The VHS Revival Culture

I couldn't find a thread covering this so I thought I'd post this. It may be of interest to the hi-fi boffins

Recently, there seems to be an underground nostalgia for VHS. There are two documentaries in production, a fan magazine, blogs and countless YouTube videos of VHS collectors showing off their collections. Most of it comes from the children of the 80's who have a love affair for the cover art and fuzzy image quality.

In Rewind This! one of the interviewees even says: "...I can see VHS having the same type of recusance that vinyl has now".

Documentaries

Adjust Your Tracking
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qes6RXbyCIU&feature=related

Rewind This!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgPIysM1m54

Magazines

Lunchmeat VHS
http://www.lunchmeatvhs.com/index2.html

Blogs

VHS Wasteland
http://serialkillercalendar.com/serialkillercalendar/VHSWASTELAND/

 

Well, VHS IS analog, so there is much for the faithful here to admire about it.

 

You mean when you compare it side by side to HD you admire it more?

 

VHS collecting seems to be big particularly with certain kinds of people on YouTube. If you search "VHS collection" you'll come up with all sorts of videos. It's kind of fascinating how dedicated some people are to it. I'm not sure if some of them ever actually watch the tapes, they just seem to like collecting them, and sometimes filming the "previews" that come before the movies.

Of course, Disney tapes are big with collectors. There are all sorts of variations on the tapes and cover art. It's sort of interesting how the box art changes over the years.

 

I recently needed to replace my "prosumer"-grade JVC VCR ... and it was HARD.

Try finding a comparable product in new condition. Not easy ... but do-able via eBay. (They stopped manufacturing standalone VCRs in 2008.) Not cheap, either. In short, I located a new, unused and still in-the-box model (manufactured in 2000) for $400 (and that's after I got the seller to lower the price by fifty bucks).

 

I'll never understand the extremists. It has to be ALL about a format, or trash, dump, and burn a format. Why ?

There's a middle ground. If you have a working player, and tapes, and you enjoy watching Beta, VHS, Laserdisc, or listening to an 8 track, enjoy. You don't need the approval of others.

 

Horror fans, I've noticed are some of the biggest of the new videotape fans. Who argue that see these 80's slasher films on VHS is the "best" way to enjoy them.

As for Disney, I'm sure anyone Disney buffs with a copy of this film can tell you how much they appreciate the format.

 

Already having it vs looking for it to use again is different and I don't know where this approval of others comes from.

 

Mark my words, soon we'll be seeing Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs open its new UHQ VHS department.

"Now watch Terminator, in all its original analog glory!"

 

Snow and all.

Opps! Now that I think about it Ihave a few boxes full of VHS, mostly all the Disney movies. I smell retirement income.

 

Most fans of the movie have upgraded to a pirated DVD of it by now. I sure wish Disney would just release the damn movie officially with some kind of disclaimer or documentary that puts the movie in context, and a boatload of extra features.

 

Even I have a pirated DVD of Song of the South.

 

I always thought it was weird that they based an entire attraction (Splash Mountain) around this movie that they're so paranoid about actually releasing.

It's nowhere near my favorite Disney animated movie but it does have some pretty good songs and the animation is really beautiful. I've heard it's been restored and is just sitting in Disney's vault awaiting a release.

 

Waiting for the overly-sensitive phase to pass ?

 

I just dropped off 5 large boxes of VHS tapes at the dump.

 

Here, we have " Buy Backs " who pay cash for VHS tapes.

 

IE Not as much as the faithfull would have you believe!

 

They should've released it as part of their movie club or one of their Disney Treasures in the tins.

 

I had to pay a $5 dumping fee

 

Beta and Laserdisc really put VHS to shame. There are still Laserdisc hounds who are hyperfantical when it comes to that format. You know where you could see movies in widescreen , with extras in a higher resolution unlike the cropped, lower rez/quality of VHS with nary an extra to be found. There was something great about the Laserdisc artwork, it's analogous to record album artwork in some way. And the size was LP size.....

 

I've never seen a Laserdisc's picture, or heard it's sound. Closest I ever got was holding the sealed ones they had at Mediaplay.

 

It probably came from the Japanese(or maybe even the Hong Kong) Laserdisc. Laserdisc had no copy block, because it ruined the picture!

 

Laserdisc has digital and analog soundtracks. The sound in analog was pretty good better than DVD's sound.It's a shame an analog CD(much like LD's analog track) was never made,it could have been an audiophile success..... At its best it had a filmic beauty that DVD didn't have because of the copy protection and digital artifacts. Though DVD is sharper, Laserdisc appears more real looking. In other words, the way a good print looks like at a movie theater as opposed to a hyper real/ cartoonish version on a digital format. I do like Blu-ray as the sound is more like LD!