Is it time to throw away your VCR? A friend posed this question to me the other day and it's probably one other people are starting to ask. Most people are unlikely to through away a perfectly good device if it still works (with the exception of mobile phones) so I guess the question is; is it worth replacing your VCR when your current one gives up the ghost?

If you've got VHS tapes you still watch then obviously it's worth keeping a VCR in the house. Commercial DVDs are now so cheap that you've probably bought everything you like to watch again on DVD now, but if you've got kids or grand kids then a VCR can still come in handy if you've got old episodes of Bob the Builder or Postman Pat lying around. Rather than end up on the scrap heap, old VCRs are likely to migrate to the bed room or rumpus room for this very reason.

Analogue television broadcasts will probably continue for another five years in Australia, and longer in regional areas, despite what the politicians say. As such less than $AU200 for a VCR that will last for five years doesn't seem an unreasonable price to pay.

You also might have old home movies on tape that you're not prepared to part with. My advice would be to transfer these to DVD or some other digital format as soon as possible, before the tape deteriorates to the point where you lose your precious recordings.

The big question is, if you do abandon your VCR, what are you going to replace it with? Stay tuned for the answer tomorrow.{moscomment}