日本本月底將全面停產盒式磁帶錄像機大綱

The last videocassette recorder (VCR) in Japan will be produced by the end of the month, according to the Nikkei newspaper.
據日經新聞報道，本月月底，日本將製造最後一臺盒式磁帶錄像機（VCR）。

Funai Electric has been producing VHS-playing VCRs for 33 years, most recently in China for Sanyo.
船井電機株式會社已經制造家用錄像系統盒式磁帶錄像機三十三年。最近在中國爲三洋製造錄像機。

But last year it sold just 750,000 units, down from a peak of 15 million a year, and has been finding it difficult to source the necessary parts.
但是去年，盒式磁帶錄像機只賣出了七十五萬臺，遠不及曾經一年銷售一千五百萬臺的佳績，而且現在機器的主要配件也很難尋到。

VCRs were introduced in the 1970s but were superseded by DVD technology.
盒式磁帶錄像機自二十世紀七十年代引進，但隨即被DVD技術取代。

Last year, Sony announced it would stop selling Betamax video cassettes - a rival to the VHS. VCRs were required to play or record such tapes.
去年，索尼宣佈它將停止銷售Beta制式錄像機的錄像帶。Beta制式錄像帶是VCR制式錄像帶的競爭對手。盒式磁帶錄像機需要錄像帶才能播放或錄像。

It was 12 years ago that UK High Street retailer Dixons decided to phase out the sale of VCRs due to the popularity of DVD players.
十二年前，英國高街零售商迪克森由於DVD播放機的流行而決定逐步停止銷售盒式磁帶錄像機。

'Niche market'
“小衆市場”

Some vintage technologies - such as vinyl - have enjoyed a renaissance.
一些使用古董技術的產品，如黑膠唱片，又重新流行起來。

However, Tania Loeffler, an analyst at IHS Technology, does not think the same nostalgia will ever be felt for VCR-playable formats.
然而，IHS科技公司的分析員塔尼亞·萊夫勒認爲盒式磁帶錄像機不會迎來同樣的懷舊風潮。

"I don't see VCR becoming like vinyl, where a lot of people appreciated the warmness of how something sounds on vinyl," she told the BBC.
她告訴BBC：“很多人欣賞黑膠唱片是因爲它播放出來的聲音帶着一種溫暖的感覺。但我發現盒式磁帶錄像機並不能像黑膠唱片一樣給大家帶來相似的感覺。”

"The quality on VHS is not something I think anyone would want to go back to."
“我認爲沒有人會想要盒式磁帶錄像機的畫質和音質。”

However, she added that a niche market for accessing VHS content, perhaps for archival purposes, would probably mourn the loss of VCRs if they became unavailable.
但是她補充道，在盒式磁帶錄像機退出市場後，也許人們出於檔案整理等原因依然會想播放盒式磁帶的內容，從而形成盒式磁帶錄像機的小衆市場，這或許將成爲緬懷盒式磁帶錄像機的一種方式。

Vocabulary

supersede: 取代，代替；緊接着……而到來
vinyl: 黑膠唱片