No more VHS?? (1 Viewer)

[Corey-Reid]

According to the manager of our local blockbuster, they will stop getting new movies in VHS as of JAN1.

I was joking about how the dvd section in blockbuster was about 2 rows that were about 6 feet long when I got my first DVD player 5 years ago, now it covers the entire store. Has there ever been a technology that got into so many homes in this short of a timespan??

I knew the end was near for vhs, but didnt know it was this close.

 

[Jesse Skeen]

I think the companies have been phasing out VHS a bit prematurely- I work for a retailer and customers still ask for titles on VHS and I have to tell them that the format is being phased out. I wish they would keep it around for the people who don't care about picture quality, maybe then there wouldn't be so many pan & scan releases on DVD.
I'm wondering what the very LAST major title on VHS will be though, if I find out what it is I might have to buy one. I missed out on getting "End Of Days" on laserdisc, which was the last US LD title (though a few more movies came out in Japan, and Imation in the US pressed instore discs for Sears with trailers and music videos up til the end of 2001- I have one that includes the trailer for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone!)
The final CED videodisc was "Jewel Of The Nile", followed by "Memories Of Videodisc" which was only available to the people who worked at the RCA pressing plant in Indiana.
BTW anyone know what the very last Beta title was?

 

[MarcusUdeh]

the end of the original era :frowning:

 

[TravisR]

Yeah I too remember a time (1998-99 and maybe even 2000) when I would go to Blockbuster and I would realize that I owned nearly as many DVDs as the entire store had. Flash forward to today and now nearly the entire store is DVD. The times they are a changin'...

However, I assume that Wal-Mart will still be carrying VHS for a while. Since they're so gigantic, VHS isn't dead just yet.

 

[Rob Gardiner]

Jesse,


I don't know if they were the very last, but I heard that MISSION IMPOSSIBLE and THE LION KING were among the last Beta releases.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Don't go crying in your cereal for the ol' black plastic bricks just yet. Used one's are stacked by the thousands in some places in my area, i'm sure they are in you areas too.

Hell, I may have even bought a few this year, but don't tell anyone.

 

[Paul Sandhu]

They were still releasing even in the mid 90s? I always assumed that they were finished in the 80s.

I still have my Disney VHS' (don't need them anymore since they have all been given some sort of treatment of DVD) and my Batman VHS's (waiting for Special Editions)

 

[SteveK]

I have mixed feelings about this. Although it probably means that Blockbuster will be able to allocate even more space to DVD, particularly for new releases, I am also concerned about the possible backlash from people that will demand their precious P&S versions on DVD. You see more and more titles being released with "fullframe" versions, and I can't help but think this is in response to the growing supply of inexpensive DVD players and the increasing scarcity of prerecorded VHS. I don't think you'd find a single precorded VHS in my local Best Buy store, but you'll find the next best thing...P&S DVD. If Blockbuster completely stops buying VHS, you may see even more demand for P&S DVD.

If Blockbuster stops buying VHS, how long can it be before they completely eliminate their VHS inventory? After all, their entire VHS inventory will be catalog titles with decreasing demand over time. I'd be willing to bet that within 2 years or less, Blockbuster will be 100% DVD and you won't find a single VHS in the store.

Time will tell.

Steve K.

 

[Holadem]

I am very skeptical of the existence of a relationship between VHS and P&S DVD, as has been assumed in so far in this thread.

--
H

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Steve,

i'm not worried anymore about the issue of full screen dvd's dominating the market, I used to, but no more. It's exhausting worrying about that kind of stuff all the time, so eventually I just stopped.

The studios know that people like us are out their, and that we will react visciously against them if we don't get what we want as well. Although, that didn't help us with Remo Williams and now Ice Man. But we've had victories as well, like Willy Wonka, The Goonies and Cats and Dogs.

We raised hell, and they acted.

Theirs room in the pool for everyone I suppose, just as long as full screen stays in the shallow end and hopefully drowns.

 

[SteveK]

John - My only concern with fullscreen releases is if that is the only version available, as with many "family" titles. I know that many people prefer fullscreen; even I preferred it until I learned the importance of widescreen. Until I bought my first DVD player in 1999, I had seen only VHS and HBO P&S versions of movies, and that is what I preferred. I can remember thinking "It appears that most movies on DVD are widescreen, so I might as well get used to it." One of the first movies I rented had both versions available, and I watched the widescreen version only to start the process of "getting used to it". Now, I won't watch a P&S movie, even on the premium channels that I subscribe to.

As long as widescreen remains available, I'm happy. Let the VHS crowd buy their P&S versions, as long as it doesn't affect my ability to buy the widescreen version. But when my favorite movie isn't released in widescreen because "most people prefer fullframe", that's when I start to worry. And the more that VHS becomes unavailable, the more likely that is to happen.

I know that widescreen still outsells fullscreen by a large margin, so hopefully that trend will continue. Who knows...you may even see a predominance of widescreen on premium channels someday. I can dream, can't I?

Steve K.

 

[AnthonyC]

Hopefully this will mean a decrease in price on DVD recorders. I've been drooling over those since I first saw them, but never had the money to get it.

 

[Matt Butler]

I agree.

 

[SteveK]

Matt - Most (all?) DVD recorders will let you record from VHS, as long as there's no copy protection involved. I've dubbed several of my VHS tapes onto DVD with my Toshiba DVD/HDD recorder, and it works just fine. So as long as the VHS you're trying to dub isn't copy protected, you should have no problems.

Steve K.

 

[Holadem]

More like P&Sed to 16:9, where applicable. It's certainly better than what we have now.

--
H

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

quote...
"It's certainly better than what we have now."

No, it isn't. It's still a shit popsycle, just in a new flavor.

 

[Holadem]

John, a good number (the majority?) of theatrical releases will be left intact, by virtue of being 1.85:1. It is better.

--
H

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Holadem,

in referrance to 1.85:1 films, I know that, the difference is very negligable between 1.85:1 and 1.78:1. I was actually speaking of every other ratio, they will still suffer the indignity of pan and scan, just on a smaller scale. I make no distinction however.

Apologies, I should have been clearer.