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Why are all the new VCRs tuner free?
Everybody doesn't have cable TV service. Now that U.S. television is all digital, you would think that somebody would be selling tape VCRs with a digital (ATSC) tuner that could be used to record over the air broadcasts with the built in timer. - But it is impossible to find such a machine. There are a few DVD recorders with tuners but they are a lot more trouble to use. Walmart and Target on line sell a combination Hard drive DVD recorder with a tuner made by Magnavox which requires no monthly fee like Tivo - but nobody else does - So I am wondering if the absence of new VCRs with tuners is because of pressure from Cable TV industry in order to get as may people as possible subscribing to cable. Is there a law that says VCRs can't have a tuner.?
(By the way there are two kinds of digital tuners - ATSC for recording over the air - and QAM for recording unencrypted cable channels - It is impossible to find a VCR with either kind of digital tuner - The Magnavox hard drive recorder has both kinds of digital tuners, but I have heard that it will no longer be available to US customers after 2009.)
- I found that there are a few combination VCR DVD recorders with tuners for sale - Some of them will only allow the tuner to record to the DVD - In any event, they are relatively expensive. I challenge anybody to find a new stand alone VCR that has a digital tuner for sale today
4 Answers
- TV guyLv 71 decade agoFavorite Answer
Here is the problem with the digital tuner.
a) If the program is in SD, the VCR needs to actually fully decode it and then record it.
b) If the program is in HD, the VCR needs to decode it and then downscale it to SD so it can be recorded.
By the time you add the extra decoding/transcoding cost, you might as well make a hard-drive-based recorder.
- 1 decade ago
I think it's simply because VCRs, like magnetic tape in general, are obsolete. There's no law that says VCRs can't have a tuner. But the electronics manufacturers know that demand for new model VCRs is essentially zero. People buying new electronics for recording get DVRs and/or DVD recorders. Who wants to watch inferior video quality on VHS these days?
- 1 decade ago
There is simply too much cost to include digital tuners in vcr's. There is not enough consumer demand to offset manufacture cost let alone profit. Your challenge to find a VCR with a digital tuner, is a challenge that most likley will not be met.
- Anonymous5 years ago
The resolution and contast ratio aren't state of the art but for $700 (pfft), enjoy Thanksgiving Football.
