Does anyone watch VHS tapes at all today?

I have over 300 videotapes, many of which I hardly ever watch, so I don't want to spend the money on the DVD versions(I'd rather spend the money on music).

So, the question is: In the DVD Age, do any Hoffman Forum members watch VHS tapes at all anymore?

Evan

 

Not too often anymore, but yes once in a while. Mainly for the ones that haven't been released on DVD yet.

 

I still have a bunch of tapes, and a couple of players, but I'm trying to get rid of as many of them as I can, and replace them with DVD's. Mainly the ones I still have are things that are irreplaceable, that I'm hoping to transfer over to DVD-R at some point in the future.

 

I didn't buy a VCR until Oct. 1992 and I didn't buy it for watching pre-recorded tapes. I bought it for prime-time shows that were on when I was working 2nd shift. I have some pre-recorded VHS titles; "The Graduate", "Ed Wood", buncha Beatles titles (most of those replaced w/ DVD versions), but mostly I recorded broadcast TV. When I picked up a TiVo, I realized THAT was what I'd wanted all along. When I picked up a DVD player, I was glad I hadn't bought a lot of pre-recorded VHS titles since I wouldn't have been satisfied w/ them.

I took the final step last Christmas and bought a DVD recorder. I'm in the middle of converting the best of the VHS titles I have and I don't plan on looking back. It's been months since I've even rented any titles. There seems to be very little coming out of Hollywood these days that truly interests me. At this point in time, I really can't understand anyone whose only choice is VHS.

 

Especially when the Great Unwashed can easily buy a DVD player at Wal-Mart for $60-70.

However, I am an order-taker for A&E and the History Channel; many titles are still sold and ordered only on VHS; many older people don't even understand the difference between them.

Evan

 

We record our favorite TV shows every week on VHS...For serious viewing, it's DVD all the way I still have loads of pre-records on VHS also...Many have yet to make a DVD appearance...They ain't goin nowhere.

 

Yeah, that's a valid point, Evan. I was riding w/ a friend and his mother awhile back and she asked about DVD. We TRIED to get her up to speed, but she really wasn't having it. She probably feels the same way about most new technology. It's sad because it's not as difficult as she imagines, but that's her mindset right now.

 

Don't forget the 'trickle down' pricing that makes vinyl so interesting for music buyers these days. The store I work in has a wall (!) of VHS tapes at $1.95. Many previously prime items turn up here, as well as in the upmarket $3.95 section on the other floor. Oh, and we just started selling used pre-recorded cassette tapes again, due to customer demand. They're going well, too.

 

The majority of today's kids, plus us here at SH.tv know and understand the difference though between VHS and DVD.

 

At the risk of thread crapping, keep an eye out for the "Biography" of Carolyn Jones, who played "Morticia", on either A&E or the Biography Channel. It's a bit of a spoiler, but Carolyn was blonde and became a brunette for a movie role in "The Bachelor", IIRC. AMAZING transformation! Went from being gorgeous to heavenly!

 

Available for $19.95 on VHS only! And I know, I work there!

Evan

 

Just think Gary, with the upcoming "Munsters" DVD Season Box Set, The Addams Family can't be far behind! YES!!!!

 

Same here. Just waiting for Jack Benny in "To Be Or Not To Be" and until recently, MOST of the Marx Brothers films!

JEFF!

 

Too bad the Paramount Marx films stayed in print for such a short time; I only managed to pick up Duck Soup before they disappeared. I'll have to stick to VHS for The Cocoanuts, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, and Horsefeathers.

Evan

 

I have two S-VHS decks and don't have either one hooked up. And a bunch of tapes I'd like to watch again one day, but... I even have a lot of 8mm and Hi8 videotapes, since I have both a camcorder and VCR. At least they take up less room than those clunky old VHS dinosaurs!

 

Roody! Is that any way to repay the kindness of the format that saw you through the pre-DVD years? For shame!

Evan

 

Years back, Sam Goody had the DVD's on sale for $6.99 each!Picked 'em all up..shoulda bought backups...I remember seeing them for $24.95 and was shocked and thrilled to see them at the closed out price.

 

Yeah, I guess I'm lucky to have bought the Paramount Marx Bros. films - though I was sure they were going to be replaced by Special Editions evenutally not OOP!

 

Word!

 

Actually, I really never got into VHS that much--didn't like the picture quality (passable at best, even on crappy 70's era TVs), the pain of fast winding or rewinding to find the beginning of what I wanted to watch, and the bulky tapes. It got easier when VCRs finally used real-time clocks instead of counters, but by then I had most of what I wanted on Laserdisc anyway. (I actually owned an LD player before VHS!) Time shifting was a non-issue since I rarely watched TV. I recorded a few series I liked, but just due to the picture quality I never bothered to watch them very much. I got a good deal on the two S-VHS decks several years ago, but I used them so little for taping from DirecTV, I only bought about 12 S-VHS tapes. (At least the picture's a bit better.) And DirecTV was another problem, too: it wasn't until I got a more recent receiver that I was able to use a VCR in timer mode--I had to use the timer in the receiver, not the VCR, and hook up a "mouse" (infrared transmitter) to the receiver. (Two other methods I'd used were never foolproof.) Prerecorded tapes? VERY few. Anything I like has been replaced on LD or DVD where possible.

I guess I'm not your typical VHS user.

 

The only tapes I still watch are the original Star Wars trilogy. Otherwise, no.

Sean

 

I'm starting to notice a lot of VCRs in the thrift stores these days. Like cassette decks, a sure sign that VHS is a fading format. But I don't think it'll "die" anytime soon.

I still use my VCR on a semi-regular basis. A couple of friends sometimes come over to watch tapes that aren't available on DVD. Most of my friends no longer even have a working VCR!

Dan C

 

Same here, my VCR is used every day. The VCR is an excellent time shifter!