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Variety Declares VHS Dead

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the dearly-beloved dept.

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?

14 of 339 comments (clear)

  1. hey, wait a minute! by yagu · · Score: 5, Funny

    From the /. summary:

    How long until VHS players themselves go the way of the 8-track player?

    Did I miss the memo? Is there some danger around the 8-track and availability. Please... ... ... click

    ... ..., someone tell me this isn't so! Have I invested all this money on all these artists and their tapes... ... ...click

    for naught? Sigh.

    1. Re:hey, wait a minute! by kabz · · Score: 5, Funny

      What is this infernal light I see before me?

      Will no-one rid me of this flashing clock?

      --
      -- "It's not stalking if you're married!" My Wife.
  2. the real question by User+956 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.
    1. Re:the real question by LindseyJ · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If you need an example of why we're not ready for a paperless society (or even an example of why it may just be completely unworkable altogether), look no further than Diebold.

    2. Re:the real question by Da_Weasel · · Score: 5, Funny

      VHS has been dead for at least 5 years. I distinctly remember having to explain the totally foreign concept of rewinding a tape so you could watch it again to my oldest daughter when she was almost 6 (5 years ago). After she finally understood why the tape retained it's state she simply replied "That's dumb!". I heard the VCR gasp, then it reached for its chest, and collapsed to the ground clinching its heart in its hand. It's clock flashed twelve faster. I leaned closer to hear what the VCR was mouthing to me. "B be be kind, rewind..." And then it's clock flashed no more...

      --
      If you must!
  3. More like the cassette than 8-track. by winkydink · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Still around, still useful, just not commonplace.

    --

    "I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey

    1. Re:More like the cassette than 8-track. by gosand · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Still around, still useful, just not commonplace.


      Hmm, I wonder how commonplace it is. I still use mine. Not so much to watch movies, but I will record things and watch them. I just don't have that big of a desire or need to get a DVR. I had a friend that used his VCR a LOT. He had probably 100 video tapes of things he had taped that he needed to watch. He upgraded to TiVO, and now he has a more compact way of recording things that he never watches. I honestly don't know what people are recording. I watch about 3 shows, and if I miss them, I miss them - whooptie doo. I just can't really justify the cost of a DVR. But then again, I don't understand why people spend $1200+ on a television, or $300 on a video card for their computer.

      --

      My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

    2. Re:More like the cassette than 8-track. by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Taping with the DVD recorder does not feel as "safe" as with VHS.
      We have a recorder here and often I wonder if the old model was better designed for the task.
      It was rare a tape just broke.
      Sure, it would get slowly grainy and you could basically get one final watch out of them.
      The DVDs suck because one error can fuck up the entire show.

      I hope NTL hurry up and bring out a PVR.

      --
      liqbase :: faster than paper
  4. VHS? Dead? by segedunum · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

  5. Great source of a slashdot article by east+coast · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.
  6. The real answer by NineNine · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It'll happen when broadband becomes as ubiquitous and as reliable as electricity. We have a loooong way to go before that happens.

  7. Re:Allready been there. by jcr · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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."
  8. No problem! by mogrify · · Score: 4, Funny

    That's okay, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are dead too. Oh, and WoW is lame.

    C'mon, kids!!! What'll die next? The Zune? The PS3? The PS2? The PS1? The PS4? The Dreamcast? CompactFlash? The mouse? Vista? Slackware? XP? Caldera? Slashdot? Digg? MSDN? Web 2.0? Web 1.0? Internet2? Token Ring? IPv6? Episodic gaming? Non-episodic gaming? In-game ads? The PowerPC? Cell? Core duo? Core trio? Earth? Caprica? The Death Star? SCO? Novell? Red Hat? Sony? IE? Firefox? IceWeasel? The Pirate Bay? Mmmm. Okay, I'm bored. Continue below if you wish.

    --
    perl -e 'foreach(values %SIG){$_="IGNORE";}while(){}'
  9. VHS is still alive and well in our house. by pixelguru · · Score: 5, Interesting

    My daughter figured out how to play the VHS tape of her choice when she was about 14 months old. The process was simple - just jam a durable tape into the big slot, and kick back and watch some Baby Einstein. If the tape won't go in, press the little eject button, remove the old tape and try again. Piece of cake!

    6 months later, she's still working on DVDs. Getting one out of the package is a challenge in itself, and the discs must be handled gently with clean hands (usually we can manage one of those at a time). She knows which button opens the tray, but she's still working on getting the disc centered in the tray, and right side up. The tray is flimsy, and she's almost ripped it off at least once. Even if she gets a disc into the player, she still has to deal with the DVD menu interface or at least press the play button at the appropriate time. This whole process is far from toddler-friendly, but she is determined to figure it out, and I'm willing to let her keep trying as long as she's supervised.

    She's fast though, and last week, before I could stop her, she jammed a DVD into the VCR with great satisfaction after getting frustrated trying to get it to play. For the record, a DVD will fit fully into a VCR, and it took me 10 minutes and a pair of needle nose pliers to get it out.