- A TV/VCR combo like the big brands used to make
- LCD instead of CRT, and with HDMI and analogue connections
- $399 for early birds, assuming it launches on schedule
A new TV with an integrated VHS player wasn’t on my list of predictions for 2026, but the RetroBox seems to be exactly that: it’s a very old-fashioned TV/VCR, but although it looks like it fell through a portal from the set of Friendsit has a bit more modern technology inside.
I had something very similar to this in my parents’ kitchen for years, but where mine had a CRT screen, the RetroBox has an LCD – albeit one designed to recreate the look of an old-school tube TV.
Retrobox VHS/TV: key features and prices
RetroBox is apparently the creation of Daniela and Chase, two college students and newlyweds “looking to recreate a special experience from our childhood.” I assume the experience is TV related, but they don’t specify.
The goal here is to replicate the grainy video of old VHS tapes, and RetroBox promises full compatibility with any VHS cassette. But if you don’t have any ribbons kicking around on the grounds that we’re well into the 21st century now, you can also connect external video devices via HDMI, AV component and S-Video.
Or you can pay an extra $26 for the RetroBox VHS bundle, which gives you five randomly selected VHS tapes, acting as a genuine risk, to be honest
This will be a US-only release – it supports NTSC but not the European PAL standard – and will deliver brilliant 240p or 480i resolution.
There are eight colors to choose from, but unfortunately not a weird purple-blue like the one that lived in my parents’ house; instead, there are vibrant reds, greens and blues and a bright pink, along with some more subdued options.
The RetroBox will be available from retrobox.us with a price tag of $399. It is an introductory offer for pre-orders and the usual price will be $525. You can’t buy it yet, but if you’re in the US, you can sign up for email updates to be notified when the presale goes live.
I have to be honest: this feels more like an interesting hardware hacking project than a product that will ship in significant numbers soon.
The website isn’t the most information-packed site I’ve ever seen, but there’s a bit more information on the RetroBox Instagram channel, where the latest reel shows various partially disassembled TV/VCRs from e.g. Toshiba and RCA and a first prototype; that reel was uploaded in December 2025, so there’s definitely a long way to go before RetroBox is available to anyone.
But I can’t say it’s not an interesting proposition…
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