Is VHS dead?
After 30 years, Variety is reporting that VHS is dead.
Granted, I don’t consider Variety the authority on this issue (just because you’ve got an office in New York doesn’t mean you have insight into everything), but I have to agree on this one.
I’ve never liked the VCR, or VHS tapes for that matter. There is a strong likelihood that Ember will never get food or toys stuck in our VCR player, because I’m hoping to give it the boot before she starts walking. We never use it, and when I want to use it to record something, I never have blanks tapes. Not to mention, I hate using it. I’m no dummy, but man I hate telling a VCR what to do. It has, in my humble opinion, the least intuitive interface of all consumer products.
However, there are two redeeming qualities about VHS that I’ll miss.
The first is the packaging. DVDs waste so much. A lot of plastic goes into making DVD cases, which don’t typically get recycled. How many DVD cases have you owned that had those little teeth broken out of them? Do you recycle the case? Probably not. It usually just gets trashed and you go buy another case. With VHS tapes, all you had (most of the time) was a paper-based cover that could easily be recycled. Or, if you threw it away, at least it would be biodegradable. I wish DVD makers would use the same jewel box cases being used for CDs and computer games. Just think of all the space savings on the shelves too!
The other great quality VHS had going for it was the capability to copy programs, movies, etc., with little hassle. As the technology to reproduce digital items improves, we’ll start to see (and already do) more restrictions on how, what and how many times digital content can be copied. Welcome to the world of Digital Rights Management.
But with VHS that wasn’t such a concern because the quality didn’t closely match the original. Sure, the industry wasn’t thrilled about copying items onto VHS, but you could always spot a VHS copied program because it looked a little crappy. No so anymore.
Even with these reasons, it’s good to put VHS to bed. Although, I know of one place where I’ll need to have a spare VHS tape lying around if I want to keep my sanity: the hospital where Amy gave birth to Ember. It hasn’t exactly caught up to the DVD age yet.
Brandon Said,
November 20, 2006 @ 8:18 am
Agreed!
Wait a minute.
I have an office in New York. Are you saying that I don’t have insight into everything? I’m shocked.
The Grubesteak Said,
November 20, 2006 @ 8:42 am
Yeah, but you’re different. You don’t have that New York mindset for some strange reason.
Let’s keep it that way.
Alex Said,
November 20, 2006 @ 11:18 am
I agree, though sadly. Truth is that, if I just want to watch a movie from beginning to end - i.e. no skipping to scenes, extra features, etc - I would much rather it be on VHS. The reason being, VHS DO NOT FREEZE. It does not matter how clean you try to keep DVDs; keep them in their case, handle them with sanitized tongs, don’t touch them, breath on them, talk behind their backs or think negative thoughts around them - they will freeze and it will be during a pivotal scene, when you’ve really managed to involve yourself in a plotline. Someday, I believe, we will discover a technology that perfectly melds the convenience/quality of the DVD with the reliability of the VHS…and that will be a beautiful day, indeed.
sara Said,
November 20, 2006 @ 4:47 pm
i haven’t owned a VCR for about two years… i sold all my VHS movies (except my childhood disney films) at a yard sale. i don’t miss the bulky, low quality tapes at all…
i don’t have much problem with my DVDs freezing… once in awhile there will be a tiny hiccup where it changes layers but that’s about it. and since we’ve stopped using our DVD player and use the XBOX 360 instead, i haven’t noticed that at all anymore… even with badly scratched blockbuster online discs.
my problem is now- HD DVD or BLU-RAY?
emawkc Said,
November 21, 2006 @ 11:51 am
Variety declares VCR dead!?!? Hey Variety, welcome to five years ago.
Mike Said,
December 5, 2006 @ 4:23 pm
Yeah, I’m on the side of not missing VHS at all.
These days my media of ANY type comes in two flavors, CD/DVD or Hard Disc.
I don’t really find DVDs to take up too much space. They sit on my bookshelf along side my books taking up less foot print than a VHS, and only slighty more width than a cd case.
I have to admit the freezing up is annoying, but I can’t say it happens that often. I can say though that more than once I had to trek back to the video store (something I never do now with netflicks) because the VHS was so hopelessly out of wack that it was just a pile of squiggles on the screen.
The wonderful change is media over the internet (i.e. on my hard drive). Once I download this media I CAN burn it to DVD to play it, OR I can simply watch it on my computer. “But my computer screen is too small”. Well, buy a bigger screen or buy a video card that has tv out to hook your computer up to your tv.
Honestly, in my opinion the direction electronics are going is the same direction phones are going, for better or for worse. Eventually the only people that will have dedicated stereos are HiFi junkies or people that don’t want to use computers. But then, they’ll just have a stereo and dvd player that have a computer inside them.