Tuesday, July 2, 2013

L'Affaire VCR

I had a VCR incident. What happened is this: I bought a new television. It's a high definition set, and it's in the living room now. The set that was there is now in my bedroom, and so is the VCR that is controlled by the same universal remote. I reasoned that I just had to get another VCR, and so I went out to do it.

I went to the thrift store I deemed most likely to have a good VCR with its original remote, but they did not have anything like that. I picked what looked like an acceptable one, and went to the trouble of locating the cables, TV and VHS tape that I would need to test it. This was a laborious process, but worth it considering that the wares there are sold "as is". I walked away thinking I'd done my due diligence and found a good VCR.

I got home and set it up. I wanted to play a tape, so I put it in and started it off. After a few moments, the VCR switched off, and I couldn't get it to come back on for more than a few moments, nor could I get it to eject the tape now trapped within. I knew now that I'd been deceived at the store, and that this was a bad, unreliable VCR. When I could not get the tape out by ordinary means, I proceeded to disassemble it in rough fashion.

After working on it with a screwdriver and some brute force, I finally got the tape out. I was glad for that, since the cost and effort of replacing it would have been terribly inconvenient. I was left with a pile of parts and a shell of a VCR that I will have to dispose. I now will have to buy another VCR, and this one I will have to work even harder to vette before I commit to it. Until then, I still have the original and I have a passable story to tell.

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