Videocassette recorders (VCRs) have become a relic of the past because everyone is streaming media using websites such as Netflix or Hulu.


If you still have one, however, you should hold onto that huge, space-hogging creature because, believe it or not, VCRs are quickly turning into collector’s items with people paying top dollar for the VCR units and for movies on VHS tapes.


For any of you that aren’t a techno-geek like I am, a VCR is the grandfather of Digital Video Recorders (DVRs). According to Encyclopedia Britannica, a VCR is an electromechanical device that records, stores, and plays back television programs on a television set by means of a cassette of magnetic tape.


Back in the old days, you could record the latest episode of “Tom and Jerry” or “The Flinstones” then watch it on your television using a VHS (Video Home System) tape. With the arrival of the DVD player, it became highly inconvenient to lug around a giant VCR device; plus most modern televisions do not support the analog signal that VCRs output.


If you were born around the year 2000, then your parents might still own a VCR and have a collection of videos of when you were a baby on VHS which could be converted to a digital format by taking the tape to Costco where they will convert it onto a CD for $20 an hour.


“My sister owns a VCR/television combo,” 11th grader Kelly Diaz said. “We have had it for a few years now, but we mainly use it to watch cartoons like ‘Tom and Jerry’ or to watch Disney movies.”


Twelfth grader Cristian Rodriguez used to own a VCR two years ago until it broke. He believes that as the years pass by, the more it will become an antique. However, his parents still own VHS tapes of him as a child.


Communications Technology teacher Ms. Diaz has owned her VCR since it was first released and occasionally uses it to show her daughter old cartoons that are in black and white. She also has some home videos of her ballet performances from 1984 when she performed on a Mexican variety show named “Siempre Domingo.”


There are different forums and websites such as http://vhscollector.com/, where VHS collectors discuss their tape collections or make trades and sales.


Miami High was established in 1903, which means there are bound to be some old items such as film cameras and VCRs lying around. In fact, Miami High’s Television Production class still uses VCRs to archive old Stingtown News shows or to play the graphics that could be seen in the sports segment.


Miami High television systems technician Mr. Oswaldo Gonzales thinks that VCRs and VHS tapes should be moved into museums because they have become obsolete. He wants the Television Production class to move fully towards digital cameras because the video heads in VCRs get dirty with emulsion which causes videos to be distorted and skip.