Still buying VHS?

nlgbbbblth

since I bought a DVD player 2 years ago practically all the films/tv shows I buy have been on DVD

now only buy VHS if very cheap or to keep collection consistent - i.e. Only Fools and Horses - got the 2002 special on VHS and will do likewise this Christmas with the 2003 one

Having said that I still don't have a DVD recorder and record tons of films off the TV onto video to keep and watch at later dates. It's a very inexpensive way of doing things.

Have noticed the sharp downturn in the retail VHS market particularly in 2003 - it's amazing how DVDs have impacted

Great that we finally have a decent format.
Unlike the vinyl vs CD of which I prefer the former, there really is no competition with DVD

smiaras

This post has been deleted.

byte

I'm sure in a few years, they'll try to replace DVD with something "superior". The blu-laser discs come to mind though I'm not sure how much better they are than DVD.

nlgbbbblth

Originally posted by smiaras
I'm starting to buy more VHS now because you can pick up tapes for very little in chapters, its great for getting movies that you wouldn't normally fork out for. Espeicially when some dvds have no extras on them or very little like a crappy trailer.

ah, vanilla discs

Extras aren't always the b-all etc
decent picture quality can be enough to swing it - although full price DVDs with fcuall extras are off-putting

Makaveli

I hate VHS.
I don't even record anything anymore because I cant be arsed watching it if I do.
I have about 40 films on VHS that I bought, of those 40, I now have 30 of them on DVD.
I dunno what I'll do with the videos, probably give them to my Dad or something.

ixoy

I'd rather eat my own vomit than buy a movie on VHS - cheap or not :mad:

I only use it to record stuff off of the TV and even then it bugs me. Yes it does. Hurry up cheap digital recorders!!!

Exit

I don't buy, but I like using them to record stuff off the telly.

Samson

I too have bought very few VHS films since I bought my first DVD player some years ago.
Since then, I have only bought two (prerecorded) tapes, both being documentaries unavailable on DVD, that I had to have (One Day in September and Hearts of Darkness).

I gave away/sold my somewhat substantial VHS collection almost immediately after purchasing my first DVD player. I have mostly replaced what I had, and have lots more too!
And, they take up less than half the space.

sceptre

Videotape is the work of the devil.

I've hated the format for quite a few years for the obvious reasons - pisspoor quality, bulky, lack of durability, lack of random access. Pretty much the same reasons I hated audiotape (with the exception of the size - compact cassettes weren't all that big and wore relatively well in a pocket).

Laserdisc wasn't going to sit well with me as the discs were too big. I've been waiting for a popular disc-based movie format since I got my first CD player.

I haven't bought a pre-recorded video since I got a laptop with a DVD drive. I'm not pushed about the arrival of the blu-ray discs. It'll be a few years yet before movie companies make the switch and because it's still a disc-based system (the same size too IIRC) I'm quite confident that the discs I have will play on future players, at least until there's a switch to solid-state storage. Not something that we could have ever said about VHS - any new system was always going to make that piece of crud obsolete and useless.

Stark

God no, VHS tapes take up too much precious room, are bad quality, take ages to rewind and most importantly don't play nicely with my computer

Pigman II

Originally posted by nlgbbbblth
ah, vanilla discs

Extras aren't always the b-all etc
decent picture quality can be enough to swing it - although full price DVDs with fcuall extras are off-putting

Usually find that Vanilla disks are often messed up versions of the films anyway (eg Boogie Nights which is 2.35:1 but seems to be 4:3 on the vanilla region2 disk. or Goodfellas with it's 'flip over to side 2' mood killer. Many others also have bad video/audio quality and some don't have proper audio channeling.

Regarding the benefits of bonus material, I'll never buy another vanilla dvd no matter how cool the film is (eg Big Lebowski or Shawshank) because you just end up resenting your vanilla version and feeling a bit of a mug when the special editions eventually come out.

Buy VHS = Never
Buy Vanilla DVD = Never

lodgepole

Originally posted by Pigman II
Shawshank

Pseudo special edition is on sale in HMV at the moment. €10.99 or thereabouts. It has an hour long Mark Kermode documentary on it.

I have no problem buying vanilla discs, but I have to make sure the picture and sound quality are up to scratch. And also that the price is right... I expect to pay budget prices for discs with no features or which haven't been remastered.

Venom

Hell no. Video takes up to much room and its still costs far to much for what it offers.

DVD is just the way to go price wise (interweb shopping) quality and extras.

How do DVD recorders work out of interest?

Cabaal

I ain't watched a VHS tape in about 2 months and I ain't bought one in twice that
Can't see me doing so anytime soon since I got myself a DVD-Writer for my PC

Still its handy to leave my VCR connected upto my pc incase I need it

I havent bought a video in nearly two years, though I did buy a vcr a few months ago.

CyberGhost

good question!

erm, no i don't use the VHS anymore, in couple of years i'm sure DVDs will be replaced with Hard Drive video players, that will have ethernet adapter, there will be a websites where you pay and download the movie, or just stream it, with tons and tons of movies to select from!


aaaaaaaah! in 50 years we'll plug the cables into out heads and just stream movies into out brains, maybe create an illision that we are in the movie, you want the movie from all the angles you want and stuff like that