Hi!

I've often wondered the same thing...also why a $9 alarm clock will have
provision for battery backup, but $200 VCR (back when VCRs were $200)
needed to be rweset with each blip in the mains voltage.

Hmmm...not all of them do. I've got a Panasonic VCR that will hold the
time for a couple of hours after a power failure and a Sony that seems
to be good for a few days. (Of course, both are 'mid-range' machines
and the Sony might qualify as lower high end equipment.)

I also have a Panasonic time-lapse VCR that has a NiCad battery in it.
I know it will the clock for at least two weeks. The manual says it
could last for a month.

William