Reports of VHS's Death Highly Exaggerated

aicrules writes "What does it take to ensure that a technology choice will remain relevant and available to the general public? Well, being sold by Wal-Mart is certainly pretty high on that list. According to a CNN/Money article, Wal-Mart Stores will continue to sell VHS tapes for as long as its customers want them. With Best Buy, Circuit City, and Target all dropping sales of the VHS medium, how long can VHS hold out? What is the major reason for people still sticking with VHS?"

Comments

Reason? Money.

[Swamii]

What is the major reason for people still sticking with VHS?

We'll always have our VCR because my wife has nearly every Disney movie ever made on VHS (sad, I know). And since we have a VCR, we can get our 5 year old VHS tapes that are often cheaper than DVDs. And honestly, they hold up quite a bit better with a 5 year old than DVDs and CDs do.

I know a fanatic...

[SharpFang]

I know a fanatic who refuses to watch movies on computer screen. He records Divx to VHS tapes and then watches them on TV, from the player.
Perverted, isn't it?

Because it works!

[Lispy]

I got my VHS 6 years ago when I moved out into my first flat. Naturally Iit had to be the cheapest one available. It contains one tape since half a year now and records my daily dose of Trek.

Easy. Programmed it once never runs out of tape. At the end it just rewinds and starts over. Quality is ok, as I don't need high definition to watch nice scifi stories before bedtime. I won't replace it unless it breaks.

I really like digital HD-recorders a la Tivo but I don't think my mum would throw away her extensive opera collection on VHS just yet.

I will replace mine, however, if it dies with a DVR. If, by the time, there is still one out there with a sane DRM policy that is...

Why must we attempt to force upgrades on people?

[scooterh]

I want things I buy to last a long time. I am thrilled when I spend $100 on something and it doesn't need to be replaced in a year. There's a reason that earlier generations of American families had more money (well, net worth) than current generations, and while it is a GREAT oversimplification to boil it down to consumer tendencies, it is certainly one of the possible suspects.

I can't tell you how often I walk into a house and see a 20 year old TV or a 100 year old piece of furniture. I also can't tell you the last I thought to say "Man, that particular digital component was really well made...I shouldn't have to replace that for decades (not "years" or "months").

Older manufactured equipment was simply made better, and some of us prefer it to spending more of our liquidity on the latest and greatest (which, as stated above, tends to be more poorly made and hence, more quickly replaced).

If this post sounds a little "that's the way it was in my day, and WE LIKED IT", too bad....it's simply a reflection of my own anecdotal experience and preferences.

Two good features of VHS

[exp(pi*sqrt(163))]

1. VHS tapes don't force you to watch an anti-piracy message (or advertising) with the fast-forward button disabled
2. VHS tapes come with a 'memory' feature that tracks where you last watched them. Watch a movie half way, eject the tape, watch another movie and return to the first one and you can pick up exactly where you left off. The memory automatically follows the video tape so if your VHS player dies in the middle of a movie then when you get another you can still continue from where you left off. (Anyone who's ever accidentally jumped to the next chapter while watching Mulholland Drive on DVD will appreciate this feature.)

reasons for vhs porn

[handy_vandal]

But isn't that the best argument for the death of VHS? More specifically, isn't pornography on the Internet the death knell for the VHS? Seriously, no longer do you have to stand the humiliation of having to go rent a pornographic video.

Two points here.

First, I've got favorite mix tapes on VHS. I'm too lazy or whatever to digitize them.

Second, I got over the humiliation, with practice. Stand tall, look the clerk in the eye, make your purchase -- it's just business. Moreover, it seems that while Americans are fettered by sexual shame, most Europeans have an open attitude about the matter. Granted, I'm an American -- but I'm no less a man than any Euro-porn-hound, I tell you what.

-kgj

DVDs are great, unless

[drgroove]

DVDs are great, unless you have kids. My kids have magically found a way to scratch nearly every DVD I have either owned or rented. CDs too.

VHS tapes are cheaper, and don't get scratched. A kid has to get past the back-flap on the VHS to get at the tape, which - while not being Fort Knox by any means - seems to (thusfar) have prevented them from damaging any of my VHS tapes.

The day they invent the scratch-proof DVD is the day I stop buying and renting VHS. Until then, I only rent DVDs when either the VHS is unavailable, or the extra content with the DVD is extremely compelling.