New York hipsters keeping the VHS alive

[RCA]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cd27NfkArc[/youtube]

Why? I don't understand...

[frapjap]

sounds about right.







Sometimes I wonder if these folks will ever wake up and become productive and want to go back in time in order to punch their late teen-20's year old selves in the face.

[Hijacker]

-=yawn=- VHS is so mainstream. Betamax is where it's at.

[sultan]

i've got a whole bunch of early UFC videos on VHS, dunno if they even work anymore. i'm talking like 2-30??

no betamax but i do have super 8.

[Jesda]

The only advantage to VHS is that kids can throw them around without doing any damage.

[darylzero]

-=yawn=- VHS is so mainstream. Betamax is where it's at.

Betamax was where it's at. Beta is what HD-DVD was today, the better format. However the lessor quality/ DRM version won out VHS/ Blu-ray

[Dattebayo]

(Didn't watch video) I've got a ton of VHS tapes, it's not like everyone converted everything to DVD back in the 90s... Also, several of my fav old movies are not readily available on DVD, nor would I bother to spend money on what isn't broken just to have a stupid disc that I can scratch easily...

[alms24sebring]

Everyone in here has a hidden shelf or box that hasnt been opened in a decade or more, full of classic Duck Tales, Dances with Wolves, Nightmare Before Christmas, and other random VHS tapes of childhood.

[Dattebayo]

I wouldn't say everyone, but there are folks out there who believe in switching formats every time something new comes out...

Until we get a more permanent medium, I'm staying with what I already have, thanks.

[IanS]

(Didn't watch video) I've got a ton of VHS tapes, it's not like everyone converted everything to DVD back in the 90s... Also, several of my fav old movies are not readily available on DVD, nor would I bother to spend money on what isn't broken just to have a stupid disc that I can scratch easily...

Because VCR's never eat tapes....... Leaving not only the tape garbage, but the machine as well until you are willing to disassemble it and unravel the mess within.

I don't choose to switch to the newest thing just because, but dvd is just plain a better medium. Put them back in their cases, and they wont scratch. Its not that hard. They can hold far more information, which can be accessed much more easily. They are smaller and easier to store, not to mention the quality of the media doesn't degrade, I could watch something thousands of times if I like and it will be just fine. Try that with a VHS. I still do have quite a collection of VHS tapes, but I am slowly replacing the important ones with dvds and bluerays. Most if not all of them already show signs of wear in the form of stretching and crackling caused by repeated watching.

[gwoods]

I fondly remember trying to use our VHS player back in the early 2000's and it not working. Unplugging it I heard a rattle, I held the door open and shook out a alarming number of baby toys... just glad the car keys didn't end up in there.

Whomever comes up with a way to access your home digital media library globally and cheaply with no loss in experience will be very rich. (until Apple copies it and sues you)

[Hijacker]

Everyone in here has a hidden shelf or box that hasnt been opened in a decade or more, full of classic Duck Tales, Dances with Wolves, Nightmare Before Christmas, and other random VHS tapes of childhood.

My Dances With Wolves copy was bought at a McDonalds believe it or not.

[themadscientist]

<< Has Taboo on VHS.

[SHIFT_COUPE]

Video stores have a nostalgic value to them. I miss the days of going into town and visiting a locally owned shop (not Blockbuster).

[WDRacing]

I have several old p0rn movies on VHS...

[krash]

I wouldn't say everyone, but there are folks out there who believe in switching formats every time something new comes out...

Until we get a more permanent medium, I'm staying with what I already have, thanks.

How is this not a permanent medium? Grab a blu-ray player or a PS3 for a couple hundred bucks and play anything you put into it. My parents are still determined to keep their vhs player, but its been more useful for collecting dust than anything else.

[gwoods]

I think blu ray is going to be the permanent medium but everything will be a blu ray quality digital on some sort of memory device like a flash drive or something of the sort. Memory is so cheap and available you can buy 32 GIGs on a SD or stick for less then $20 everywehere from Walgreens to gas stations. Once everything is digital the next step is how do you access your digital collection at your house from any global location.

[Gold Digger]

My folks have tons of VHS as well as DVD. I have a handful, myself.

The post saying that some of those old movies not being on digital media is one reason I won't get rid of my VHS till there are more titles being brought to DVD. Nothing against DVD (except that whole Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD crap), just want to see more titles on disc.

[Dattebayo]

Most people don't realize it, but any small scratch on the foil side of the disc and the data is lost, how is that more permanent than a tape?
Solid data mediums like SD cards are not susceptible to degaussing like a tape is, but there are multiple other concerns like corrupt files, etc...

I have tapes that have been stored for 25 years and they still play great. But, like Ian said, any cheap tape player will unravel them when the servos die. The idea is not to have a cheap player.

[krash]

Its kind of hard to mess up a DVD unless you're brutally not taking care of it. Blu-ray discs are even more durable.

[IanS]

I have tapes that have been stored for 25 years and they still play great. But, like Ian said, any cheap tape player will unravel them when the servos die. The idea is not to have a cheap player.

Even stored a normal VHS tape will go bad sooner rather then later. Regular use will destroy them even faster from stretching.

Sure a scratch car wreck a DVD, so can running over a VHS with a truck, or leaving it sit in the sun.

Nothing is permanent. I currently own 300+ total DVDs, Bluerays, and disc based video games. I have been buying DVDs and Playstation games since their release, I cannot think of a single time I have had to throw away or replace any of them due to normal wear or scratches. As far as I know, all work perfectly. I have on the other hand had to return a few due to defects, the most recent being Dexter season 6 on BR because the 3rd disc would not play.

Treat them with respect, put them back in the cases in a timely fashion, and don't let pets/toddlers chew on them, and they are generally fine.

When it comes to digital media, it almost seems as though we have come full circle back to cartridges. They are just much smaller now. Too bad there are 9+ formats. My new computer has a 9:1 media/memory reader, yet only 1 optical driver that covers CDs, Bluerays, DVDs, and data CDs. I don't even recognize half the media ports, and I likely never will. It just seems stupid.

[Dattebayo]

Its kind of hard to mess up a DVD unless you're brutally not taking care of it. Blu-ray discs are even more durable.

You'd be surprised how easy it is to get a scratch on the foil side. I recently helped one company design a "shredder" for them that exploited this weakness.

See, what annoys me about that type of media is that you always have to keep it in it's case, and the case is easy to break, lose the cover, etc.
Seriously, there's no convincing you guys, but tapes are more robust.

[krash]

I mean, yea maybe you can toss your tapes around with no consequences, but its really not hard to put a disc back in its case. I mean, I see what you're getting at, but if you take care of your stuff its a non-issue.

[RCA]

My folks have tons of VHS as well as DVD. I have a handful, myself.

The post saying that some of those old movies not being on digital media is one reason I won't get rid of my VHS till there are more titles being brought to DVD. Nothing against DVD (except that whole Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD crap), just want to see more titles on disc.

Yup. My parents had a tons of VHS and (tapes that go into video cameras) 8mm tapes, so I spent $45 for a some capture hardware and transferred it digitally. Now It exists in the "cloud" on my fathers archive drive and on the houses backup server. I am thinking about buying a 1TB drive, putting the films on there and sending it to my buddy in LA.

Most people don't realize it, but any small scratch on the foil side of the disc and the data is lost, how is that more permanent than a tape?
Solid data mediums like SD cards are not susceptible to degaussing like a tape is, but there are multiple other concerns like corrupt files, etc...

I have tapes that have been stored for 25 years and they still play great. But, like Ian said, any cheap tape player will unravel them when the servos die. The idea is not to have a cheap player.

"Data loss is usually observable as early as 15 years after the tape was made; and after 25-30 years, they can become unwatchable."
"CDs can wear out after as few as 20 or 30 years, but can last as long as the plastic they’re made of."

I think the point I was trying to make wasn't whether or not VHS is better than Optical media, but that people are holding on to such old tech when there are much better mediums to watch their media. Best part about optial media is that it's digital. 1s and 0s. Put it on a HDD and it's your forever. VHS will lose data and become useless. Eventually you won't be able to affordably buy a VHS player but if your media is a MP4 you can always turn those 1s and 0s into the newer standard.