The last VCR to be made, probably forever, will be manufactured by Funai Electric in Japan by the end of July, marking the end of a video cassette recording era that began back in the 1970s, reported the
BBC News.
The first VCRs were introduced to the public four decades ago and the technology has long since been surpassed by other technologies.
Funai Electric sold 750,000 VCR units last year, far from its peak of 15 million per year, noted BBC News. The company's sales were mostly to China for Sanyo, but Funai said it was having problems finding parts for the machines.
In March, Sony announced it would stop selling Betamax video cassettes, notd BBC News. It had not made a compatible camera for the Micro MV cassette since 2005.
USA Today said VHS -- or video home system -- laid the groundwork for the current streaming media technology.
The VCR allowed people to purchase and rent movies to watch at their own leisure, presenting another cultural shift that continues today, noted USA Today.
"DVDs and Blu-Rays as well as DVRs have long made VHS and Beta obsolete," said Lamarco McClendon, a writer with
Variety. "However, many homes across the country continue to store personal home videos and movies, with some viewers hanging on to their VCRs to view the vintage tapes."
While some older technologies such as vinyl in the audio recording industry have made a comeback, Tania Loeffler, an analyst at IHS Technology, told BBC News she doesn't think the VCR will enjoy the same kind of homecoming.
"I don't see VCR becoming like vinyl, where a lot of people appreciated the warmness of how something sounds on vinyl," Loeffler told the BBC News. "The quality on VHS is not something I think anyone would want to go back to."
Loeffler said, though, that a niche market still exists for the VHS likely for archival purposes and that may be hurt with the disappearance of VCRs.
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