On Friday, April 5, 1991 at 3:52:17 PM UTC-5, Will Martin wrote:
I just finished reading the postings about battery backup in VCRs and the
VCR Plus product; this idea came to me as possible reasons why some
(or most) manufacturers are omitting battery backup in VCRs:
1) The main one is cost, of course. Even if the parts cost is trivial,
to add the battery, clip, connector, removable door or panel to cover
the battery and set up the circuit to accomodate it would add *some*
amount, and, after that amount is multiplied by the factor that gets
retail price from parts cost (used to be 6 -- is it still?), it could be *just enough* to push the price over one of the magic "price points"
these things sell for. If there's one thing I've learned from reading
the consumer-electronics trade press, it is that selling price is God,
and manufacturers go to *great* lengths to get their models at or under
the price points of the competition. From our standpoint as consumers,
we'd be happy to pay $5 more to get this feature, but it doesn't work
that way. You don't see the prices varying by small amounts to cover a
few added features, but instead they jump up in stages, with a batch of
added features (even if they are just adding buttons on the remote to
trigger functions inherent in the cheaper models but undocumented! :-).
2) If the clock setting is kept, is the programming also kept? But the
VCR has no power, so cannot *do* anything during the outage. What about
the situation where the power goes off, the battery backup keeps the
clock and program settings, and the time to start timed recording
happens *while the power is still off*? Does the VCR try to work in
obedience to the program? Maybe that will leave it in some state where
the sudden resumption of power will cause damage. If the program has no effect, what happens when the power comes back and the owner comes home
and checks the VCR and finds nothing has been taped? If the program is
erased as if it had been executed, the owner thinks the timer operation
is broken. If the program is not erased but is correct, the owner thinks
the programming part is broken. If he doesn't know there was a power
outage, the result could be a complaint or service call, and an unhappy customer, and expense and ill-feeling all around. Having the machine
die when power cuts avoids all this. Sure, the owner loses the clock
setting and programming, but it is obvious. The 12:00 is blinking --
the power must have failed. The owner doesn't blame the VCR maker but
instead blames the power company, or the cat that unplugged the VCR.
The manufacturer is off the hook. Given this scenario, I think I'd
design my company's VCR to act this way. Why not just avoid the possible
ill effects, even if the consumer suffers a bit?
Just some thoughts...
Will
Hmmm...I have an old Sony VCR/DVR with some short-lived backup - during 'short' outages the time and programs will be retained BUT no recordings will be made until I re-save each program. (Not sure if it has always been this way or is due to age...). I
added an external battery backup that works well until power has been out for more than 6 hours...and when that happens there are other more serious problems to contend with than the VCR. Yes - bulky and takes up space; makes horrible sound if you forget
to turn that off, but that is my solution.
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