Trying to buy a new video recorder

My video recorder (VCR) which I have had for about six years broke down on Friday night. I knew after six years of excellent use that it would be a waste of time and money to try and get it fixed, so I needed to bite the bullet and get a new one.
So, on Saturday morning, with my Dad in tow, we set out to buy a new VCR for me. I thought this would be quite a quick and simple task. Boy was I wrong! First we went to Bond & Bond and we thought this would be the best place to buy one. We scanned around and all we found were DVD recorders! We saw one VCR which was a combo one with a DVD recorder for about $500. I don’t want to pay this much for a VCR as I already have a very good DVD recorder. So, we decided to pop into Noel Leeming just next door. Again no VCRs except for one Samsung dual VCR and DVD player for $200. Is that all you can get? Can’t you buy VCRs by themselves now? I guess not. And anyway, I’m not sure if I want a “Samsung” brand machine. I used to top brands like Sony and Panasonic. So next it was off to Harvey Norman. I thought we would have a good shot at getting one there as it’s a big store and I’m sure they would have a big range. I was wrong again! Heaps of DVD recorders again (including Blu-Ray) but only one VCR – again combined with a DVD player – the same Samsung one I saw in the previous store. I managed to have a chat to one of the salesmen there about it. He says that haven’t had any VCRs for a while and the dual DVD-VCR ones are all you can get now. So I said what do I do with the hundreds of video tapes I still have? He said I need to transfer them to DVD. Well, I am doing that, but it’s going to take a long time, and anyway, I need a new VCR in order to do it!! Next stop was Dick Smith. Here’s a store I’m sure would have one. Wrong again! It looks like they did have some VCRs (dual ones with DVD) but not any more! Off to Kmart next. Yes, they too had a dual DVD-VCR under a brand called “Sansui”. Sansui? Sounds more like Sansushi! (And it was $30 more than the Samsung one in Harvey Norman). We decided just to visit one more store, Leader & Watt 100%. All they had was an LG brand dual DVD-VCR for $200. I decided this was it and I just had to buy this one. LG is a brand I’ve heard about and it appears to becoming more popular. The machine on the shelf was the last one in stock, so I’m glad the salesman knocked an extra $15 off it.
So to sum up, it is very, very hard to buy a new VCR now. I think this is pathetic. Cheap DVD recorders have only been around for a couple of years so there are still many, many people out there who don’t have one (I actually don’t know many people who have one). Video tapes have been around for a long time so I’m sure there are many people out there who have hundreds of them like me. What are we supposed to do if our VCRs break down and we need to get a new one? Don’t tell me just to replace them all with DVDs because some things I have recorded in the past can’t be replaced – it’s just not available on DVD. Anyway, obviously VCRs are still in demand as I bought the last one at Leader & Watt, they were sold out at Dick Smith, and I saw only three left at Harvey Norman. I don’t like how videos have been dismissed as old technology so quickly. I just hope VCRs will still be available for a little while longer. (And what’s going to happen when we need to replace all our DVDs with Blu-Ray in a few years time???)