Why are there so many different designs for VHS transports?
Don’t expect an amazing answer – this is a set of questions. Why are there so many totally different designs to do basically the same thing? I fully understand the pressures of cost and manufacturability. However, it would seem that with VCRs, for example, every manufacturer (of which there are only a limited number who actually manufacture the tape decks themselves) and every couple model years has a totally unique design. You would think that after almost 20 years of manufacturing VHS decks, the technology would be mature. True, there have been advances with respect to quick start, HiFi, and so forth. Nonetheless, the required functions have not changed. And, for that matter, the performance of the typical mechanical deck has not improved that much in the last 10 years or so. If anything, the old designs seem to be remarkably robust. I can keep a 10 year old machine going virtually forever by replacing the rubber every few years. I am not sure that I can say the same of a modern VCR.
