MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > Do you ever watch movies on VHS anymore?

Do you ever watch movies on VHS anymore?

posted 5 years ago by PrimeMinisterX (8857)
61 replies | jump to latest

I do occasionally. There are a few spots around town that sell used VHS tapes for $1 a piece and about once a year I will drop into one of them and pick up a stack.

From a technical standpoint, there is no reason at all to ever watch a movie on VHS anymore, but for me it's about the nostalgia. I enjoy the experience of putting the tape into the VCR and watching the previews before the movie and even the slight fuzziness of the low-res image. As someone who grew up on the VHS format, it brings back a lot of memories and warm feelings.

Anyone else ever watch movies on VHS?

[–] Christina (135) 5 years ago

You inspired me to watch a movie I had (lost in a hurricane) on YouTube, since it's not sold anymore like before. I watched more than half of it already.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8857) 5 years ago

Nice.

Too bad you can't watch it . . . on VHS!

[–] Christina (135) 5 years ago

and I was in bed watching it on my cell phone.

[–] Mrmojo4700 (21706) 5 years ago

What movie was it?

[–] Christina (135) 5 years ago

https://youtu.be/f0m-0bvap5A

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

Not only do I still watch them. I still buy them. Off of Ebay.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8857) 5 years ago

Out of curiosity, what percentage of the ones you buy would you say still have good picture and sound quality?

As I've talked about elsewhere in the thread, for me it's been a real crapshoot. Plenty of the tapes I buy end up having terrible picture and sound, even the ones that are still factory sealed. It's like a coin flip.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

The majority of them. I buy the ones that they say are in good condition. I bought "The Exorcist" on VHS and it looks great.

[–] AndyKing1967 (39764) 5 years ago

About 12 years ago I decided to get rid of my VHS collection. Second hand shops didn’t want them, I couldn’t even give them to charity, so 8 bin bags full of tapes got thrown away. I kept a few and every now and again I’ll watch one on my trusty video recorder.

[–] LenkoPenko (157) 5 years ago

Nah.
I grew up on VHS and felt they were a pain to deal with back then, too. Just like with the floppy disc, I'm glad they've made way to better technology.
I get nostalgic over some of the movies I had on VHS (like some dubs done by a guy with the most monotone voice ever), but not the format itself.

[–] Mrmojo4700 (21706) 5 years ago

A good example of a movie that never got a DVD release and is only available in VHS is Hunters Blood (1986). I guess it might be streaming somewhere but if you want a hard copy this is the only option.

[–] BurningSun (717) 5 years ago

I still have my old VHS’s, many of which are old obscure titles that have never been converted to DVD. Years ago I go into a bitter war with my father who wanted to throw them out because he thought they were useless. I was about 19 and just moving out, and he thought it was ridiculous that I’d want to keep them. We spent 30
minutes every day for about two months straight arguing about whether or not we should keep VHS’s and it would actually get fairly heated since I had spent money on some rare movies. My girlfriend had also bought me a brand new $100 factory made VHS player and I was appalled that he wanted me to toss it away like it was nothing. While I probably could’ve gotten rid of some of the Disney animated feature VHS’s, I certainly don’t regret keeping the more obscure ones. About a month ago I broke out the VHS player and watched an old cheesy horror film that goes for hundreds on DVD. I had a blast watching it, and I’m very glad that I still own it.

[–] Mrmojo4700 (21706) 5 years ago

Right on!

[–] slimone (7996) 5 years ago

No, I got rid of my VHS player years ago.