Where the heck can a person get a good VCR?

[Jack]

I just bought a DVD recorder, and I'd like to transfer my VHS collection to DVD, but my VCR is old and probably won't give me very good video quality, and I have serious doubts about how long it will last if I start playing a lot of tapes through it.  But where the heck can a person find a decent VCR these days?  The local stores don't have anything except DVD/VCR combos, and I don't want to spend $60 for a crappy $30 VCR and $30 DVD player.  My last VCR was in the $30 price range and it was junk from the moment I took it out of the box.  I've looked at Amazon, and they do have one or two VCR's that look okay, but they seem to get awful reviews from customers.  Ebay just has used stuff, no thanks.  Yeah, I'm sure it's working great right now, so was mine before it started eating tapes the next day.  Overstock.com has refurbished stuff, but what the heck does that mean?  Somebody bought it and it didn't work, so they returned it.  Back at the factory it seemed to work okay after a 30 second check, so now they're reselling it?  I really don't want to take a chance on those things, but it's almost seeming like the best option at this point.

Is there any such thing as a halfway decent VCR these days?  I don't want some fancy $250 thing, just a $60 - $80 VCR like they used to have in all the stores.  I've got about 3 of the damned things out in the garage, maybe I should just take one of those in and get it fixed.  And then maybe it'll work for a couple of months again, just like the last 3 times I've had them fixed.

[nshumate]

My last three have been used, and I have few complaints.  Check the local pawn shop.

[CheezeFlixz]

You know they made VHS/DVD recorders that will dub from VHS to DVD with one push of a button. I have a Panasonic DMR ES40V and it works great.

refurbished stuff, but what the heck does that mean?

Rebuilt to factor specs, often rebuilt (refurbished) by the manufacturer. Often just as good as new for less money.

[Jack]

Yeah, in hindsight I probably should have shopped around a bit more before buying my recorder.  I looked at some of those combo decks and they seemed fairly expensive, but after looking around the web a bit more I see I could have gotten one for only a little bit more than I paid for mine.  I'm thinking I'll get a refurbished VCR, it seems like the only option.  I've seen a new Sony VCR for about $100 with no features, and that's about it for new ones.  Over at Overstock.com they've got some pretty nice looking refurbished JVC decks for about $50, and the 2 year extended warranty is only $7. 

Or maybe I'll have to check out the local pawn shops, after our blizzard is over.

[Jim H]

Just so you know, most pre-recorded movies on VHS have Macrovision.  You'll need a de-Macrovision box to record those to DVD.

[Jack]

I was just planning on transferring the stuff I recorded off TV to DVD, so the copy protect stuff shouldn't be a problem.  I actually do have a box that supposedly allows you to copy stuff that's copy protected, but it seems like you lose a little bit of image quality. 

And wouldn't you know it, as soon as I started recording something from the VCR onto the DVD recorder last night, the VCR died.  I mean, five minutes into the first tape 

[316zombie]

check ebay,i just bought a used sharp 410 for 22.50,including shipping,and it's awesome!we are finding tons of tapes will play fine on this one,that wouldn't play at all on the old one,totally cool!and all you need to hook to a dvd recorder is the right cable to preserve quality,for home recorded tapes...

[Torgo]

refurbished stuff, but what the heck does that mean?

Rebuilt to factor specs, often rebuilt (refurbished) by the manufacturer. Often just as good as new for less money.

I bought a refurbished Dirt Devil vaccum for my house last year for about half of the price that it have cost me otherwise.  I haven't had a single problem with it.

As for VCR's, if you wanted a high quality new one, I think that Sears still carries a couple of nice models for not that much money.   Circuit City as well I believe.

[Jack]

I ended up buying a new Sony SLV-N750.  I was thinking of getting a refurbished one, but by the time I got around to ordering one, Overstock.com was sold out of the JVC models I liked.  All they had left was an Emerson version of the Sylvania I used to have, and that thing was a plastic bucket full of junk.  This Sony seems to be working just fine, but I've only played about 5 tapes through it so far.  It's nice to hear my old tapes in stereo for the first time in years.