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>Like it or not, an app to configure the device instead of the device having a VCR remote control to program in schedules is what consumers have gotten used to

>Like it or not, an app to configure the device instead of the device having a VCR remote control to program in schedules is what consumers have gotten used to these days. No?? When was the last time you spoke to another human being about this topic? Has any other person in your life seriously told you that they like having to download a smartphone app to set up their soundbar? Have you managed to fully insulate yourself from the broader world with a circle of dead-eyed freaks that gleefully spend their free nights registering their appliances online and reading end-user license agreements?

archi42 2y ago
I hate the app+cloud garbage as much as you, but have you considered how a VCR would be programmed today? Take your universal touchscreen device out of your pocket, select the VCR app, get a list of programms for the next weeks, touch the one you want to record (or do a full text search), select if you want to record this episode, all, or a certain set. In the past, you needed to first buy this weeks TV magazine. Or if you got it by mail, find it between all the other magazines. Then, skip all the ads and find the schedule, in there find the program you're looking for. Now you either need to figure out the exact time slot the program airs, or some EPG code. This data now needs to be entered into the VCR. Either find the remote, or knee in front of the device. Enter the code using a rotary encoder, digits 0-9 and a few buttons, or a mixture thereof. In both cases you need to set the receiver to the correct program before leaving the house, else the SCART-connected VCR wouldn't get the video signal. Also you'd need to hope the EPG sent by the station is updated properly - we often had some part of the recording missing, or the recording started to soon/stopped to late. I hope you did put in the correct tape and remembered to rewind it. (I'm ignoring that a modern "VCR" would store the video in the cloud and not need all of this; or a hybrid would at least get the video stream via IPTV and put it on a HDD). Try speaking to other humans about this topic, they don't want these "good old times" back. Also, apps suck because they are mostly always horribly made (they don't need be, but they often are, because the product needs to be cheap); and I hate being forced to use the cloud and have my hardware not work anymore after 5 years because someone decided their Amazon bill is becoming too expensive. Did I mention I don't want my data to be sold to virtually everyone - errr, I mean "shared with partners"? So I either buy things with local control, or no smarts at all.
- MissTake 2y ago
  For those not brought up in the Era of Video Cassette Recorders… SCART: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCART https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCART EPG: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_program_guide https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_program_guide
- icehawk 2y ago
  I remember it being far less complicated. I just had to pick the start time, the end time, and the channel the VCR need to be on to record. If i wanted to be fancy, I could pick the tape speed as well. VCR did the rest, as long as the time was correct (but really I just recorded for a minute or two on either side.) Program guide was always in the sunday newspaper as its own booklet or in the daily newspaper.

archi42 2y ago

I hate the app+cloud garbage as much as you, but have you considered how a VCR would be programmed today? Take your universal touchscreen device out of your pocket, select the VCR app, get a list of programms for the next weeks, touch the one you want to record (or do a full text search), select if you want to record this episode, all, or a certain set. In the past, you needed to first buy this weeks TV magazine. Or if you got it by mail, find it between all the other magazines. Then, skip all the ads and find the schedule, in there find the program you're looking for. Now you either need to figure out the exact time slot the program airs, or some EPG code. This data now needs to be entered into the VCR. Either find the remote, or knee in front of the device. Enter the code using a rotary encoder, digits 0-9 and a few buttons, or a mixture thereof. In both cases you need to set the receiver to the correct program before leaving the house, else the SCART-connected VCR wouldn't get the video signal. Also you'd need to hope the EPG sent by the station is updated properly - we often had some part of the recording missing, or the recording started to soon/stopped to late. I hope you did put in the correct tape and remembered to rewind it. (I'm ignoring that a modern "VCR" would store the video in the cloud and not need all of this; or a hybrid would at least get the video stream via IPTV and put it on a HDD). Try speaking to other humans about this topic, they don't want these "good old times" back. Also, apps suck because they are mostly always horribly made (they don't need be, but they often are, because the product needs to be cheap); and I hate being forced to use the cloud and have my hardware not work anymore after 5 years because someone decided their Amazon bill is becoming too expensive. Did I mention I don't want my data to be sold to virtually everyone - errr, I mean "shared with partners"? So I either buy things with local control, or no smarts at all.

MissTake 2y ago
For those not brought up in the Era of Video Cassette Recorders… SCART: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCART https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCART EPG: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_program_guide https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_program_guide
icehawk 2y ago
I remember it being far less complicated. I just had to pick the start time, the end time, and the channel the VCR need to be on to record. If i wanted to be fancy, I could pick the tape speed as well. VCR did the rest, as long as the time was correct (but really I just recorded for a minute or two on either side.) Program guide was always in the sunday newspaper as its own booklet or in the daily newspaper.