VHS - Please Explain

[TheWickerFan]

I didn't want to derail the recent VHS thread by asking this, but I'm genuinely curious. What is the appeal of VHS?

P.S. Shame on you Ferox, having stuff stored at your mother's house.;) You should get that stuff out of there so she has more room.

[Fearonsarms]

You'd be surprised at the amount of people who prefer VHS to DVD. I'd guess for example with the video nasties-watching one feels more authentic with all the dodgy picture qualities some have-so it adds a layer of nastiness to them that gives the films a heightened atmosphere.

[newb]

Well it's definitely not for picture quality. My guess would be they would appeal to collectors.

I have a few but the one I really like is this one

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v259/rockinmule/aVQthimjBNCEKlr.jpg

except it's the big "clam shell" case.

[Sistinas666]

I've noticed movies that haven't been transfered to dvd. Those I collect but more and more that is being fixed. For example I had Monster Squad for years on vhs because it took forever to come to dvd.

[Straker]

I've been collecting movies since I was about 13, so close to 20 years. There are lots of reasons I wouldnt give up my VHS collection. Main reasons for keeping my VHS include:

Trailers, I fucking love trailers. :cool:
Movies that I can't get on DvD because they were never released
Nostalgia
Lots of mediocre movies I don't like enough to replace, but want to keep.

I could transfer them all to my computer or something like that, but I have, probably well over 1k videos so I'd rather not bother. :rolleyes:

I think psychologically I just prefer putting a video on to watch too. I guess its the child in me, but it feels like more of an event when I look through my VHS collection than if I look through the film library on lovefilm (UK netflix equivilant).

That said, I mostly only buy DvD's now, quality is better and there are almost always great extras thrown in too.

[fortunato]

Yeah, nostalgia plays a big role. Or maybe not necessarily nostalgia; it's just that there are some movies that just look better all color-washed and static-y. It's intimate in a way.

[TheWickerFan]

I definitely understand wanting to have something tangible, I love having shelves all over lined with movies, books etc. I just always found VHS so vulnerable to damage from multiple viewings and rewinding.

[kyl3thund3r]

I have a lot of VHS, and it is purely as a collection. I gave away about 2 thirds of it to charity a while back, but kept all of my 80s cartoons, troma films and video nasties.

When I'm wandering around charity shops, I still can't help looking out VHS that i'll probably never watch.

[ZombieDrone]

I also agree with the tangiability factor, though personally I prefer Blu-Ray because it's a more versatile format (in that many films on Blu-Ray hae alternate cuts and commentaries etc all on one disc) plus there's the boost in sound and picture quality. However, I've held off for a while on buying TCM on Blu-Ray largely because using an HD format for a film where much of it's greatness comes from it's gritty, degraded picture quality seems a bit strange.

However, I agree that VHS tapes can lend a certain charm and are very collectible.

I keep hearing that the future is downloads and watching films on mobile phones or streaming. I hope that's not the case. On occasion I'll watch a film I've downloaded from iTunes or something, but the picture and sound quality is so inferior, I'd hate to think that in just a few years there may be no alternative.

Alas...

[Bizarre]

For one, you could fast forward ANYTHING. I hate it when they make you look at their institution's logo that goes on for 30 seconds, then another one, then another one, then a piracy warning, then a copyright screen...every time you put in the disc because they've disabled the skip function for that section. It wasn't possible on VHS. A definite plus-point for me. Lots of DVDs don't do that but enough do...

I liked the trailers as well, especially when I rented new releases on VHS. Even old films though, just to remember the context. You can watch them and think "Bloody hell, this was made at the same time as that?!" You remember a lot more about the time which I always enjoy. I suppose it's a form of nostalgia. Even seeing "Coming soon...in 1998" makes me smile.

That said, those pros don't outweigh the cons. I wouldn't and don't use VHS anymore.

[Ferox13]

P.S. Shame on you Ferox, having stuff stored at your mother's house.;) You should get that stuff out of there so she has more room.

They're up in the attic so they're out of her way though its pisses off my Evil Twin brother who lives up there.

[ManchestrMorgue]

I am normally a pretty nostalgic kind of guy, and like to keep all sorts of stuff for their nostalgic value. However VHS tapes are one thing that I have not really felt compelled to keep or collect.

I used to have heaps of tapes, but have kept only about 8, which were either films that can't be had on DVD or have some particular sentimental value.

They take up a lot of space, the image quality is poor (and deteriorates), and they have to be rewound. And big screen TVs only amplify the image quality problems. But I do agree with Bizarre - DVD's with encoding that stops you skipping piracy warnings/trailers, etc really irritate me. One of the beauties of DVD and Blu-ray is that they are random access formats (as opposed to tape that are by nature sequential access). So to have a random access format but prevent random access is downright nasty!

I can see the joy in collecting VHS for the sake of collecting - people collect all sorts of things that are meaningful to them and it is nice to be able to keep a small piece of your childhood. But for watching, I am glad things have moved on.

[TheWickerFan]

They're up in the attic so they're out of her way though its pisses off my Evil Twin brother who lives up there.

You mean you're the 'good' twin brother?:eek:;)

[Nini_luv5]

I know for me I love watching my classic horrors on VHS because I get that nostalgic feeling that I used to have when I was a kid, because that's all we had.

In a way it's also like a horror collectible you know that you had the first copy of that was not on any film reel.

I don't know about others, but I know that VHS videos are just one of those things you can't get rid of because of the memories you have of them.

[TheWickerFan]

I understand sentiment. I had my Atari 2600 for the longest time, until it wouldn't work on the new TVs.:(

[Nini_luv5]

That sucks. My VHS almost ate my Candyman tape and I thought it was a goner, but I managed to save him time luckily. That would've broken my heart.…

[ManchestrMorgue]

I understand sentiment. I had my Atari 2600 for the longest time, until it wouldn't work on the new TVs.:(

See, my solution to that would be to also get a TV that it worked on.

I have an Atari 2600, as well as an older Pong console, Commodore 64's, Amigas, SNES, Megadrive, and a few others. So I know how much it hurts :D

[Ferox13]

I think another element for people in the Uk (and some othe parts of Europe) is collecting videos that were released before the Video Recordings Act 1984. That was a bill that was brought in to answer the Video Nasty media stirred up my the British gutter press.
So tapes not bearing the little red and black BBFC logo were made back to a time where is was not compulsory to submit your film to be certed(and cut).
People also love to collect them for their box art or the fact they were on some obscure (now defunct) label.

[ManchestrMorgue]

I think another element for people in the Uk (and some othe parts of Europe) is collecting videos that were released before the Video Recordings Act 1984. That was a bill that was brought in to answer the Video Nasty media stirred up my the British gutter press.
So tapes not bearing the little red and black BBFC logo were made back to a time where is was not compulsory to submit your film to be certed(and cut).
People also love to collect them for their box art or the fact they were on some obscure (now defunct) label.

Makes sense. I can see how the Video Recordings Act effects would make pre-Act cassettes interesting and collectable.

One thing is for sure - as they get older they will only become more collectable. Especially since working copies will become scarcer.

[cheebacheeba]

I collect VHS but not on a regular basis, and while I have a number of VHS tapes I wouldn' actually call myself a collector.
Though they do have an appeal to me.
I know the digital medium is kind of picking up pace in this one, but I have always noticed that it seems less horror films have made it to dvd/bluray than most other genres - this holds their value well to me.
Part nostalgia too, I like the feeling of a VHS cover opening up...there is a tactile memory held there for me, and it's nice to revisit.
The box art, if nobody has mentioned this already there's some cool covers that I saw updated or completely changed post vhs.
Old movies that I might not have seen, of all types - it's a good chance to get a look at them.
I like the sound of them rewinding. Also rewinding itself...even if someone hadn't re-wound a movie you're about to watch, sticking it on rewind wasn't so bad, it actually became something I was so familiar with, that actually doing it became a bit of the overall "tradition".
Not above all, but up there, is the fact that they're very cheap...well, for the non-collector collector. I don't have anything in mint condition
(Though I do have a darkman tape that I managed to pick up sealed brand new, with had a star trek TNG vhs pamphlet in there for $2! Near mint, now opened and watched once)
and I don't really need the whole brand new look...as long as they work alright and aren't soundfucked/stretched, I'm ok with the exterior. In fact, a bit of wear holds a kind of appeal to me, why I don't know.
One final thing on the VHS appeal that might sound completely stupid...I loved recording things on them and re-recording over tapes too.
Like audio mixtapes, there was an art to it, the pausing and unpausing at precisely the right moment, and there you have it, your own copy of *insert movie/show here* that you could take over a friends place...a bit like the oldskool version of transferring files via USB but a bit more wffort involved, and somehow just more fun.

They weren't perfect, but they were gooD technology that hosted an incredibly huge library of film in it's lifetime. I believe that the VHS is one of the most important friends to movie enthusiasts that there ever was or will be.

Edit - Agreed on the previews. Kind've like at the movies, but not. Yeah, looking back to see what was released at the same time was always cool.

[Ferox13]

Weird I just stumbled upon this photo:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a360/ferox-13/videonasties.jpg

90% of my collection are exrental from old video shops. Infact the public couldn't buy this tapes from retailers at the time. A lot of them have wear and tear to the boxes as expected as well as stickers that the shop owners put on...

I have a few 100 of these I'd imagine.

[Bizarre]

ell to me.
I like the feeling of a VHS cover opening up...there is a tactile memory held there for me, and it's nice to revisit.


:D

Uh...ten characters?

I think the smiley said it all, I totally agree with that point!!

[Elvis_Christ]

Like a few of you have mentioned nostalgia plays a big part in why I still like VHS. Cover art and the specific cuts of films in some cases too. Also how stuff like the soundtrack gets changed for some DVD releases. Sometimes the film is cut on DVD like in the case of A Nightmare On Elm Street 5 and VHS is the only uncut version of the film available locally. Weirdly enough the VHS edition is sometimes a lot superior to the DVD releases of some titles. The Roadshow Home Video tape of Mother's Day for instance looks much better than the washed out DVD release.

There's just a lot of history behind them for me. I hate how bland video stores are these days. All of them have the exact same shit. It used to be cool hitting a few different ones and discovering something from their back catalogue that only they had.

Digital has it's faults particularly in how easily damaged the format is. It would take a lot to totally fuck up a tape (like all the idiots that played tapes through their piece of shit player) but slight damage on a disc makes it Un-watchable where as a tape would just have a jump or some static.

Been awhile since I watched a tape (I mainly watch avi and divx because the price is right :D) but I picked up a really nice player recently and have been meaning to dig out some stuff and do a solely VHS review site.


--------------------------------

Weird I just stumbled upon this photo:


The Cannibal Apocalypse and Nightmares In A Damaged Brain tapes are pretty cool Ferox! I've always preferred that cover of Cannibal Apocalypse over the one we got over here:

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/Elvis_Christ/cannibal.jpg

Schizo is the heavily edited version of Nightmares in a Damaged Brain. Video Classics brought out an uncut version too titled Nightmare which has slightly longer dialogue scenes than most uncut prints. I've never come across it in the flesh and it fetches quite high prices.

Just cleared out a good third of my tapes and tidied up my shelf a bit... was going to take a pic but my camera just ran out of battery after taking the above pic. Will post one at some point.

[The Ugly Duchess]

When tapes first came I chose the Beta format over VHS for the simple reason the picture quality was better.

I recorded a lot of movies off of TV from AMC ( when they had no commercials) and then TCM.

As Beta format faded I was able to transfer my Beta films that I had recorded off TV to DVD.

I still have some VHS tapes but as soon as I can record a film off of TV or get it fairly inexpensive on DVD I generally swap out the VHS for the DVD and donate the DVD.

The picture quality on DVD is much better on pre recorded movies( if the film is being reissued by a major studio) and there is less storage space for DVD's ( since they are smaller) than for VHS.

I still have a lot of VHS tapes simply because the films on them have not been released on DVD.

I currently have a combination DVD/VHS player and recorder. I can do both on this machine however, I never record anything on VHS anymore. I just use the VHS part as a player.

Technology keeps moving on. I was afraid for awhile that Blu Ray would knock out DVD but I found out that DVD & Blu Ray are compatible. Your DVD's will play on Blu Ray and even look better.

You no sooner build up a nice collection and then it becomes obsolete! That's the pitts!

[Ferox13]

Yeah - I t has the camera shot thru John Morgans Stomach. Arty stuff..
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ee/Cannibal_Apocalypse.jpg/220px-Cannibal_Apocalypse.jpg

I remember back in the day getting offers of £100 (sterling) for some of the tape off the Nasties list..I shoulda sold :-)

[Fearonsarms]

Yeah - I t has the camera shot thru John Morgans Stomach. Arty stuff..
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ee/Cannibal_Apocalypse.jpg/220px-Cannibal_Apocalypse.jpg

I remember back in the day getting offers of £100 (sterling) for some of the tape off the Nasties list..I shoulda sold :-)

Just watched Video Nasties The definitive guide and according to that documentary some of the video retailers would sell copies of the banned VHS's like Love Cap 7 for over £300-seems it's always been expensive to get them especially copies of now defunct labels.

[Ferox13]

Just watched Video Nasties The definitive guide and according to that documentary some of the video retailers would sell copies of the banned VHS's like Love Cap 7 for over £300-seems it's always been expensive to get them especially copies of now defunct labels.

I have a mint copy of Lovecamp 7 :-)

Some collectors just buy labels regardless of the films too.

[fortunato]

I hate how bland video stores are these days. All of them have the exact same shit. It used to be cool hitting a few different ones and discovering something from their back catalogue that only they had.

Yeah, same here. I really miss that. When I was a kid, there were three mom-and-pop video stores around town that all had dusty old horror sections, and they each had such different selections. I remember seeing stuff like Microwave Massacre, Don't Go Into the Woods, My Bloody Valentine, etc. that you'd never find at a regular DVD rental place now.

[Elvis_Christ]

Yeah, same here. I really miss that. When I was a kid, there were three mom-and-pop video stores around town that all had dusty old horror sections, and they each had such different selections. I remember seeing stuff like Microwave Massacre, Don't Go Into the Woods, My Bloody Valentine, etc. that you'd never find at a regular DVD rental place now.

It's terrible how 99% of the stores are franchises like Blockbuster now. There used to be a couple of great stores in my city but they just got brought out by the big guys.

[fortunato]

It's terrible how 99% of the stores are franchises like Blockbuster now. There used to be a couple of great stores in my city but they just got brought out by the big guys.

Yeah, there was nothing around growing up after those shut down. In Chicago, there are a couple of places, but generally not worth the effort of going all the way down to visit them all that often. Especially with my DVD collection and Netflix at my disposal. But I definitely miss perusing those dusty shelves for new discoveries.