Statement on Phasing Out VCRs

Updated 3.10.09

Dear Faculty,

Major manufacturers of VCR devices are scaling back or ending their
production of stand-alone units. This decline is due in part to the growing
popularity of DVD players and the FCC requirement that VCRs produced after March
1, 2007 include high-definition tuners.

Consequently, quality replacement VCRs are becoming harder to find
and, when available, much more expensive than in previous years. We do not
intend to purchase replacement VCRs for equipment that fails.

Therefore, the Office of Information Technologies and the Office of
the Registrar will continue to offer VCR playback devices in classrooms
as long as our current inventory remains in good working condition.

Faculty requiring a VCR for instructional purposes can call 1.8778 and request that one be delivered for specific class periods with at least 24 hours notice.

VCRs will be removed from classrooms in a planned, orderly fashion.
We will notify faculty when it becomes necessary to remove VCRs from
additional classrooms. We estimate that permanently installed VCRs will be
completely absent from classrooms by August 2009. Portable VCRs will continue
to be available upon request for the foreseeable future.

Faculty who have video content that is not available in DVD format
should consider contacting the Academic Media Resources group of the OIT
to have your non-copyrighted VHS tapes converted to DVD. (1.0961)

http://oit.nd.edu/print_scan_copy/dupl_conv.shtml

If you have any questions about this upcoming change to technology-
enhanced classrooms please contact me by phone or email or in person.

best regards,

Brian Burchett
Manager, Classroom & Cluster Services
Office of Information Technologies
226 DeBartolo Hall
1.6503 -- bburchet@nd.edu