If Your VCR Could Talk

(Taken from the "product info" write-up for a DVD-Recorder at Woot.com.)

Hey, I admit I'm not what I used to be.

But what VCR is?

Time was, those were the three hottest letters in home entertainment.

VCRs like me were electronics royalty, toasted everywhere from the White House to the house next door. I even heard about some teenage girl in North Philly trading her newborn baby for a VCR. Not that I endorse that kind of thing.

Point is, we were hot.

Everybody wanted a VCR. And we earned that respect.

Back in my heyday, you could go out on a Thursday night and I'd have your whole NBC lineup waiting for you when you came home, from COSBY straight through to L.A. LAW. Yeah, even NIGHT COURT.

I had a strong stomach back then.

But you don't want to hear some old coot grinding his tapeheads about the glory days.

You kids today prefer something like a DVD Recorder. No squeaky wheels or bulky cassettes with this little hotshot -- just sleek, silent dual-format DVD+R/+RW and DVD-R/-RW action.

Says here it can also do something called "DivX playback."

And this whole HD upconversion thing, with the HDMI cables and all that, that's a young man's game. Or so I assume, since I don't know what any of it means. Sounds fancy, though.

Yeah, you enjoy your fancy RCA DVD Recorder with DivX and HDMI.

But when you get tired of how easy and convenient it is to use, and how great the picture looks, remember your old pal the VCR.

I'll be there, spinning my capstans until they put me in a hole in the ground.

Bill Smallfield, thanks for the post.