VCR with built in ATSC tuner?

alphanguy

Does anyone know if sucha thing exists, or is likely to exist in the future? My VCR's currently have an analog tuner, of course... and I am staying with SD tv, but i'm wondering, if even on the SD tv, that a digital signal would be clearer and more reliable than an analog signal? I also get interference from farm machinery as well. I ahve limited space in my entertainment center, and was hoping to not have to get a seperate "box" for the digital tuner, but have my VCR perform dual duty.

Rick0725

One of the government mandates states

July 1, 2007 - 100% of all interface devices must have ATSC DTV tuner (VCR, DVD player/recorder, DVR)...so there may be a device like you are looking for.

There ia a JVC HM-DT100U D-VHS VCR with a Built-in ATSC Tuner with a HDMI Output but its expensive ($900-$1000)....and rather nice actually. No other vcrs with atsc that I am aware of right now.



There are other technologies available to you instead of the vcr in one box with atsc turner. HD tivo (DVR's) and directv DVR's come to mind. Also dvr/dvd recorder combos with atsc tuner or an LG HD Receiver/DVR (LST-3410A) which is on close out (discontinued) and can be found for under $400. These are devices (of newer technology) you may not be interested in but they are alternatives.

The digital signal does not get "snowy" like an analog signal as you get farther from the tower.The digital signal can be regarded as "all or nothing". The picture is perfect till the signal gets weak then it becomes unable to receive.

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alphanguy

Thanks, it looks as if I'll just have to wait a bit longer for the machine that I want. I hope I'll be able to get an OTA signal where I live, are the stations going to boost their digital signal power once analog broadcast ceases?

Rick0725

Have you ever explored the possibility of Directv (or dish network).You would be able to receive a package of HD channels plus national network channels (for an area not able to receive over the air network channels). They offer a dvr plus free installation for new subscribers. You can enjoy hd now and not have to wait.

you may not be able to receive over the air where you live. Please provide your zipcode and we can take a look to see how far you are from the towers and provide some alternatives.

Or you can go to the site below and it would suggest the type of antenna necessary.

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

Rick

alphanguy

I'm sure I'll be able to get OTA Digital reception, provided the digital signal travels as far as the analog does. the towers are 35 miles away from me. I do have dish network, but want to get my locals OTA.... but here's the thing, I want to recieve the digital OTA broadcast, but don't wish to display it in HD, I wish to display it in SD. So, if I wait long enough for the turnover to occur, then all VCR's after July 2007 would have the ATSC tuner, and then I could just run my antenna feed through my VCR and do it that way, am I correct? Would I run into some problem with the signal being downcoverted to my SD tv, though?

Rick0725

You will have no problems connecting. You will connect the same way you connect today and output the signal in SD (480i) to the TV.

jim5506

I doubt that there will be many ATSC VCR's made.

DVR technology is SOOOO much better and easier to use than VCR and the price of ATSC units is comparable if not cheaper for the DVR.

Once you have owned a DVR, you will rarely consider using a VCR (I have 3 that lie unused since I got my TiVos).

alphanguy

Nothing will replace the VCR for me, as I have a library of about 150 VHS tapes of shows and various things that I taped off the air over the years, as well as commercially purchased VHS. And I watch them all the time, and will continue to. The problem with DVR, it what do you do if you record something on a DVR, and then want to keep it forever? From what I understand, it ws said that after July 2007, all VCR's MUST have an atsc tuner, I don't see them instantly stopping all production of VCR's, ever. I mean, you can still buy a turntable. That said, I also own a stand alone DVD recorder, and I like it much as well, I'm kind of moving to that... I just hope the format is as durable as video tape, because if you dammage a video tape, you can always splice it, but if a DVD-R is damaged, your'e screwed. and... if you use tivo you have to pay a monthly fee, and I'm defiantely not prepared to do that, to pay money, and not have the versatitlity to cut commercials out of a show manually if I want to keep it and watch it over and over again, even 20 years from now? I suppose a DVR would be fine if all you did was time shift.

jim5506

Consider the VCR as the 2006 version of the 8 track tape player, It still works but hardly anybody makes it anymore (well no one makes them).

Most companies are not making commercially produced pre-recorded VHS tapes anymore - all DVD's. I record all my video to DVD now.

Diogenes

Your only hope is probably to get an ATSC tuner and run S Video from the ATSC tuner into the VCR. I would think about switching to digital video (DVD recorder or computer or something). I have two VCR's in the house and the last time I used either of them was to transfer my daughter's wedding video to DVD. If I were you I would transer all my tapes to DVD. Walk around Best Buy and try to find the VHS tape section. That should tell you something. Your VCR will not last forever, and when it goes, you will not be able to replace it.

alphanguy

I simply don't think VHS is going the way of the 8 track. The way of the vinyl record.... yes, but not the way of the 8 track. Are you aware that from specialty online reatailers you can still buy blank betamax tape? Thee's always someone that will fulfill that need, and if they don't then I'll just go out right now and buy a half a dozen VCR's, and store them. I DO have a stand alone DVD recorder, and so far I'm liking it, I'm taping everything now on the DVD, but I have around 150 tapes collected over the last 20 years, and transferring them all is too daunting a task for me. I certainly don't buy any new commercially released VHS, that's for sure. DVD-R is also a relatively new technology, so I bakc up all the improtant stuff on VHS, because I simply don't trust the tekkies that have dreamed up this format, something tells me 15-20 years down the road, we'll be confronted with something akin to Lazer rot, or CD rot... so i'm not putting all my eggs in that basket. I have VHS that is 25 years old and still plays well, so I KNOW it will last, and if you get a wrinkle or buckle in your tape, it will still play, you get a gouge on your DVD-R, and it's toast.. My main issue I was trying to address in this thread was my atempt to deal with the impending switchover of OTA from analog to Digital, and how I can accomplish that without buying a seperate ATSC tuner, and keeping my 4:3 ratio standard Def TV, seeing as how I so rarely watch movies, 95 percent of my vieweing is old TV shows from the 60's and 70's, none of which are in 16:9. I may get a high def TV in the distant future, but ALOT is going to have to happen for me to do that. I'm waiting for all this HD DVD issue to shake out, and if they eventually release all my favorite TV shows (Again) on HD DVD, then I'll probably go for it, but only if i't's CRT, I've seen plasma and LCD displays at dozens of stores, true HD loops playing on them, and they all look like shit. I will say, the CRT models are STUNNING, though. So I'll hope and pray theyr'e still around when all this technical gobbeldygook irons itself out finally.