I recently saw your column TV Times,...

I recently saw your column TV Times, 90053. At last, a place to address my pet peeve.

The VCR Plus, referred to as a “device for taping TV shows” does not, in fact, actually do anything except allow people to remain ignorant in the use of their videocassette recorders.

I use my VCR without the help of any other device. It is easy. Anyone can do it.

Sometimes the number of buttons required to be used with a VCR Plus is the same as a standard VCR programming would require.

My suggestion is to drop the useless VCR Plus coding and provide information to help people use their recorders as they were built to use.

--M.M., Manhattan Beach

You are one of the lucky people who can tape with your VCR. The fact is that a lot of people cannot, especially those with older VCRs, which are not as user-friendly as today’s units. For The Times to provide information on how to record would be nearly impossible since the directions vary for the many models of VCRs available.

The VCR Plus continues to sell well and the response to The Times has been positive, so we will continue listing the numbers as a service to readers.

You may be interested in another advantage of the VCR Plus that readers have told us about. On some cable systems, when viewers want to tape a cable channel, the cable box must be turned on and left on that channel. So those people are unable to tape from more than one channel during any period they are away from home. The VCR Plus, in fact, changes the channel of most cable boxes, allowing people to tape from more than one station or network while they are out.