VCR Buying Guide: Powered by ConsumerGuide and HowStuffWorks

Last Updated: 10/12/2007

The Basics: VCRs

When VHS gained market prominence over Betamax in the 1980s, some people went on a decade-long celebration by buying tapes of all their favorite movies. The long-beloved VCR under their TV has played its last showing of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Now what? For those with an enormous library of VHS tapes or who like a very good bargain, the good news is that VCRs are very affordable.

In spite of the DVD revolution and the advent of digital video recorders (DVRs), VCRs are still the cheapest way to record from the TV. While a decent DVD player can cost over $100, and DVRs cost even more, you can get a basic two-head monaural VCR for around $40, and a four-head hi-fi, state-of-the-art VCR for about $80. Make sure you look closely at the difference between a two-head and a four-head VCR -- it may not be worth the cost difference. The money savings on the hardware is one thing; it also helps that VHS tapes are inexpensive.

How to Shop

If you are going to record on a tape only once or twice, and then not play it back very often, standard-grade tapes are perfectly fine. However, if you plan to record and playback the same tape many times, use a high-grade tape. We also recommend that you use brand-name tapes such as TDK, Fuji, Maxell, JVC, Panasonic, Scotch and Sony, rather than cheaper tapes from no-name brands. Many of the less costly tapes are made so poorly that they can quickly cause extensive and expensive damage to the heads of your VCR.

Most people buy T-120 tapes that record two hours at the fastest speed and six hours at the slowest speed. The longest tape presently available is a T-210 tape from JVC (S-VHS cassette), which records 10-1/2 hours at the slowest speed--great for that long miniseries.

Auto Clock Set

These models set their own clock thanks to a time signal being sent from your local PBS station. This means that you never have to set the clock initially or reset it after a blackout or brownout. When power is restored, the VCR will display the correct time. Auto Clock Set is now found on many mid- to upper-end models.

Commercial Advance

New decks by RCA, ProScan, and a few others now include commercial zapper circuitry that senses the beginning and end of commercials in a broadcast. It records the entire program including commercials. Upon playback, it automatically fast forwards through the commercials (displaying a blue screens during this interval), and goes back into the play mode as the program resumes. This is different from commercial skip or just plain skip, which allows you to view other channels and then return you to the station that you were watching after a preset time of 30, 60, 90, or 120 seconds.

Editing Features

Unless you actually plan to edit your camcorder tapes and make duplicates for family and friends, stay away from decks with sophisticated editing features such as assemble editing, insert editing, and video dubbing. These features can add up to $100 to the cost of the model, and only make the machine more difficult and intimidating to use. If, however, you want to get into editing and make a semblance out of the chaos of your videos, an editing deck can be a godsend. The are also some camcorders that will allow you to assemble edit in the camcorder, and make a duplicate copy on your VCR.

Hi-fi Sound

Hi-fi stands for high-fidelity, or high-quality sound. It is true stereo--not the low-fidelity sound that was available on VCRs several years ago. If you are in the market for a replacement VCR, hi-fi is the one upgrade feature that you should consider. All movies and videos released now have hi-fi soundtracks (encoded with Dolby Surround).

Index Search

Many VCRs record an electronic index code at the beginning of each recording. To scan your recordings on a tape, you press index search. The VCR then stops at each index mark, and plays back a few seconds of the recording. Some VCRs even let you go directly to a specific index mark and start playback.

Jog/Shuttle Control

Allows you to search forward or backward through a tape at a range of fast and slow speeds. Jog control allows you to move the tape forward or backward frame by frame.

Number of Video Heads

To record and playback a tape, you need only two video heads. Additional heads are used for special effects, such as slow motion, freeze frame, and clear on-screen search. Many manufacturers are tweaking their heads in different ways to improve picture quality.

Programmability

If you are buying a VCR primarily to record television broadcasts, programming is an important consideration. Except for VCPs (video cassette players), all VCRs can be programmed to record at least one program. The most rudimentary programming scheme uses a built-in clock timer that you set to start and stop within the next a 24-hour period. More elaborate programming allows you to record several different programs on different channels or a period of 28 days or more (one manufacturer claims their machine will record eight programs over a 100-year period). Other program operations let you record the same program every day or every week. Many VCRs include VCR Plus+, a simple method of programming by entering a number listed in TV Guide or many newspapers' television guides. Some VCR Plus+ models will also change channels on your cable box via a mouse, blaster, or an infrared transmitter located on the top of the VCR.

Quick Access/Quick Play

Many VCRs now provide quick play from the stop position. There are also a great number of VCRs that provide quick access from fast forward or fast rewind to visual scanning, and quick access from visual scanning to play.

Tape Speeds

Virtually all VCRs let you choose between two or three different recording speeds. Playback speed is automatically set, and even VCRs that record in only two speeds play back on all three speeds. Although, a faster-moving tape allows less recording time, it provides a better-quality recording. Because many people do time-shift recordings at the slowest speeds, some manufacturers, such as Toshiba, Mitsubishi, and Sharp, have developed special video heads (19-micron heads) for improved picture quality for recording and playback at the slowest speeds.

Universal Remotes

Many models now feature pre-programmed universal remotes with the ability to control a TV and cable boxes. A newer wrinkle is the ability to control satellite systems. A unified remote will control the same brand of TV as your VCR.

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