Digital killed the video star: why it's ok to cry when old tech dies

Last week’s news that there will no more VCR players being manufactured in the world may have caused somewhat of a non-plussed reaction in some….“Huh? They still make VCR players?” 

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Yet for others, this eventual succumbing of the VCR player to the inevitable march of progress represents the horrifying fact that we, like this once cutting-edge tech, will soon become redundant in the world!

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When the last VCR player rolled off the production line at the end of July, it provided us with a mark in time, a time to pause and reflect on what once was and will never be again.

Never again will children have to eagerly wait an absolute age for their video cassette to rewind. Never again will we need expert skills to adjust tracking on the not-so-trusty VHS cassette as it struggled to get a stable picture. And never again will any child know the devastating feeling of loss upon realising that they forgot to ‘unpause’ after the ad break, hence losing a good chunk of the taping of their favourite show. 

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For many of us of a certain age, the VCR was the first time we could watch what we wanted to watch when we wanted to watch it in our own homes. Back in the day when viewing on demand involved a lot of hard work and forward planning.

I still vividly remember the day we found out our neighbours had bought a VCR player. The entire ‘hood was agog and we all piled into their lounge room to watch Grease. This spanking new machine even had a remote control – that was attached to the player by a long cord!

This somewhat temperamental medium could bring us the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Who remembers the joy of sliding to the VCR player just in time to hit record on your favourite show?  And who remembers the utter devastation felt when the tape starting glitching and making that funny ‘mnumm mmmm’ sound when you’d watched it too many times? The VHS cassette just not able to cope with the huge amount of love you felt for your favourite movie (I’m looking at you, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun).

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So, farewell funny VCR. You were the best of times and you were the worst of times. You are a relic from a bygone ear, and with your passing we reflect on our own mortality. Don’t be ashamed to shed a tear when old tech dies, because really, you’re crying because you’re getting really, really old.

What’s your best VCR story?