End of an era as last remaining VCR manufacturer set to make final video tape cassette

THE last remaining videocassette recorder (VCR) manufacturer in Japan is to end production at the end of the month, according to reports.

Funai Electric has made VCRs for 33 years, however sales have dropped from a pick of 15 million sold a year to around 750,000 last year. The rise of DVDs sparked the decline of VHS – the tape format that works with VCRs with online viewing streaming now also far more widely used by many.

Now, Japanese newspaper Nikkei is reporting that production will come to an end by the start of August.

Many high street stores have long since begun to phase out the sale of the VHS tapes, and have been doing so for more than 10 years in some cases, but now the technology appears to finally be consigned to history.

Sony announced last year that it would stop selling Betamax – the rival tape to VHS that also required VCRs for playback.

Early suggestions that the technology could go the same way as vinyl records and become vintage have also been shrugged off by the argument that VHS lacks the lasting quality that vinyl can still provide.

Yestertech: Cassette comeback, records return and the ZX is an ex no more//