Wether the family had a VCR or not, it wouldn’t have been running. Tapes cost money, and nobody ever had enough of them. You wouldn’t generally tape something you were actually watching unless it was something you specifically planned on replaying at a later date. VCRs were primarily used to record things you weren’t going to be around to watch (everyone used to tape Carson & Letterman because they were on so late; you’d rewind them in the morning while watching the weather report.) Only later on, when rental joints became common, they also were used for home movies.
Wether the family had a VCR or not, it wouldn’t have been running. Tapes cost money, and nobody ever had enough of them. You wouldn’t generally tape something you were actually watching unless it was something you specifically planned on replaying at a later date. VCRs were primarily used to record things you weren’t going to be around to watch (everyone used to tape Carson & Letterman because they were on so late; you’d rewind them in the morning while watching the weather report.) Only later on, when rental joints became common, they also were used for home movies.