VHS, 30, dies of loneliness

mimo2005 · 11-16-2006, 05:08 AM

The home-entertainment format lived a fruitful life
By DIANE GARRETTAfter a long illness, the groundbreaking home-entertainment format VHS has died of natural causes in the United States. The format was 30 years old.
No services are planned.

The format had been expected to survive until January, but high-def formats and next-generation vidgame consoles hastened its final decline.

"It's pretty much over," concurred Buena Vista Home Entertainment general manager North America Lori MacPherson on Tuesday.

VHS is survived by a child, DVD, and by Tivo, VOD and DirecTV. It was preceded in death by Betamax, Divx, mini-discs and laserdiscs.

Although it had been ailing, the format's death became official in this, the video biz's all-important fourth quarter. Retailers decided to pull the plug, saying there was no longer shelf space.

As a tribute to the late, great VHS, Toys 'R' Us will continue to carry a few titles like "Barney," and some dollar video chains will still handle cassettes for those who cannot deal with the death of the format.

Born Vertical Helical Scan to parent JVC of Japan, the tape had a difficult childhood as it was forced to compete with Sony's Betamax format.

After its youthful Betamax battles, the longer-playing VHS tapes eventually became the format of choice for millions of consumers. VHS enjoyed a lucrative career, transforming the way people watched movies and changing the economics of the film biz. VHS hit its peak with "The Lion King," which sold more than 30 million vidcassettes Stateside.

The format flourished until DVDs launched in 1997. After a fruitful career, VHS tapes started to retire from center stage in 2003 when DVDs became more popular for the first time.

Since their retirement, VHS tapes have made occasional appearances in children's entertainment and as a format for collectors seeking titles not released on DVD. VHS continued to make as much as $300 million a year until this year, when studios stopped manufacturing the tapes.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...l?cs=1&s=h&p=0

crazijoe · 11-16-2006, 05:20 AM

Betamax, I still have.
MiniDisc, I still have.
LaserDisc, I still have. My LaserDisc player is also a 5 disc CD carousel.

bry623 · 11-16-2006, 07:29 AM

I guess I should do away with my VHS/DVD combo.

CowboyCurtis · 11-16-2006, 08:25 AM

Not surprising. I recently had to replace one of my VCRs and WalMart had ONE model in stock. The rest were Hard Disk recorders, DVD recorders, and what looked to be Hard Disk/DVD combos. Even the most ghetto of apartments usually have a DVD player now.

The blank tape market might continue for awhile but it looks like the end is near.

ebackhus · 11-16-2006, 09:05 AM

I last bought a VCR in 2001. It was a DVD/VCR combo deck that died about 2 years ago. I haven't really used a tape to watch a movie in years because I prefer the quality of DVD.

bry623 · 11-16-2006, 02:09 PM

DVD quality is good, except for when the little people can't keep their hands off of my Episode III DVD.

sinclair_tm · 11-16-2006, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bry623

I guess I should do away with my VHS/DVD combo.

i'll take it. i still havn't bought a vhs/dvd player. but i need to, so that i can convert all the tapes i recorded to dvd. or i could wait for the usb version to come out like in times past.

mimo2005 · 11-16-2006, 03:17 PM

i have dvd/vcr combo and the dvd player died ,it plays only VHS ...and for dvds i watch them on my PS2 :)

**Glaswegian** · 11-16-2006, 04:26 PM

I still have one main VHS player and three TV/VHS combos - there are some tapes my daughter has nearly worn out...

**blackduck30** · 11-16-2006, 08:50 PM

My VHS died about 3 years ago and i decided not to replace it as it was just not worth paying good money for something that was bound to die. we had to bite the bullet and replace some tapes with DVD but in most cases the kids stuff was the majority of our collection and our satilite telly seemed to compensate the loss of material.
Long live the DVD !!!! ( I hope )

mimo2005 · 11-16-2006, 10:32 PM

vcr can play and record Vhs and price of blank vhs are cheap .

dvd player can read only unless you buy a dvd Recorder wich i think expensive and the medium ( blank dvdr ) expensive too compared to a blank vhs.

I still use my vcr to record show recorded on my Dvr , because sometime i have to free space , for the next recording .

crazijoe · 11-17-2006, 05:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mimo2005

dvd player can read only unless you buy a dvd Recorder wich i think expensive and the medium ( blank dvdr ) expensive too compared to a blank vhs.

I do have a DVD recorder VHS combo. It uses DVD-R or DVD-RW disks. The only problem is it takes more time because you have to format the DVD-RW disks before you can use them. DVD-R you don't have to but it takes time to prepare the disk for recording and they are write once disks.
With the VHS I just throw a tape in and hit record.

11-16-2006, 05:08 AM	#1 (permalink)
mimo2005 Manager, Emeritus Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 11,142 OS: xp	VHS, 30, dies of loneliness The home-entertainment format lived a fruitful life By DIANE GARRETTAfter a long illness, the groundbreaking home-entertainment format VHS has died of natural causes in the United States. The format was 30 years old. No services are planned. The format had been expected to survive until January, but high-def formats and next-generation vidgame consoles hastened its final decline. "It's pretty much over," concurred Buena Vista Home Entertainment general manager North America Lori MacPherson on Tuesday. VHS is survived by a child, DVD, and by Tivo, VOD and DirecTV. It was preceded in death by Betamax, Divx, mini-discs and laserdiscs. Although it had been ailing, the format's death became official in this, the video biz's all-important fourth quarter. Retailers decided to pull the plug, saying there was no longer shelf space. As a tribute to the late, great VHS, Toys 'R' Us will continue to carry a few titles like "Barney," and some dollar video chains will still handle cassettes for those who cannot deal with the death of the format. Born Vertical Helical Scan to parent JVC of Japan, the tape had a difficult childhood as it was forced to compete with Sony's Betamax format. After its youthful Betamax battles, the longer-playing VHS tapes eventually became the format of choice for millions of consumers. VHS enjoyed a lucrative career, transforming the way people watched movies and changing the economics of the film biz. VHS hit its peak with "The Lion King," which sold more than 30 million vidcassettes Stateside. The format flourished until DVDs launched in 1997. After a fruitful career, VHS tapes started to retire from center stage in 2003 when DVDs became more popular for the first time. Since their retirement, VHS tapes have made occasional appearances in children's entertainment and as a format for collectors seeking titles not released on DVD. VHS continued to make as much as $300 million a year until this year, when studios stopped manufacturing the tapes. http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...l?cs=1&s=h&p=0 __________________ TSF has outgrown its server, again. Please help "Gutta cavat lapidem, non vi sed saepe cadendo"

11-16-2006, 05:20 AM	#2 (permalink)
crazijoe Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Omaha, The Center of the Universe Posts: 7,632 OS: WinXP, Win2K3 My System	Betamax, I still have. MiniDisc, I still have. LaserDisc, I still have. My LaserDisc player is also a 5 disc CD carousel. __________________ Microsoft MCSA + Messaging, MVP, A+, Network+ http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...other/Help.jpg Do you want a real Republican? HDD diagnostic tools / HDD data recovery software

11-16-2006, 07:29 AM	#3 (permalink)
bry623 Manager, The Conversation Pit/Analyst, Security Team Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: NW Territory circa 1787 Posts: 11,692 OS: winxp pro sp2	I guess I should do away with my VHS/DVD combo. __________________ "If you aren't a liberal when you're 20, you have no heart. If you aren't a conservative when you are 50, you have no brain"

11-16-2006, 08:25 AM	#4 (permalink)
CowboyCurtis Registered User Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 147 OS: Windows XP SP2	Not surprising. I recently had to replace one of my VCRs and WalMart had ONE model in stock. The rest were Hard Disk recorders, DVD recorders, and what looked to be Hard Disk/DVD combos. Even the most ghetto of apartments usually have a DVD player now. The blank tape market might continue for awhile but it looks like the end is near. __________________ Athlon 64 3400+ 1 GB DDR 400 RAM 250 GB SATA HDD GeForce 6800GS

11-16-2006, 09:05 AM	#5 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,275 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	I last bought a VCR in 2001. It was a DVD/VCR combo deck that died about 2 years ago. I haven't really used a tape to watch a movie in years because I prefer the quality of DVD. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

11-16-2006, 02:09 PM	#6 (permalink)
bry623 Manager, The Conversation Pit/Analyst, Security Team Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: NW Territory circa 1787 Posts: 11,692 OS: winxp pro sp2	DVD quality is good, except for when the little people can't keep their hands off of my Episode III DVD. __________________ "If you aren't a liberal when you're 20, you have no heart. If you aren't a conservative when you are 50, you have no brain"

11-16-2006, 03:17 PM	#8 (permalink)
mimo2005 Manager, Emeritus Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 11,142 OS: xp	i have dvd/vcr combo and the dvd player died ,it plays only VHS ...and for dvds i watch them on my PS2 :) __________________ TSF has outgrown its server, again. Please help "Gutta cavat lapidem, non vi sed saepe cadendo"

11-16-2006, 04:26 PM	#9 (permalink)
Glaswegian Moderator/ Rangemaster TSF Academy; Analyst, Security Team; Oor Wullie; TSF Surgeon and Resident Comic Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Glasgow Posts: 25,486 OS: Win XP Pro SP3 / Win 7 Pro My System Blog Entries: 10	I still have one main VHS player and three TV/VHS combos - there are some tapes my daughter has nearly worn out... __________________ Iain - Defender of the Haggis and all things Scottish. I don't help by PM - post in the Forums. PC Safety & Security::PC running a bit slow?::Donate::Photographers Corner

11-16-2006, 08:50 PM	#10 (permalink)
blackduck30 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Wollongong/Australia Posts: 4,230 OS: XP pro SP3/Vista Ultimate My System	My VHS died about 3 years ago and i decided not to replace it as it was just not worth paying good money for something that was bound to die. we had to bite the bullet and replace some tapes with DVD but in most cases the kids stuff was the majority of our collection and our satilite telly seemed to compensate the loss of material. Long live the DVD !!!! ( I hope ) __________________ Blackduck30 Time is like money and milk, It's always running out Any Donations Help Keep TSF Free For All

11-16-2006, 10:32 PM	#11 (permalink)
mimo2005 Manager, Emeritus Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 11,142 OS: xp	vcr can play and record Vhs and price of blank vhs are cheap . dvd player can read only unless you buy a dvd Recorder wich i think expensive and the medium ( blank dvdr ) expensive too compared to a blank vhs. I still use my vcr to record show recorded on my Dvr , because sometime i have to free space , for the next recording . __________________ TSF has outgrown its server, again. Please help "Gutta cavat lapidem, non vi sed saepe cadendo" Last edited by mimo2005; 11-16-2006 at 10:49 PM.