MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > Your thoughts on VHS players?

Your thoughts on VHS players?


It's so weird to think that at one point in time, VHS players were considered modern and happening technology. Though, at the time, I didn't know any better because that's all there was. VHS was all we had...literally. And then DVD's came along and changed everything. It's like one day everyone owned a VHS player, and then the next day everyone was throwing them in the trash. They practically became ancient relics of the past. And I must say, VHS players could be quite annoying. You would actually have to wait and rewind the tape. The players could be quite noisy. And the worst case scenario was when your VHS player would literally eat / destroy your favorite movie. And compared to DVD's, the video and audio quality wasn't the same. And sometimes, particularly when renting old video tapes at places like Blockbuster and Hollywood Video, you would come across tapes that had this weird skipping audio glitch and fuzzy picture. The only upside that I really enjoyed and kinda miss about VHS players, is that when using a blank tape, you could record anything off of the television. At a young age, I remember accumulating a vast collection of movies I recorded from premium channels. I mean, sure, it was definitely going against the movie industry due to copyright matters...but it was fun, lol. But I must say, I've adapted rather well to DVD's. But the weird thing is, even DVD's seem like they're becoming a thing of the past.

Does anyone else still use a VHS player?

reply

I have one but it's not hooked up. Gave one to a friend a couple months ago, plus a tape to go along. She hasn't hooked it up, as far as I know. The tape I "lent" (gave) her had Sullivan's Travels, Bringing Up Baby, and Ronald Coleman's A Tale Of Two Cities. I'm thinking that was pretty nice of me to entrust her with this video tape, and I may never see it again. Another tape I'll likely never see again is one that had Breaker Morant and Atlantic City, I think. Sigh. So sad to lose friends AND good ol' vids.

reply

I still have mine hooked up but I never use. If I got a VHS of a movie I couldn't find anywhere else, I'd totally watch it. If I liked it enough, I'd find a way to make a digital copy.

reply

I no longer have a VHS player nor any tapes (I bought a couple of houses in Yonkers about 11 years ago and stupidly shoved my entire VHS collection into the attics when I moved in...they all got fried under the hot eaves and I'm still angry at myself for the whole mess...I'm a dumbass!)

Currently I'm keeping an eye out for VHS and 8 Track players (the more movies and music tapes the better) at local flea markets and on Craigslist
I MUST own an 8 Track and VHS player again!

reply

I plan on buying a VHS player on eBay. I want to revisit what VHS quality is like. Of course, I don't plan on having VHS replace my whole movie watching experience. But still, I think it would be interesting. A question I have is, do you think it would be possible to convert/record footage from a DVD onto a blank VHS? I wanna experiment and see if I can transfer a newer high quality film onto a VHS, just to see how it turns out. If I remember correctly, a VHS player will pretty much record whatever is playing on the television screen...right? As long as the DVD and VHS player is running at the same time??

reply

If it’s a commercial DVD, you won’t see anything, because the disc is copy-protected by Macrovision. You’ll see wavy lines. If it’s a Blu-ray, VHS only records 240 lines of resolution, and can’t “read” a high- or ultra-definition signal. Third, a VCR has no digital video or audio inputs, so it is probably physically incompatible with whatever video disc player that you have.

reply

I know the feeling.I stupidly left all my VHS tapes behind when i moved years ago.I had a pretty decent collection of horror films.Now the only VHS tapes i have left are Halloween and the original 3 star wars movies.

reply

That sucks
At least you kept some great ones

reply

i have three (one packed in with a TV, and a duplicate head recorder), and will always have one for the many things not on other formats.

reply

I have two old VHS players at my vacation home, they still work and my old collection of VHS tapes is there so I watch it from time to time. It is a nostalgic experience despite the bad picture and the sound, there is a certain charm to it. Yeah, I also videotaped movies from tv, or even recorded from the tapes borrowed from the video store when my friend would bring his VHS recorder.

reply

No, I got rid of my VHS player and all the tapes years ago.

reply

Me too, and I kinda regret it now. Lol...I literally gave away a decade's worth of a video collection.

reply

I only hooked one up to my tv last year to watch a few old videos for the sake of nostalgia. The quality was awful.

reply

VHS sucked by today's standards but it served it's purpose admirably for it's time. I still remember it fondly, although I wouldn't want to use it now.

EDIT: DVDs ARE becoming a thing of the past. Everything is streaming/pirating now. It is all online. But I share your sense of nostalgia. I miss video rental stores. There was just something about it that was so great.

reply

Agreed. Pirating and streaming seems to be the new method of watching movies. Honestly, I'm surprised that everyone isn't pirating films, seeing that it's such a simple, effortless, and overall free process. And as in for the nostalgia about video rental stores...I guess that's something that the newer generations will just never understand. There was something special about those stores. I guess it was the idea of being able to browse through categorized isles and to discover movies you probably never would've found out about otherwise. Pirating/streaming is convenient, but it just isn't the same as owning the actual movie, with the case and everything. I compare it to owning a book. Sure, you could read a book on Kindle. But there's something so satisfying about owning the actual book compared to a digital file. It's more personal in a way. The only bad thing I can say about video rental stores is that I outgrew the concept of renting a movie. If I really like a film, last thing I want to do is to return it. I also agree with you on the quality of VHS. It's nothing compared to the newer formats. But I still like DVDs and just discs in general. You can't always rely on digital files. At least discs can last forever. That is, as long as you keep them in good condition.

reply

Sure, you could read a book on Kindle. But there's something so satisfying about owning the actual book compared to a digital file.


It's also less unhealthy to not read it off a screen, so there's that as well.

reply