[luRaichu]

I think the "new" turntables they sell in big-box stores are expensive trash platters. So are new walkmans/cassette decks. They all use the exact same shotty mechanism (with plastic fudging flywheels) made by a single company in China. For analog playback and recording equipment you're much better off saving money and buying vintage machines manufactured in the 80s or 70s or so (when the technology reached its peak). That said I don't believe new VCRs will ever be made due to the mechanical complexity & even if they were any model you'd find at the brick and mortar store should be a total piece of crud. Cheap plastic parts galore. Maybe something targeting high end hipsters flush with cash would be built right but you'd be paying through the nose. Still better off buying old equipment at that point...

As for new VHS releases, I am not aware of the quality. Seems like the latest analog fad designed to milk old stock. I know some new music releases on audio cassette are decent and othera really stink. The one I tried had lossy treble & I could hear the other side of the tape in the background.