Samsung, a Korean company, makes the most inexpensive VCPs (marketing some under the name Supra USA), but buying one of these models involves some compromises. If you’re going to save money by buying a low-priced VCP, you’ll have to settle for fewer features. General Electric, Magnavox, Quasar, Sharp and Sylvania each market a VCP with such features as search, pause and three speeds, but they retail for as much as comparable VCRs ($299-$399). It’s relatively simple to install and use.īeyond those advantages lies a sea of bad news. Since the average VCP is not only less expensive than the average VCR but also a bit smaller and lighter (12 to 15 pounds), it does have some appeal, especially if you’d like to tote one along on a trip, or have limited shelf space. Or how about the VCP for an extra video machine in the house-say, for the living room or den, to show rented movies when friends come over? Though it’s hard for a tape-off-the-air fiend like me (seduced by the cornucopia of cable programming) to understand why, other people say they’re only interested in purchasing a machine that will enable them to watch movies they can rent at video stores. Since VCPs sell for as low as $150, wouldn’t it be smart to get one? For example, a colleague said she already owned a Beta Hi-Fi VCR and a Pioneer LaserVision disc player, but had no way of playing VHS tapes that friends were offering to lend her. Yet Video magazine found enough interest in VCPs to devote a cover article to them in February, reporting that about 100,000 of the playback-only gadgets were sold last year in the United States.Īlso, a couple of people have recently asked me if I’d recommend a VCP for specific purposes. After all, VCR prices have tumbled to the point where the smart shopper can find major-brand Beta models for around $180 and even basic VHS machines in the low $200-plus range. No, not VCR, but VC P -for videocassette player, rather than videocassette recorder.Īs a cheaper alternative to the VCR, the VCP’s time would seem to have come and gone. Video technology has its odd ducks, and few are odder than the VCP.
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