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Misremembering VHS or VHS didn't look nearly as bad as people now claim it did

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  • Hedji
    Citizen of Gotham
    • Nov 17, 2012
    • 7246

    #16
    Originally posted by warlock664
    I for one was soooooo glad when DVDs came along. I was an early adopter of the format, and even purchased several movies before I did a player. I never owned that many pre-recorded VHS tapes; they were a pain in the *** to store, jumping to a specific scene in a movie was time-consuming and would eventually wear out the tape, and the tape would eventually degrade given time.
    I'm as nostalgic for VHS tales as I am for 8-tracks.
    I completely agree. I think we're looking back with rose glasses with VHS right now, as with all things of the Ready Player One/Stranger Things persuasion. There were a lot of factors that affected your mileage with VHS picture quality. But by and large, I remember being insanely frustrated with the format at the time, and wanting something better. Tracking, anyone? Tape slack, wear, picture degradation, warping, jutter.... VHS was the inferior winner over the format war with Beta.

    I couldn't believe my TV set was capable of displaying the colors coming out of it the day I popped in my first DVD (Mars Attacks). It was such a quantum leap in quality. Blu Ray, a notch better. 4K, meh... I'm not sold on it yet. But the difference between DVD quality and functionality versus VHS was enormous.

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    • TrekStar
      Trek or Treat
      • Jan 20, 2011
      • 8355

      #17
      Comparing VHS tapes to DVD'S is like comparing Cassette tapes to CD's, quality gets better as time goes on.
      I'm sure at some point, DVD'S will be a memory and something much better will come out, heck we now have
      blu Ray DVD and by 2025 will be talking about something better than that.

      I have like 5 shelf loads of store bought VHS movies, mostly John Wayne, but I do know that some movies
      and tv shows released on VHS tapes have not been released on dvd's, well at least not yet.

      Comment

      • spockoda
        Museum Super Collector
        • Jan 14, 2018
        • 198

        #18
        I put music and movies in different categories of an experience. I would much rather have a higher listening experience, as in music, than a higher quality picture image from a movie. I was a little resistant to CD technology until my Dad played me a CD and I heard the obvious difference from the cassettes I was buying at the time and I "went CD" in 1992. When DVD's came around my first question was why does the public need this technology just to watch a movie or television show? However, it grew on me and I liked the idea of having a standard (disc) format for both music and movies. Plus, I don't miss the fast forward and rewind aspect of vhs tapes but I don't think the quality of store bought vhs tapes were all that bad as long as the tape hadn't been used to death and your vcr was in good working order.

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        • Werewolf
          Inhuman
          • Jul 14, 2003
          • 14616

          #19
          Originally posted by Hedji
          I think we're looking back with rose glasses with VHS right now, as with all things of the Ready Player One/Stranger Things persuasion.
          I have not watched and have zero interest in either of those shows.

          It's not rose colored glasses to say VHS is way below modern HD formats but it was perfectly fine for its time. VCRs were also quite the marvel of engineering for their day. I have a VCR and still use it because I have cartoons on VHS that have never been and never will be released on DVD or Blu-Ray. But if by some miracle Tigersharks gets a DVD release I'll happily upgrade.
          You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...

          Comment

          • Gorn Captain
            Invincible Ironing Man
            • Feb 28, 2008
            • 10549

            #20
            I watch a lot of old movies, where the "Full HD" thing doesn't really mean a lot to my anyway, so I still like VHS tapes.
            It does make me feel nostalgic, remembering my childhood viewings of those movies, so for me, it's sometimes an emotional bonus (which is priceless).
            For me, it's the story that counts, and the visual quality comes second (or third). I don't mind some bumps here and there.

            What I like about VHS the most? You press play and the movie starts. No endless menus, no FBI warnings, just play and enjoy! The simpler times.

            I've just recently started collecting VHS tapes again, also for the format of the boxes, the artwork, and such. These days, on a BR, you can hardly make out the art anymore, it's so small. I like the bigger VHS boxes, and they make for great autograph material.
            I also like the idea of the rental tape, because it's as if you inherited the fond memories of the thousands of people who watched that particular tape. It's like finding a well-loved tattered old teddybear. Definitely not mint, but the history....

            Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching a movie in perfect condition in a state-of-the-art theatre, but I don't mind hopping in my DeLorean and going back in time...
            .
            .
            .
            "When things are at their darkest, it's a brave man that can kick back and party."

            Comment

            • Hedji
              Citizen of Gotham
              • Nov 17, 2012
              • 7246

              #21
              Originally posted by Werewolf
              It's not rose colored glasses to say VHS is way below modern HD formats but it was perfectly fine for its time.
              It was fine for its time, I agree, but it wasn't the best for its time. Both Beta and Laserdisc offered much better picture quality. I guess everyone's experience is different, but I was always wanting more for my home cinema experience, and found VHS frustrating, even before knowing better technology would be coming.

              Comment

              • Werewolf
                Inhuman
                • Jul 14, 2003
                • 14616

                #22
                Originally posted by Mikey
                I had a SelectaVision player before I got a VHS and remember thinking quality wise I was taking a step down
                I find the CED format fascinating. It's pretty cool to think they were able to get both audio and video out of vinyl records.

                Originally posted by Gorn Captain
                I've just recently started collecting VHS tapes again, also for the format of the boxes, the artwork, and such.
                I totally get that. I regret getting rid of my Thundercats and MOTU VHS collection for the same reason.
                You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...

                Comment

                • Gorn Captain
                  Invincible Ironing Man
                  • Feb 28, 2008
                  • 10549

                  #23
                  Did you guys ever have Video 2000 in the US?
                  Arrived at the same time of VHS and Beta, but much better quality. Didn't last long, though, and I was stuck with a pile of tapes and no new players.
                  .
                  .
                  .
                  "When things are at their darkest, it's a brave man that can kick back and party."

                  Comment

                  • cjefferys
                    Duke of Gloat
                    • Apr 23, 2006
                    • 10180

                    #24
                    One of the many things that I don't miss about VHS is the chroma noise, especially when watching a film that has a lot of saturated reds (eg. Aliens, some Argento films).


                    Originally posted by Gorn Captain
                    Did you guys ever have Video 2000 in the US?
                    Arrived at the same time of VHS and Beta, but much better quality. Didn't last long, though, and I was stuck with a pile of tapes and no new players.
                    Nope, Video 2000 never made it to North America, I believe it was PAL and SECAM only, not NTSC.

                    Comment

                    • Werewolf
                      Inhuman
                      • Jul 14, 2003
                      • 14616

                      #25
                      Originally posted by Gorn Captain
                      Did you guys ever have Video 2000 in the US?
                      No, but it sounds super cool. Had to google it. Wow, they were like giant audio cassettes that played movies and had the advantage of being able to play and record on both sides. Neat!
                      You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...

                      Comment

                      • HardyGirl
                        Mego Museum's Poster Girl
                        • Apr 3, 2007
                        • 13933

                        #26
                        I love my VHS vids.
                        "Do you believe, you believe in magic?
                        'Cos I believe, I believe that I do,
                        Yes, I can see I believe that it's magic
                        If your mission is magic your love will shine true."

                        Comment

                        • acrovader
                          Career Member
                          • Jan 19, 2011
                          • 591

                          #27
                          Interestingly enough, a part of my job is converting VHS, Super8, film, etc. to the digital format. Frankly, I don't miss VHS. I love the convenience of digital.

                          The other day I was thinking what a pain it was to go out and rent a movie at a chain like Blockbuster. Ugh. Always had a crummy selection. Only the independent places had the best selection of rare and hard to find movies. Now that is no more, thankfully.

                          I just wish more movies that are on VHS would show up on DVD/Blu-ray. Frustrating.

                          That said, it's always a pricey hassle having to upgrade from VHS to DVD to Blu-ray. I'm having to buy the same movie over again. However, there are some movies in my collection that I've gotten lazy about upgrading DVD to Blu-ray.
                          I am more than machine. More than man. More than a fusion of the two.

                          Comment

                          • tay666
                            Career Member
                            • Dec 27, 2008
                            • 753

                            #28
                            I never had a problem with VHS. My eyes are not the greatest, so I didn't really 'see' a difference between VHS / DVD on my 26" tube TV.
                            Disc does have a lot of advantages over VHS, like no rewinding, jumping around a movie, etc.
                            But there were also drawbacks. I recorded a ton of stuff on VHS. Couldn't do that with a DVD player.
                            Plus, a VCR, you turn it on, and it is ready to go. DVD and BlueRay it takes a while. And I hate having to go through a bunch of menu screens. Just start the movie.
                            If my main VCR wouldn't have crapped out I'd still be using it.
                            Instead I went out and bought myself a DVR / DVD player-recorder combo.
                            Used my back-up VCR to then transfer all the stuff I had onto that harddrive. Like home movies, a bunch of hobby videos, and a few movies I knew would never make it to disc. Then I burned those to disc.
                            After that, I cleared out the rest of my VHS collection. Surprisingly made some decent money on my Godzilla tapes, and all my Iron Maiden videos.

                            Comment

                            • Iron Mego
                              Wake Up Heavy
                              • Jan 31, 2010
                              • 3532

                              #29
                              Seems like no one remembers having to fast forward through a crapload of previews!
                              Wake Up Heavy Podcast

                              Find me on Twitter

                              Comment

                              • danadoll
                                Micronaut Nut!
                                • Apr 11, 2005
                                • 1840

                                #30
                                Hey, I still cant get some things on DVD, that I had on or recorded from TV onto VHS.
                                "Do you want a doll?" Kurt

                                Comment

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