According to BBC News, the death knell of the video cassette
recorder has been sounded after one of the UK’s largest electrical
chains said it will stop selling them. Will this trend follow in the US, as well?
From BBC News:

Dixons will phase out VCRs due to the boom in DVD players, sales of which
have grown seven-fold in five years. It ends a 26-year love affair with a
gadget which changed viewing habits by allowing people to leave home without
missing their favourite programmes. Dixons expects to sell its remaining
stock of VCRs by Christmas. The High Street retailer says demand for VCRs
has fallen dramatically since the 1990s.

It aims to concentrate on their successor, the DVD which has charmed
consumers with its speed and superior quality. John Mewett, marketing
director at Dixons, said: “We’re saying goodbye to one of the most important
products in the history of consumer technology.

“The video recorder has been with us for a generation and many of us have
grown up with the joys and the occasional frustrations of tape-based
recording. “We are now entering the digital age and the new DVD technology
available represents a step change in picture quality and convenience.” The
final nail in the coffin for VCRs is the low price of DVD players, which can
now be bought for as little as £25.

[Continued at BBC News]