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November 23, 2004 | Comments: (0)
VCR death not proud
It is tough when a friend dies, particularly when that friend has simply lost its importance, its reason for being. I'm talking about the death of the VCR, which moved a step closer to the high-technology graveyard today when Britain's largest electronics retailer announced it is dropping the technology from its shelves.
It is hard to remember what life was like prior to the VCR. My nieces and nephews have no idea what life would be like without the VCR. My nephew grew up imprinting Star Wars on his brainpan via the VCR. The early machines were weighty boat anchors that would eat tapes at about a two to one ratio. I once took possession of a "free" VCR that worked fine, as long as you didn't mind everything being in black and white.
Like most technologies, there were some birthing pangs. There were the Betamax/VHS wars, with Sony attempting to impose a standard (Betamax) that offered better quality that - in the era of DVD sharpness - we would laugh at today. The origins of the VCR are a little tough to ferret out. Sony actually sold a video tape model in the sixties, but sold few of the products. Some of the technology was used in the space program and eventually JVC in Japan created the basic VCR as we know it today.
In the beginning, film studios were aghast at the technology, feeling that no one would go see movies if they could just pop in a video. It was not long before they realized they had a whole new revenue stream. That has carried over to the DVD, which now sells programs most people can see on reruns anytime of the day. Box set of Seinfield anyone?
Like most technology, when it was new it was so hot that it was the target of thieves. The news story on Dixon's dropping VCRs mentions that police say no one bothers to steal the machines anymore. That may have been the final nail in the coffin - when thieves pass you by, you know it is over.
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Posted by Bob Francis on November 23, 2004 01:27 PM
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