I still recall the moment in 1999 when I hooked up my first Sony Progressive-Scan DVD player to my Sony tv set. Even on a conventional CRT, the resolution was nearly twice that of any videotape. Made my cherished Super Beta format seem utterly lame. So much so that when I moved out of state in 2008 I not only gave away my entire prerecorded VHS tape collection, but also my one remaining vcr, a Sony VHS that still worked perfectly. (My Sony Super Beta died after some 22 years)
Technology and economics have long since passed the vcr by. An electro-mechanical device with an incredible number of parts compared to any optical disk player. And with this endless progression of technology, inevitably invites incompatibility issues with older devices, much as with computer hardware and software.
The fact is, viewing an old videotape on an old conventional television set appears marginally at best in terms of video quality. Terrible when compared to a progressive-scan DVD at 480 pixels. Worse still, a joke when compared to a DVD upconverted to a flatscreen tv at 720 to 1080 pixels.
Then consider that the Blu-Ray format using a native format of 1080p replaced DVDs. And now Blu-Ray has been rendered technically obsolete by the 4K disc and television format. Though IMO it's all overkill given the beauty of a high quality image rendered at 1080p. The point where improvement beyond this just isn't necessary.
I can understand retaining cherished homemade VHS videotapes involving family and such. And playing them on an old vcr that is still working well. But playing any VHS tape on a flatscreen tv that operates at a much higher resolution, leaves the video tape looking well, terrible.
Nope. When I gave away my tapes, vcrs and CRT television sets I never looked back. Not after seeing such a superior picture at a much higher resolution. Just too much of a difference in quality.
And with the advent of video-on-demand the need to record programming isn't so urgent. So I don't miss my vcr, or my Sony DVD recorder that was rendered useless when networks began placing copyguard technology on most of their media broadcast. And if you have a superior broadband connection, streaming media is amazing. Making the very use of discs and their players obsolete.
Time marches on. So does technology...