bye bye VHS

[Tenshi no Ai]

It's hard to believe they're all gone and honestly, I didn't even really NOTICE them fade. Since our Rogers Video (like a Canadian Blockbuster, although we have Blockbusters here too) opened a couple years ago, store was filled with half VHS, half DVDs... then slowly the DVDs took over without notice, until new releases only had a few VHS to a title with the rest being DVD... And then all of a sudden... VHSes were GONE! Real cheap now if you don't care about DVD quality/extras though. So did anyone even really notice the switch? I didn't even realize it till my friend told me. And I'm wondering what the last VHS ever made was too, just to get an idea of just how long ago it was.

[Lynx]

they still have some VHS tapes at my local walmart. i think they still make some, just not nearly as many as DVDs.

[mitsuki lover]

I remember a year or so ago going into Barnes & Nobles(back when they had a larger anime collection)and noticing that they were all DVDs.The VHS is going the
way of Betamax now with the popularity of DVDs,especially since you can now buy
a machine under $100 these days.However they still sell hybrid VCR/DVD players.

[Tenshi no Ai]

they still have some VHS tapes at my local walmart. i think they still make some, just not nearly as many as DVDs.

I just heard that the production has pretty much stopped altogether and new stuff hasn't been made for a while, so the only thing in stock for any stores are the old copies they're trying to get rid of.

[Allegro]

I still use blank VHS tapes for recording purposes. I have so many good stuff that I have recorded on tape that I would never dare throw away my VCR.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Ah yes, but the life of a vcr will die out eventually.

[Warrior4Christ]

The VHS is going the
way of Betamax now with the popularity of DVDs,especially since you can now buy
a machine under $100 these days.However they still sell hybrid VCR/DVD players.

That's not really a true statement. VHS and Betamax are the same generation of media, and DVD is the next generation, completely replacing the last generation.

And DVD players are from like $50 AU.

[Lynx]

well the hybrid players do serve a purpose, i dont think we'll see no vhs/hybrid players for awhile. a lot of people have many VHS tapes, i know besides the movies our family has a ton of irreplacable home movies, it would be a shame not to be able to play those.

[Tenshi no Ai]

well the hybrid players do serve a purpose, i dont think we'll see no vhs/hybrid players for awhile. a lot of people have many VHS tapes, i know besides the movies our family has a ton of irreplacable home movies, it would be a shame not to be able to play those.

Yeah VHSes still hold some value. Have my own home movie too^^ And besides, I still have a HUGE old VHS collection of movies that would be too expensive to update to DVDs any time soon^^

[tripperdan99]

I still use blank VHS tapes for recording purposes. I have so many good stuff that I have recorded on tape that I would never dare throw away my VCR.

I don't even use VHS for recoreding any longer, use the computer with a capture card then play back to the TV either on a Burned DVD or straight to the TV with a MediaMVP (super cool toy).

Now I just have to figure if I want to capture all my kid's Disney VHS to DVD, geezzzz that's alot.

td99

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

td99, that's a lot and is also illegal.

[shooraijin]

Why would that be illegal? He owns the VHS legally. I do such conversions all the time.

The downside is that you wouldn't get DVD quality out of it, but for stuff you just can't buy, it's one way to preserve it for posterity. Contrary to what the MPAA and RIAA say, that *is* fair use and you haven't deprived them of anything.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Sorry td99. I misunderstood you. I thought you said you would transfer your friends Disney videos to dvd. My mistake. Humble apologies.

[Puguni]

:O Someday, there will be a time when kids don't know what it means when "the VHS had to be rewound." Just like...record players today; a repeating record player, anyone?

[Yojimbo]

Sorry td99. I misunderstood you. I thought you said you would transfer your friends Disney videos to dvd. My mistake. Humble apologies.

No that is exactly what he said and that's what Shoorajin clarified. It's perfectly legal for him to do that if he owns the original tape. We ourselves here have transferred some irreplaceable VHS tapes to DVD.

[Warrior4Christ]

[quote="Puguni"]:O Someday, there will be a time when kids don't know what it means when "the VHS had to be rewound." Just like...record players today]
And sadly, no more jokes about the blonde who rewound a rental DVD before returning it.

[Orange Kitten]

Noone has mentioned HD DVDs which will eventually replace regular DVDs. end of March/April we'll see the first of the new HD/Blueray dvds.
Sony Blueray, or HD? which will be the victor?

[Yojimbo]

Noone has mentioned HD DVDs which will eventually replace regular DVDs. end of March/April we'll see the first of the new HD/Blueray dvds.
Sony Blueray, or HD? which will be the victor?

Except they'll both be extremely expensive initially. Especially considering how I read this yesterday from IGN did not make me look forward to HD DVD/Blu-Ray . But anyway about Blue-Ray and HD DVD there is really almost no difference between them. Storage is virtually the same at 45/50 GB respectively and yeah...that's about it. It's just the different studios and companies that are supporting it that makes a difference.

http://gear.ign.com/articles/691/691408p1.html

[creed4]

5 gigs is a lot of storage difference, That is larger then a singal layer DVD and PS3 will be using Blu-ray

[Mithrandir]

For the record, I think what w4j said *IS* true in Australia. I don't think you can make copies like you can in the US.

[tripperdan99]

For the record, I think what w4j said *IS* true in Australia. I don't think you can make copies like you can in the US.

That's sad. If I capture it, I've got right of personal use. So what you're saying if you record anything from any source then it's illegal. Also if you purchase an item on one media (i.e. VHS) and what it on another (DVD) and you can't do it because it's illegal, that's hard for me to comprehend.

As for VHS tapes going away and the new DVD formats, I'm actually toying with the idea of building a Network RAID storage system with eventually 4 or 5 Terrabytes of storage just to "back up" my media, plus provide a suitable jukebox for all my collection. That's not this year, but it will happen in not too distant future.

td99

PS Sorry that I've not responded sooner, was out of state on a business trip.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Mithrandir's right. I was going by the observations I'd made of our laws and presumed it was the same in the US. The laws are a bit tight. You're not even legally allowed to make up backups of cds of games, software that you own! (among other extreme things). Although I sometimes do because I don't want to risk my expensive cd's getting wrecked. I'm a rebel (not).

[tripperdan99]

Mithrandir's right. I was going by the observations I'd made of our laws and presumed it was the same in the US. The laws are a bit tight. You're not even legally allowed to make up backups of cds of games, software that you own! (among other extreme things). Although I sometimes do because I don't want to risk my expensive cd's getting wrecked. I'm a rebel (not).

Wow, that's a hard one for me to grasp. I'd be one illegal dude for sure. The Land Down Under is a wonderful place, though some of the laws name no sense to me.

Well, we all need to be happy in whatever fishbowl we find ourselves in!!

td99

[Warrior4Christ]

Mithrandir's right. I was going by the observations I'd made of our laws and presumed it was the same in the US. The laws are a bit tight. You're not even legally allowed to make up backups of cds of games, software that you own! (among other extreme things). Although I sometimes do because I don't want to risk my expensive cd's getting wrecked. I'm a rebel (not).

But I think they're reviewing the "Fair Use" laws now to make them fairer for the consumer.

Except they'll both be extremely expensive initially. Especially considering how I read this yesterday from IGN did not make me look forward to HD DVD/Blu-Ray . But anyway about Blue-Ray and HD DVD there is really almost no difference between them. Storage is virtually the same at 45/50 GB respectively and yeah...that's about it. It's just the different studios and companies that are supporting it that makes a difference.

http://gear.ign.com/articles/691/691408p1.html

Hmmm..... I've heard differently. HD DVD stores 15GB per layer, and Bluray stores 25GB per layer. Quite a significant difference. And HD DVD uses similar technology to current DVD to read/write, but Bluray use a whole new technology for it's read/write hardware, which may have some difficulty miniturising it to fit into laptops, etc.

[Yojimbo]

Yeah my mistake brain fart I messed up the storage amounts of each.

[creed4]

But I think they're reviewing the "Fair Use" laws now to make them fairer for the consumer.


Hmmm..... I've heard differently. HD DVD stores 15GB per layer, and Bluray stores 25GB per layer. Quite a significant difference. And HD DVD uses similar technology to current DVD to read/write, but Bluray use a whole new technology for it's read/write hardware, which may have some difficulty miniturising it to fit into laptops, etc.

I had read that for single layered disk, but the muitible layered disks can hold twice to three times the info. I think Hd they triple layer to get 45 and Blu ray double layer to get 50

[shooraijin]

Actually, I'm pretty sure that on the HD/Bluray disks, it's achieved with a different wavelength of laser light, not additional layers (though dual-layer is in the spec).