VCR farewell – Le Figaro

The last VCRs manufacturer in the world, Funai Electric, announced the cessation of production by the end of the month.

If you still conceal a VCR in your attic to view your precious memories, know that you will soon be the owner of a rare item. Funai Electric, VCRs last manufacturer in the world, announced the cessation of production by the end of July. The reason? “One of our suppliers found it difficult to continue manufacturing a component for such a small volume, which led us to take this decision,” said the Japanese group, whose factory is in China. In fact, global sales fell to 750,000 in 2015, against 15 million in the 2000 result, the company has been assailed from consumer calls frightened at the idea of ​​not being able to view their famous tapes.

Should we prepare for not being able to watch the old holidays, weddings and birthdays? Not so sure. A quick glance at the site of leboncoin.fr ads allows to realize that the magneto is far from having breathed his last. Friday morning, we could identify a dozen appliances ads for sale throughout France. In addition, the consumer always has the option to scan the contents of his tapes on his computer, using software such as SOS Video Tapes and even scanning services, including retail.

If the first fruits of this device are from the 1950s, that which is presented as “box television” in its infancy, has emerged in the 1970s In 1972, Philips markets the first cassette recorder, VCR (Video cassette recorder), followed by Sony with Betamax and JVC with the VHS (Video Home System). In France, the price of a unit was greater than 8000 francs at the beginning of its marketing. Gradually, the magneto encounter a truly global success, becoming more affordable. Result, it is booming from 1987 to 1989, with 2.6 million units sold each year in France, Jacques Mousseau says in his book, The market for video: the birth and growth of a “big business” published in 1991.

the rise continues into the 1990s, before the device will be gradually eclipsed by the laserdisc, then the DVD player and the ‘computer. Since 2001, sales of devices begin to falter in France. The following year, sales of the famous VHS tapes to rewind fell by 27%, and are exceeded by those of the DVD, according to figures from the Union of video editing, cited by Libération . That year, only four models of devices are still marketed in France.