# How many DVR users still use VCR's?



## boylehome (Jul 16, 2004)

I'm a 100% DVR user now. I have a slew of VCR that just sit and collect dust. I wonder what you do now?


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## SAEMike (May 29, 2004)

boylehome said:


> I'm a 100% DVR user now. I have a slew of VCR that just sit and collect dust. I wonder what you do now?


I don't use my VCR to record at all anymore. I do, however, still use it occasionally to watch some of the hundreds of VHS movies I have.


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## K R Kimmel (Dec 23, 2003)

What's a VCR?


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## Mike D-CO5 (Mar 12, 2003)

My 4 year old boy uses his vcr/dvd player to watch both video tapes and dvds. 

I still have a S-video JVC vcr that in my living room to be used with my tv s-video port when I am watching my 921 in my computer room. That way I can watch in sd in both rooms ,since I can't watch in hd in both. 

I found that if I keep the 921 in safe mode to be able to watch in 480p in my living room and sd in my computer room , I end up with the wonderful red/blue/green line down the middle of my screen on my hd tv, when I am watching sd satellite shows. This avoids the problem all together. 

But to sum it all up, I don't record by vcr at all. I use my 721 dvrs in both bedrooms to record and my 921 in my living room to record in both sd and hd. It makes the vcr obsolete.


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## Big Bob (May 13, 2002)

Need another option:
Use VCR to archive

(until I can record on DVD)





*Edit: replaced "box" with "option"


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## nuts4scuba (Jan 11, 2003)

I only use my vcr to copy shows off of my dvr to give to my neighbors when their cable goes out. :lol:


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## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

I have a Philips SVHS VCR still sitting in my entertainment center. I keep it for two reasons 1) to fill an empty shelf and 2) to use the extra inputs. My home theater receiver has run out of inputs so I use the VCRs front ins for viewing vacation videos off my Sony D8 and I use the rear audio ins for Sirius. Haven’t recorded anything on to a tape in years and last video tape I ever watched was Shrek when it first came out on VHS in 2001. I wasn’t sure if I’d like the movie and a co worker of mine didn’t have a DVD player yet so she bought it on VHS and let me borrow it. Other then using my VCR as a glorified input switch, I have no use for it, between the DirecTiVo and my DVD burner.


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## hojni (Feb 6, 2003)

We still have a couple of VCR's, but never use them. All shows for time-shifting are recorded and watched on a DVR. Shows and movies we want to keep are purchased or recorded on DVD (Panasonic DVD recorder with harddrive to give best quality and ease commercial removal). The kids probably wouldn't know what to do with a VHS tape.


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## Mike123abc (Jul 19, 2002)

I have 4 VCRs still in the house. When I first got my 921 I used the VCRs to record everything the 921 was recording. After a couple of weeks without a problem with the 921, I stopped using the VCRs. Only thing I have used a VCR for in months is to record a program off of DVR for someone else to watch.


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## Geronimo (Mar 23, 2002)

I think the 3rd box covers using a VCR for archiving. So I used it.


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## scooper (Apr 22, 2002)

Only reason I still keep the VCR (JVC HiFI unit) hooked up is that it has a better OTA tuner than the one in my PC - if I'm going to record from OTA on the stations it does better. If we rent a movie that doesn't come on DVD, I'll use the VCR then.


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## boba (May 23, 2003)

Don't use the DVR to archive your programs when you have problems with your HARD DRIVE or the DISH box crashes all those programs will go BYE BYE. Either DVD or VCR or send them to DISH it is your choice. :nono: :nono: :nono:


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## tnsprin (Mar 16, 2003)

boba said:


> Don't use the DVR to archive your programs when you have problems with your HARD DRIVE or the DISH box crashes all those programs will go BYE BYE. Either DVD or VCR or send them to DISH it is your choice. :nono: :nono: :nono:


Agreed. I use a panasonic STB and DVHS, and a JVC DVHS. One of my biggest disappointment with the 921 was when they announced that DISHWire would not be supported. So I have to use my old Panasonic Hd box to record anything I really want to save, and that means only OTA.


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## BFG (Jan 23, 2004)

Ah darn, the public poll has brought me out 

This house only records one show (The Mrs. Soaps) So there's no need for a DVR and another $4.98 to Dish, everything else we watch as it's being broadcast.


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## jerry downing (Mar 7, 2004)

I still use the VCR but only if there are multiple shows to record at the same time. My unit of choice is the PVR (DVR). I plan on getting another 510 or a 522 if/when they become available to existing subscribers.


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## BuckeyeChris (Apr 20, 2004)

Hey, where's the poll option for "I only use my VCR to play tapes?" Put me in that category. 

My daughter still has some video tapes that she likes to watch now and then; but we've been buying new releases in DVD for a couple of years now.

I use my 522 religiously.


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## TheRatPatrol (Oct 1, 2003)

K R Kimmel said:


> What's a VCR?


Yeah what exatcly is a VCR?? :shrug:


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## dfergie (Feb 28, 2003)

boylehome said:


> I'm a 100% DVR user now. I have a slew of VCR that just sit and collect dust. I wonder what you do now?


Same , Same... In the last week since I got the 921, my Replays are getting jealous


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## dnsc_installer (Sep 11, 2004)

And this is why my answer was right on the technical chat the other night, and not the one they gave.

The question went something like: What are the two ways to protect a recording from accidentally getting erased with DVR receviers?

Their answer was to protect it, and set a password in the locks menu.

My answer was to protect it with the locks menu, and record it to your VCR.


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## Jacob S (Apr 14, 2002)

I use my DVR to archive for the short term but nothing important I want to keep for a long period of time.


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## bavaria72 (Jun 10, 2004)

I have one VCR gathering dust and the only reason the other one is still hooked up is becasue it is part of the DVD I have. Need to archive those old tape and get rid of them.


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

Actually, I record from my 811 to TiVo or DVD recorder, depending on whether I'm just time shifting or recording something I want to save. With my 721, it's primarily time shifting, although I could probably dump from it to the DVD recorder as well.
Time shifting: saving programs with the intent of viewing them at some future time (I still have Lethal Weapon 4 on my TiVo from April of last year, as yet unviewed) :lol:


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## rangersjay99 (Sep 16, 2004)

Cholly said:


> Actually, I record from my 811 to TiVo or DVD recorder, depending on whether I'm just time shifting or recording something I want to save. With my 721, it's primarily time shifting, although I could probably dump from it to the DVD recorder as well.
> Time shifting: saving programs with the intent of viewing them at some future time (I still have Lethal Weapon 4 on my TiVo from April of last year, as yet unviewed) :lol:


Same here, time shifting mostly, and again, lots of recorded programs I just haven't watched yet, months and months later!

I think I still have an old Sony Beta machine around here somewhere!!


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## garypen (Feb 1, 2004)

I just want to remind all of you who often time-shift. Be careful not to change anything in the past, or you could knock the whole time-line out of whack. Thank you.


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## TonyM (Aug 14, 2003)

damn...lets see

508 with Duluth locals & WPIX...2 VCR's off of there

ExpressVu hooked up to 2 VCR's
Star Choice hooked up to 2 VCR's (same 2 as above)
FTA rexceiver hooked up to VCR
2nd FTA receiver hooked up to VCR


In my entertainment system there are 6 VCR's hooked up 

Sorry...but I'll still use my VCR's for most things


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## boylehome (Jul 16, 2004)

BuckeyeChris said:


> Hey, where's the poll option for "I only use my VCR to play tapes?" Put me in that category.
> 
> My daughter still has some video tapes that she likes to watch now and then; but we've been buying new releases in DVD for a couple of years now.
> 
> I use my 522 religiously.


Sorry BuckeyeChris, I should have put that option in the poll. Anyway, I was more interested about current recording of programs.


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## boylehome (Jul 16, 2004)

TonyM said:


> damn...lets see
> 
> 508 with Duluth locals & WPIX...2 VCR's off of there
> 
> ...


OK, I knew a guy who worked for the railroad. He was retired and had 20 VCR's hooked up. He recorded everything under the sun. He was pretty well off as a bachelor and had nothing else to spend his time or money on. Anyway, he passed several years ago. I wonder what he would be recording with if he were alive today?


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## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

My VCRs are only used to archive a few shows that I want to delete from the DVR, and to watch a few old VHS tapes occasionally. Otherwise my 4 DVRs get used throughout the house (plus an old 4900 in the basement)


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## SAEMike (May 29, 2004)

garypen said:


> I just want to remind all of you who often time-shift. Be careful not to change anything in the past, or you could knock the whole time-line out of whack. Thank you.


And make sure you have plenty of plutonium because 1.21 gigawatts of power can be hard to generate!


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## Maniacal1 (Apr 9, 2002)

I've used my VCR exactly twice in the last three years--both times to record a program from my DVR for someone else.


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## John Walsh (Apr 22, 2002)

I have two 522's in dual mode, a 508 and a 921 as well as a Panny DVD recorder w/ 80 gig hard drive. I haven't had a VCR in my house in years.


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## garypen (Feb 1, 2004)

I had one over last week for dinner and coffee.


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## stone phillips (Jul 1, 2004)

TonyM said:


> damn...lets see
> 
> 508 with Duluth locals & WPIX...2 VCR's off of there
> 
> ...


 I agree totally vcrs still have a place a big place in the electronics world doto the fact that old tv's dont have the inputs
add a vcr add 3 inputs


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## boylehome (Jul 16, 2004)

garypen said:


> I had one over last week for dinner and coffee.


rumor has it Gary there was more to it than just dinner and coffee


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## garypen (Feb 1, 2004)

We did have some wine. You know how it is.


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## Guest (Nov 17, 2004)

Big Bob said:


> Need another option:
> Use VCR to archive
> 
> (until I can record on DVD)
> ...


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## Mike Richardson (Jun 12, 2003)

I found "Pirates of Silicon Valley" on VHS at a going out of business sale at a Blockbuster store and watched it. I watched it when I got it, and then again several months later. Before I got it, I think we watched some home movies that were on a tape. And before that, who knows. We have a cheap $30 Emerson player. It's not even in stereo.

Mom bought a VCR back in the 80s when she moved to Houston. It was a Fisher, studio-standard, ultra-quality. 4 heads, MTS, SAP, 14 day timer, cable-ready. Full array of coaxial, composite, even the little 2 prong thingys.

$500. The tuner burned out about 7 years later and we couldn't record on it unless we routed stuff from a digital cable box (which we had in 1998) or some other tuner with composite out.

Then it quit playing tapes and now it's sitting in my buddy's garage. I sold it to him for $5 for scrap.


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## TheRatPatrol (Oct 1, 2003)

Mike Richardson said:


> Fisher, studio-standard, ultra-quality. 4 heads, MTS, SAP, 14 day timer, cable-ready. Full array of coaxial, composite, even the little 2 prong thingys.


Wow I think I had that same vcr.....but whats a vcr again?


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## oldbill (Nov 20, 2004)

New Member..

I just purchased a new Dish DVR 921 this week, it works great. I did have a Dish 6000, which was good..

My question is, can I record from my Dish DVR 921 to a DVD recorder and if so what recorder brand under $400 would do a good job.. 

I called a Dish Tech who said he didnt know ..

Could anybody please throw me a bone..Thanks.


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

oldbill: Double-posting is a no-no. Go look at the thread you started.


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

Mike Richardson said:


> Mom bought a VCR back in the 80s when she moved to Houston. It was a Fisher, studio-standard, ultra-quality. 4 heads, MTS, SAP, 14 day timer, cable-ready. Full array of coaxial, composite, even the little 2 prong thingys.


I still have one of those puppies -- a Fisher FVH-725 that I paid $599 for in May of 1984! It's built like a battleship -- weighs 21 pounds! (NOT Stereo tho, Mike), It has a 14 channel pushbutton tuner and 14 day, 9 program timer and a very simple remote. The VHF input and output are 75 ohm coax F connectors, and the UHF input and output are 300 ohm screw type. At present, it sorta works -- needs a good cleaning and adjustment. Until I got my first stereo recorder (a Goldstar) in 1992, I used it heavily. It then got moved to my home office and was still used for time shifting until I got my TiVo. Now I want to put it back into service so I can use it with my PC to transfer old tapes to DVD's.


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## Tetherton (Nov 22, 2004)

Whats a VCR.......


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## kb7oeb (Jun 16, 2004)

I use mine a lot for OTA. Its also an easy way to give someone something you recorded


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## garypen (Feb 1, 2004)

Mike Richardson said:


> Full array of coaxial, composite, even the little 2 prong thingys.


WTH are "2 prong thingys"? Are you talking about 2 _screw terminals _for a 300 ohm antenna connection? I've never seen any prongs on any type of TV or VCR connection.


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## jerbea (Jan 11, 2004)

Well seeing as I am now on my 5th 522 reciever (lost everything ive had on dvr one to many times) im now backing recording up on vcr. This last time I had 70hrs of recordings lost due to 522 crash and burn!!!!!


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## Paul Brians (Jun 26, 2004)

I use my VCR only to play prerecorded tapes and make copies of shows for other people now that I have a 921. 

I thought I'd use the VCR as an intermediary to create DVDs on my laptop, but found I could feed the S-video output from the 921 through my digitizer to my PowerBook. Pretty nice output, though it would be nicer if my digitizer accepted component video input--S-video is the best it can handle.


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## MarkoC (Apr 5, 2004)

I have a 501, a 508, and a 510. I also have a stand alone Tivo hooked up to my 811. If I want to archive something from one of these DVR's I do it on my DVD recorder. The last time I used a VCR was to record something for my mom who doesn't have a DVD player yet.


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