High Street electrical retailer Dixons is ditching the VCR because of falling sales and the increased popularity of newer technology. After 26 years of flogging video cassette recorders (VCRs), Dixons said the machines will be out of its shops before Christmas. Sales of DVD players at Dixons are currently outstripping sales of VCRs by 40 to 1. With punters preferring gear like portable and recordable DVD and hard disk drive machines, Dixons has decided to pull the plug on VCRs and focus instead on the "next generation of home entertainment systems".

Said John Mewett, marketing director at Dixons: "We're saying goodbye today 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 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 first VCR flogged by Dixons was the HR-3300EK, a piano key operated top-loader with a red LED digital clock/timer. It hit the shelves in 1978, weighed more than 13 lbs and cost a staggering £798.75 - that's £2,021 in today's money. ®

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