Did your Family have a VCR in 1981? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TVFactFan · 07-12-2005, 10:13 PM

I was reading a 1981 Advertisement for a Beta VCR and saw that the price was $795.00. My Family didn't get a VCR until the year of 1984. So 24 years ago, The Beta VCR was like the DVD recorder is Today.

Southern Hellraiser · 07-12-2005, 10:25 PM

My family got one in the year 1986

Brian Damage · 07-12-2005, 10:28 PM

We got our first VCR in 1983 it was a Quasar brand. (I don't know if that company still exists) My parents still have it and use it. It works fine.

PZelda · 07-12-2005, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Damage

We got our first VCR in 1983 it was a Quasar brand. (I don't know if that company still exists) My parents still have it and use it. It works fine.

I grew up on Quasar VCR's.

My parents didn't have a VCR in 1981, but they got one in 1982 and they brought a brand that was like $690.

AtlantaBravesFan29 · 07-12-2005, 10:58 PM

We didn't get our first VCR until 1989. It was an Emerson and it cost $200 back then. In 1981,VCR's cost between $500 and $1000 and some of those were the top loading type that you put the tape in there like a regular tape player and pushed buttons. And the tapes weren't cheap either, $15 for only one. Nowadays you can buy 20 tapes for $15. My current VCR is a Panasonic and it cost only $85.I had a Magnavox before that that lasted 6 years(1996-2002) that cost $125

vienna waits · 07-12-2005, 11:03 PM

well my parents are useless.. they said they got one sometime before i was born [1986] and it cost 200 dollars.

Mr. Television · 07-12-2005, 11:14 PM

The first VCR I owned was in 1986.

sara · 07-12-2005, 11:17 PM

OMG I can't believe it, my mom still has the receipt!

We got it in 1984.

Mysty Eyes · 07-13-2005, 12:23 AM

My sister and her husband were the first people I knew to get a VCR. I don't recall what year they got the thing. There was the big debate about VHS vs Beta. The things were expensive and huge in comparison to the size they are today. My sister's machine actually came in two pieces.

Me, personally... I got my first VCR in 1988.

Nighthawk76 · 07-13-2005, 02:29 AM

We were the last ones on our block to get a VCR. We got our's in May of 1983 where as everyone else got their's in 1982.

dawsongirl · 07-13-2005, 03:03 AM

We got ours in 1987. JVC that cost $1000. My folks had to put it on layaway. The salesman's big selling point was that it had freeze/still/slow so you could watch pornos in slo-mo. He actually said that! We retired it a couple years ago because the eject button stopped working.

Mijada · 07-13-2005, 05:55 AM

Nope, not in 81. My brother got on in 86 though. He paid like 3 or 4 hundred dollars for it, my mom thought he was crazy.

Lee · 07-13-2005, 08:06 AM

We got our first VCR Christmas, 1984.

Lee · 07-13-2005, 08:11 AM

The first Beta VCRs hit the market in the U.S. in late 1974-early 1975.

TVFactFan · 07-13-2005, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by webwarrior762004

The first Beta VCRs hit the market in the U.S. in late 1974-early 1975.

So that means they probably were $1795 in those years

07-12-2005, 10:13 PM	#1
TVFactFan Member Forum Junkie Join Date: Aug 17, 2002 Posts: 99,101	Did your Family have a VCR in 1981? I was reading a 1981 Advertisement for a Beta VCR and saw that the price was $795.00. My Family didn't get a VCR until the year of 1984. So 24 years ago, The Beta VCR was like the DVD recorder is Today.

07-12-2005, 10:25 PM	#2
Southern Hellraiser Member Forum Star Join Date: Feb 08, 2005 Location: Mississippi Posts: 19,960	My family got one in the year 1986
	__________________ Jeremy

07-12-2005, 11:03 PM	#6
vienna waits avatars are stupid. Forum Superstar Join Date: May 18, 2001 Location: Ravenclaw Common Room Posts: 29,859	well my parents are useless.. they said they got one sometime before i was born [1986] and it cost 200 dollars.
	__________________ Me: Did you see Dunkleman in the audience at the finale? Crystal: No! Me: Yeah, that's because he wasn't invited.

07-12-2005, 11:14 PM	#7
Mr. Television 23 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,132	The first VCR I owned was in 1986.
	__________________ Sonny

07-12-2005, 11:17 PM	#8
sara Member Senior Member Join Date: May 21, 2002 Location: grandville michigan Posts: 2,296	OMG I can't believe it, my mom still has the receipt! We got it in 1984.
	__________________ Help stamp out and eradicate superfluous redundancy!

07-12-2005, 10:28 PM	#3
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	We got our first VCR in 1983 it was a Quasar brand. (I don't know if that company still exists) My parents still have it and use it. It works fine.

07-12-2005, 10:58 PM	#5
AtlantaBravesFan29 Atlanta Braves Fan Senior Member Join Date: Aug 13, 2002 Location: Pleasanton,TX--40 Miles South Of San Antonio Posts: 1,859	We didn't get our first VCR until 1989. It was an Emerson and it cost $200 back then. In 1981,VCR's cost between $500 and $1000 and some of those were the top loading type that you put the tape in there like a regular tape player and pushed buttons. And the tapes weren't cheap either, $15 for only one. Nowadays you can buy 20 tapes for $15. My current VCR is a Panasonic and it cost only $85.I had a Magnavox before that that lasted 6 years(1996-2002) that cost $125

07-13-2005, 12:23 AM	#9
Mysty Eyes Dreaming... Senior Member Join Date: Feb 04, 2002 Location: Los Angeles area Posts: 1,144	My sister and her husband were the first people I knew to get a VCR. I don't recall what year they got the thing. There was the big debate about VHS vs Beta. The things were expensive and huge in comparison to the size they are today. My sister's machine actually came in two pieces. Me, personally... I got my first VCR in 1988.

07-13-2005, 02:29 AM	#10
Nighthawk76 Rachel Berry Forum Celebrity Join Date: Feb 28, 2003 Location: Illinois Posts: 23,254	We were the last ones on our block to get a VCR. We got our's in May of 1983 where as everyone else got their's in 1982.

07-13-2005, 03:03 AM	#11
dawsongirl Member Forum Icon Join Date: Jan 04, 2001 Posts: 53,140	We got ours in 1987. JVC that cost $1000. My folks had to put it on layaway. The salesman's big selling point was that it had freeze/still/slow so you could watch pornos in slo-mo. He actually said that! We retired it a couple years ago because the eject button stopped working.

07-13-2005, 05:55 AM	#12
Mijada Spencers mom Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 02, 2001 Location: eastern US Posts: 4,093	Nope, not in 81. My brother got on in 86 though. He paid like 3 or 4 hundred dollars for it, my mom thought he was crazy.
	__________________ Proud mom to Spencer, Justine and Colleen

07-13-2005, 08:06 AM	#13
Lee veteran member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: May 23, 2001 Location: Pulaski, Tennessee Posts: 4,768	We got our first VCR Christmas, 1984.
	Last edited by Lee; 11-16-2025 at 11:06 PM.

07-13-2005, 08:11 AM	#14
Lee veteran member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: May 23, 2001 Location: Pulaski, Tennessee Posts: 4,768	The first Beta VCRs hit the market in the U.S. in late 1974-early 1975.