"VCR" was an initialism of video cassette recorder, a piece of Earth technology used for recording television programs. Many VCRs had a time display that would flash "12:00" unless the user could set it properly, a process which most users found notoriously challenging.
When Ka D'Argo was having difficulty using a Peacekeeper particle anaylzer, John Crichton was able to make it function, commenting, "it's just like a VCR. Except easier." ("I, E.T.")