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Variety Declares VHS Dead
An anonymous reader writes "Variety has written an obituary for the VHS format only 3 years after it was surpassed in popularity by the DVD." While VHS is hardly the format of choice these days, there are still many, many home movies and other favorite recordings and commercial releases floating around in VHS. How long until VHS players themselves go the way of the 8-track player?
I'll start listening to Variety about contemporary trends as soon as they drop that inane, out-dated hipster lingo that they use instead of the English language.
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
How long until VHS players themselves go the way of the 8-track player?
With the cost of storage plummeting and the rise of digital distribution and on-demand services, the real question should be: "How long until physical distribution of media goes the way of the 8-track player?"
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
Still around, still useful, just not commonplace.
"I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey
Well, as long as I have a huge collection of videos with films and stuff recorded off the TV, and until a usable alternative for recording from the TV that I own and control becomes available, VHS is going to be in my house for quite a bit longer.
I suspect that film studios would like to see the back of VHS and any format that allows easy recording, but it's what people want and why it really accelerated into such a popular format.
I actually suspect VHS won't go the way of the 8-Track. 8-Track has a small cult following that's endeared to it because of it's impractical quirkiness. No fast forward, no rewind. You wanna hear your favorite song again? Wait for it to work its way around.
VHS, on the other hand, didn't have any cute annoyances. It wasn't a great standard, but it had no major drawbacks. And for that reason, I don't expect it's nostalgia to hang on nearly so long.
VHS tapes are much more durable than DVDs. If you want a clear idea of the difference, try borrowing some high-traffic DVDs from the library and viewing those. VHS tapes are also handy when one needs to "tape" something to watch later.
seriously hard to kill the peoples choice
Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
What truth?
There is no dupe
You can get movies that are only available on VHS. Or if you have a security system based on VHS recording and you actually get around to switching everything over to DVR. Or if your VHS player dies and you can not find a replacement.
Life was hell, then I discovered Linux...
Why are we paying credence to the likes of Variety on a geek site? And frankly, who cares what they think?
Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
VHS won't die until the HTPC appliance fully matures, and a DRM-free medium is adapted en masse, and can record both NTSC and ATSC.
/. gives a damn about the DRM, like it or not.
Most purchasers these days don't care about DRM and have no idea what NTSC or ATSC are. Those who do know NTSC don't know what ATSC is.
DVD recordable is almost there, but is less flexible than an HTPC and won't record high-def, so why bother upgrading?
I agree that DVD*R is pretty much DOA, mainly because it was just too complicated for a lot of people though.
Tivo almost has it, except...
tivo decides how long you can keep recordings (in some cases at least), NOT you
Well, it is a FIFO setup, at least for content that you select, although not all DVRs work this way. But that's usually okay, and given the choice many people would prefer dropping the oldest footage they've asked for rather than the newest. In any case, if you try to put 22 hours of content into a 20 hour space, 2 hours of it are going to be lost.
PLUS it requires a monthly subscription and either a land line or ethernet connection to phone home.
Well, that's for namebrand Tivo. Almost all cable companies offer DVRs. Besides, compared to the cost of cable/sattelite, most people don't care about a Tivo subscription fee if they make use of the Tivo-specific features.
Also, Tivo makes it FAR to difficult to record say, Smallville or Desperate Housewives or whatever it is you and your friends all want to watch, then take that recording over to a friend's house or simply lend it out
Yup. Turns out that most of your friends probably have DVRs too. Those who don't, generally don't care. Those who do care will come and visit you to watch it if its that important.
It's FAR to difficult for the average joe to record a show for you while you're on vacation and then give you the timeshifted content.
So what? With many providers, you can just go online and add it yourself. Besides, unlike a traditional VCR you've probably set up a Season Pass to record what you want before you leave the house in the first place.
I think that VHS will be around until the HTPC is easy to use, DRM-free, HDTV capable, AND the public is made aware of it.
DVRs are easy to use, HDTV capable, and the public is aware of them. And almost nobody outside of
You're special forces then? That's great! I just love your olympics!
It'll happen when broadband becomes as ubiquitous and as reliable as electricity. We have a loooong way to go before that happens.
Therein lies the problem: You need good tapes (and tapes will wear out, and with no new ones...), and a good VCR (many suck). On top of that, VHS HiFi stereo really isn't all that great. It's not as bad as VHS linear mono (shudder), but it's not like vinyl or anything. And there's no surround sound support (no, "Dolby 2.0 surround" doesn't count). Dolby 5.1 at 448kbps is not that bad, seriously. I don't know what everyone's problem is. In fact, I can't think of a single VHS tape I own that sounds better than a DVD. And all the tapes have horrible dynamic range, too.
Besides, why would *audio*philes care about a video format?
Well, what I take as a pretty serious indicator is the fact that the prices of VHS tape drives is rising, due to the economies of scale going away. Surveillance customers who were buying machines for $300/unit in January are paying upwards of $500/unit now.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Comparing VHS and cassettes is a much better analysis. 8 track was never a popular medium for home recording like cassettes and VHS. Even today, a substantial portion of portable radios still come with cassette players. I say that VCRs will last until all forms of physical media are made extinct by on demand services.
How long until VHS players themselves go the way of the 8-track player?
Until I can buy a DVD-RW recorder or a hard drive recorder for my TV that's under $50. Until then, I'll keep using my VCR to record my favorite shows every week.
VHS is dead because it's actually pretty easy to transfer your Tivo shows off the hard drive. All you need is a VCR, and...
Oh, wait.
...is that I NEVER had a bad rental tape. More than half the DVDs I've rented have had problems of varying impact. If VHS is dying please bring on convenient downloads because I don't think I'll ever rent a DVD again.
The meme police, They live inside of my head
A Nakamichi, Tandberg, or Revox tape deck IMO sounds better than any CD. There is still an active subculture maintaining these cassette decks because they sound so good and they are so simple and reliable to record with. See for example:
http://naks.com/
I imagine the use of video and cassette tapes is still very active outside the U.S., Europe, and Japan.
Tired of all the isms, don't exploit people as an employer, or a government, mmmmK?