Next is the transfer process. Pop a tape into the VCR and a blank DVD+R or DVD+RW (some units only accept one of these formats, so double-check that) into the DVD player, then begin the transfer ...

And not just the giant, colorful album artwork of vinyl records or holographic DVD cases, either: even the nondescript boxes for blank VHS tapes had a certain charm, if you looked for it.

Blank tapes were priced at $20 ($72 these days ... by hard-drive–based digital video recorders such as TiVo. The DVD format changed the game for prerecorded movies in March 1997 and ended ...