VCR in the HDTV era

Im not sure as to the original question but I do know that it’s best to not stack the 8 track player on top of a vcr for best sound quality.  If it’s a beta vcr then no issues.  I’d recommend checking out laser disc players though as thats the next logical upgrade.

Can either the auto clock or auto channel set functions of a VCR work in the HDTV era? I'm wondering if cable has any sort of backdrop signal that that VCR can use.

Most domestic VCRs are equipped with a television broadcast receiver (tuner) for TV reception, and a programmable clock (timer) for unattended recording of a television channel from a start time to an end time specified by the user. These features began as simple mechanical counter-based single-event timers, figurine articulée dbz but were later replaced by more flexible multiple-event digital clock timers. In later models the multiple timer events could be programmed through a menu interface displayed on the playback TV screen ("on-screen display" or OSD). This feature allowed several programs to be recorded at different times without further user intervention, and became a major selling point.

K, I got a remote control off of ebay that works well enough.  Once I got a look at the menu options I saw that the default setting were fine.  I tried engaging auto channel set and auto clock.  Neither one worked.  Which is what I figure.  VCR playback works fine!  A newer combo player has no clock and no RF connections so I'm not really missing anything.  

I’m not sure, but I would imagine the JVC hm-dt100u and others might be able to. I could never rely on VCR’s to maintain proper time. As there are so many cable providers, I can’t speak to their capabilities or lack there of. The use of an external tv tuner might be able resuscitate older VCR’s.