a composite cable and record from your camcorder, from another VCR, or even gameplay from your Nintendo. The possibilities are endless!

CAN YOU STILL BUY A VCR?

Absolutely! VCRs can be hard to come by as they haven't been manufactured since 2016, but there are quite a few used and refurbished VCRs available on sites like Offerup, Craigslist, Mercari, eBay, Walmart, and Amazon. You can also find them at yard sales, garage sales, estate sales, thrift shops, and pawn shops.

The downside to this, however, is that many of these devices do not work. Roughly only five or six out of ten from eBay and Amazon will actually work. This is due to testing issues (many sellers aren’t familiar with how to fully test a VCR) and the shipping aspect (using boxes that are too small or with not enough packing).

That’s why SpenCertied is going to be your best option for buying a working VCR of the best quality. At SpenCertified we are reviving the VHS format along with many others. Our goal is to make buying a VCR and similar vintage audio and video equipment as easy as possible. All of our Video Cassette Recorders are fully serviced, refurbished, and SpenCertified. We try to make them all look as close to new as possible. We have a very high success rate on our shipments and most things arrive without issues. If one of our VCRs does get damaged in transit, we always replace it no questions asked, and we do have hundreds of replacements available for you to choose from.

https://spencertified.com/collections/refurbished-vcr-vhs-players

TERMS & FEATURES TO KNOW

VCRs are not all one and the same. There are actually a wide variety you can choose from, all with different features. These are the most common and important that you’ll run into.

Mono: When picking out a VCR, you have two options: either mono (single channel audio) or Hi-Fi (stereo). Mono audio gives only one audio output and is fine if your TV has only one speaker.

Hi-Fi: Hi-Fi (stereo) audio refers to a high-quality reproduction of sound, which includes more than one audio channel. Most TVs have a left and right speaker, which is where Hi-Fi becomes quite handy. Basically, you want Hi-Fi VCR instead of mono.

Rapid Rewind: This feature allows you to rapidly rewind your VHS tapes in seconds, rather than having to wait what feels like forever for the tape to fully rewind.

Commercial Skip: This will seamlessly fast forward a whole 30 seconds so that you don't have to watch commercials.

Commercial Advance: The Commercial Advance feature is a must if you have a lot of tapes recorded from television programs. It takes a few minutes to scan through your recording, then on playback it will automatically fast forward through all commercial breaks.

Movie Advance: This feature will ask if you want to either skip the previews or skip to the first preview, fast-forwarding through all the warnings and garbage. A definite time-saver!

Child Lock: This will lock the buttons on the front panel of the device so your young ones can't mess with it and lose your spot in the movie.

Tuner: Most VCRs will have built-in tuners, which will allow you to schedule recordings without having your TV tuned to a specific channel. It lets you record a show while watching another show.

Jog Dial: On a VCR, a combined jog/shuttle control may take the form of a large dial, button, or joystick. This convenient, all-in-one control usually provides most or all tape playback modes including play, stop, and pause, as well as fast forward, rewind, slow motion, and frame-by-frame. Basically, it allows you to adjust the speed of the video more precisely. Anywhere from .1x speed to 5x speed if the VCR is capable.

Front AV Ports: Having audio/video ports on the front panel is great if you want to connect an external device easily. With a front input, it saves time and hassle from having to reach the back inputs, which is helpful for plugging in a camcorder or gaming system.

HDMI: This allows you to use your VHS player in High Definition to get the highest quality available.

Most Smart TVs only have HDMI Input. For this reason, you will need to get a VCR with HDMI Output. But be careful which one you get, as not all HDMI DVD/VCRs will play VHS through HDMI. Most VHS to DVD Recorders are capable of outputting to VHS through HDMI.

S-Video / Super VHS / S-VHS: S-VHS is a high-quality video recording format. S-VHS VCRs use specially formulated tapes to deliver up to 60% higher horizontal resolution than standard VHS. Standard VHS delivers 240 lines of resolution, while S-VHS delivers 400.

If you have S-VHS tapes, you want to get a compatible player. Most VCRs won’t play S-VHS tapes, some VCRs will play S-VHS tapes at VHS quality, and very few will play S-VHS at S-VHS quality. Look for a VCR with an S-Video port if you want the best quality.

2-Way Dubbing: This feature allows for 2-way recording: transferring from DVD to VHS or VHS to DVD.

VHS DVD Combo Player: This type of VCR allows you to watch both VHS tapes and DVDs.

VHS to DVD Converter: This device will let you transfer VHS to DVD.

Brand: There are many different brands to choose from, and some of the best include Panasonic, JVC, and Sony. These tend to be most reliable.

Refurbished: This means that the item was previously owned and used, and it has since been inspected, tested, and restored to a marketable condition.

VCR RECOMMENDATIONS

Still unsure what VCR to buy? No problem! Here are a few of our recommendations:

1. PANASONIC PV-V4611 4-HEAD HI-FI VCR

2. PANASONIC PV-D4744S DVD VCR COMBO PLAYER

3. MAGNAVOX DV220MW9 DVD VCR COMBO PLAYER

4. TOSHIBA DVR620 VHS TO DVD CONVERTER

If you’re interested in learning more or buying any of these systems, just click its picture! That will take you right to its page on our website.

SUMMARY

VCRs are a great way to preserve the past and relive our favorite memories. There are many people out there who even now prefer to do all of their recording onto VHS because of their durability and reliability. With VCRs you can watch your old VHS tapes, record TV programs, and even transfer tapes from VHS to DVD.

So if you’re interested in buying a VCR, we hope this guide helps! And if you’re not, then we hope you got to learn something new about VCRs and their features. Thanks for reading!

Here at SpenCertified, VCRs are actually our specialty! So if you’re interested in shopping our wide selection of refurbished VHS players, you can check what we have available here. We even have a handful of brand new VCRs available!

https://spencertified.com/collections/refurbished-vcr-vhs-players