My curiosity is perked up since I've been playing some aging VHS tapes recently. Up until a couple of months ago I hadn't played a tape in months. Then I decided to put the VCR 'portion' of the 'GO VIDEO' deck to good use cos it was just sitting there idle; it's one of those decks with a VCR •and• DVD player. So I've watched some 25 VHS tapes in the past 2 months. The last three tapes I played -- and this stuff's gettin' old -- are "Going Berserk" (tape from MCA was issued in '84), "Brewster's Millions" tape from MCA was issued in 1986 and the MCA release of "The Legacy" was also released in 1986. But they keep working! I don't do anything special to keep them playable -- I just try and keep them away from damp surroundings and dust. (P.S. It's HALLOWEEN and don't forget about the 1981 comedy WACKO. It's about a pumpkin-headed lawnmower killer! The Halloween Pumpkin Prom is coming up for a group of unlucky seniors in high-school! And watch out for baby lawnmowers, too).
I still have some VHS tapes, probably a couple hundred. My living room tv is a TV/VCR combo. I've got stuff like; Gremlins, Porky's, Animal House, Lethal Weapon, Cobra, First Blood, Rambo, Rambo III, etc. VHS tapes can last for years. Think of all the former rental tapes that are 40-42 years old that still work fine. I've seen a lot of early 1980s releases that still play fine. I think as long as you protect your VHS tapes from the elements and keep them free of mold, they'll last. Your biggest worry is going to be, trying to keep working VCRs on hand.
I ask myself every so often why do I like these aging mylar pieces . . . ? I reckon part of the reason is the challenge of keeping them working as long as I can.
Still have several hundred plus a couple of vcrs. I collected and still have mainly classic foreign films (lots of Bergman, Godard, Fellini, Bunuel, Kurosawa etc); 50s and 60s sci-fi and schlock/cult movies like The Brain From Planet Arous, It Conquered the World, The Wild World of Batwoman, Glen Or Glenda... Also Hollywood classic stuff, too. Lots of Bogart, Cary Grant, Barbara Stanwyck, Hitchcock, Orson Welles ... Film Noir, the 30s and 40s Universal Horror series. I keep them because they appeal to me, I like the packaging and cover artwork better than a lot of dvd releases. Plus they have zero resale value, I'd rather keep them than give them away! They're getting harder to find but a few weeks ago found a couple for a dollar each at the Goodwill- The Princess Comes Across from 1936 starring Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray, and the 1968 Soviet production of War and Peace - 6 hours long on one tape!
I still have quite a few. I haven't thrown away my player yet, but, it is no longer working. I would have bought a replacement, but, the prices don't seem cheap enough to justify the amount of use it would likely get.
Most of the ones I've kept (100+) are music related and stuff taped like Unplugged,ACL,docs,etc. from 80's/90's. Also, I have trouble finding Hitchcock on DVD at the thrifts so I still watch some of those on VHS.
I still have mine( a few hundred) and a few players. During the pandemic lockdown, I went through a bunch and threw out hundreds. Dan
I still have 10 or 20. Out of nostalgia for that time around 1982 when I spent over $500 on my first VCR to record episodes of SCTV. Good times.
A few months ago I got hold of an 1983-issue Columbia VHS of the 1981 horror movie "Strange Behavior". I'd never seen it before and I bought it without a box from Amazon. The only thing is the tape was still 'at the end' and obviously had been for years. So it was my 'job' to rewind the tape to the beginning and see how it played. Definitely not been played for a very long time; hard to track it . . . but I'm working on it. A challenge! Tape is quite clean, but who knows how long it had been since its last venture inside a VCR.
I still have probably 50 time-shift cassettes, and 20 with movies taped off cable services (one of my gigs was a station owned by the local cable company: all employees had all the premium services). I also have a box of about 40 music-oriented concert and video compilation tapes, many unplayed, awaiting a video card so I can transfer the most important ones to NAS, sometime down the road.
Sure do. Anything not easily available on DVD/BD (or ever released on those formats at all), some stuff taped off the TV that's also been rarely shown since. Mostly music stuff or some old Sci-Fi/Cult movies. Only got 1 working VCR now, but I could always get a cheap one on eBay I suppose. EG.
I have very few pre-recorded VHS tapes, but plenty of stuff I taped from the TV. Which I basically now watch from time to time for the commercials.
Never counted my VHS collection but it surely must be more than 200 tapes. Two VCRs, one is an S-VHS HiFi recorder and both are still intact. The tapes are a mixture of pre-recorded films, self recorded material from TV and, as most recently created: audio-only 'master' tapes with self designed packages. I'm also almost half way though digitally transferring my old TV recordings.
I’ve got both VHS and Beta tapes. And players for both. Mostly things I recorded off the tv. Mostly music concerts and music videos. I have the VCR hooked up. It’s been a while since I watched any. I’ve got between 100 and 200
@Vidiot: If you need any tapes let me know; I have 6000. I can spare a few! I didn't pick that # number randomly out of thin air.
I have the original widescreen issue of Star Wars on VHS and that's about it for movies. I still have about 10 original issue Marc Dorcel porno VHS tapes from around 1999-2001 somewhere. The reason I have them is I used them to get favours done at work without the hassle of paperwork on my IT projects. This was before the advent of broadband in all homes. I'd go down to the Computer stores guys (a huge basement of all the old and new computer gear the corporation had, it was amazing what you would find) and say ... Me - "Guys I need 20 PCs delivered to Newcastle for Thursday!" Them "Ahh well that will be a overtime request for Jim and we'll only be able to schedule that job for next week!" Me - (wafting VHS tape in front of them) "I got a new original Marc Dorcel tape here...." Them - (taking the tape) "It shall be done chap!" Me - (walking back to the lift) "Thanks guys!" However this project management approach was a bit difficult to explain in subsequent job interviews...
Still have around 30-40 tapes, mostly music related stuff taped off cable. I also have a few movies that have long been replaced by DVD that I’m holding onto for no good reason.
@ky658: I have a box of VHS tapes that's so heavy I can't lift it anymore. At one point when I was younger I could lift it . . . not now. I shudder to think how much it weighs with approximately 125 old and heavy VHS tapes in it from ALLIED and MEDA/MEDIA. They're like ▬ video bricks ▬. ALSO: 'daeglesj', are you familiar with the uniquely British video term 'Pre-Cert' of 'Pre-Certificated Video'. Please pardon my curiosity but I noted you're located in the UK and thought to inquire if you are familiar with that term. If not, there's www.pre-cert.co.uk.
