The VHS is Dead 470
Ronnie Coote writes "The UK's largest retailer of electronics is phasing out VHS VCRs. Sales of DVD players have outstripped VCRs by 40-to-1 recently. So how long until the mass market will be saying goodbye to the DVD player?" A few historical links to commemorate the occasion: Sony Kills Betamax, Why VHS Was Better, and How to Preserve VHS Recordings. For the future, maybe we'll have Digital VHS, but I suspect it will mostly be hard drive-based recorders.
Uhm (Score:4, Insightful)
TiVo's the killer (Score:3, Insightful)
I, of course, still have mine around. I already pay enough for TV services without a monthly DVR bill... (grumble, grumble)
Everyone already HAS a VCR!!! (Score:5, Insightful)
DVD players are new(ish), so of course they're gonna outstrip VCR's in sales!
DUH!
Re:Damn it. (Score:5, Insightful)
compared to VHS? the only thing you have no control over with a DVD is the intro sequence, where you are often forced to sit through the FBI/Interpol warning and maybe the distributors logo before the main title screen (although some are now including adverts as well). past that, you can just jump the last scene of the movie if you wish, far far faster than possible with a VHS.
Buy a VCR... Now! (Score:5, Insightful)
You can still buy a good record player thanks to them bieng the tool of choice for DJs and hardcore classic moosic lovers, but if you want to replace your Betamax, thats harder... I think VCRs are more likely to go the Betamax route, than the record player route.
Not Too Soon (Score:4, Insightful)
Dying yes, but not dead yet.
Re:Still for sale though (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Betamax gets the last laugh (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:No it ain't dead. (Score:5, Insightful)
If I have a tape for my kids in the VCR, I can stop and start it right away, without having to wait for the disc to spin up, sit through advertisements, fast forward to where the video ended last, etc...
Toddlers don't have patience for DVDs.
Chinese, not DVD, killed VHS. (Score:1, Insightful)
There are other examples of how the Chinese have altered the landscape of history.
Linux is having a tough time in gaining traction in China because piracy is so severe that both Solaris and Windows XP are essentially free. How can Linux compete against them?
Re:TiVo's the killer (Score:1, Insightful)
TiVo's not even in the same market.
VCRs stopped selling about the same time you saw DVD players for less than 40 bucks.
Hardly anyone ever used a VCR to tape shows, they used them to watch movies. It was always primarily a playback device to most people.
I now have a DVD player to replace the movie-watching functions, and never needed the "record Who's the Boss tonight at 8" feature.
I think this is a mistake... (Score:5, Insightful)
VHS is far from dead (Score:1, Insightful)
But how reliable are HD based recorders? (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:They're still cost effective. (Score:2, Insightful)
It's cheap and it works.
One day it will break down, and then I'll consider recordable DVDs or some Hard disk gadget. But for now it does the job.
But I wouldnt buy a new one.
Re:Still for sale though (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:VHS is not dead (Score:5, Insightful)
A run of the mill DVD player doesen't have TV tuning capability, therefore it sucks and is nothing that will replace my VHS and DVD drive on my puter anytime soon.
Eh, that was a mess. That'll teach me not to post drunk.
What i meant is, why discard your VCR when you can tune TV with it? And when you
Re:Mandatory NETCRAFT (Score:2, Insightful)
It's a common Slashdot troll (post with the intent to annoy), normally reserved for stories about BSD, but it's spread to all stories in the form of "Netcraft has confirmed ... (some random victim) is dying".
See more information at Wikipedia's article [wikipedia.org].
What I want... (Score:5, Insightful)
The article is total BS (Score:5, Insightful)
The VCR originally beat the laserdisc (and destroyed RCA in the process) because people wanted the ability to record. PVRs or set-top DVD-Rs might be the eventual downfall of the VCR but the current DVD players sure aren't.
The article even has a summary of the VCR that talks about how people loved the ability to record. Apparently, the author's microscopic mind couldn't make the connection that DVD players don't have that ability yet.
The CD player also didn't replace the cassette deck. They lived as complimentry products for many years until mass CD-Rs and mp3 players took over the cassette's market. Jason
ProfQuotes [profquotes.com]
Re:Buy a VCR... Now! (Score:3, Insightful)
Expect to pay at least $200 and $300 is a more realistic minimum though. As with anything, you pay for quality. If you want a real pro unit same people apply though Sony also has some good ones. Expect to pay $1000+.
Re:Biggest plus about VHS -- DRM couldn't touch it (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Netcraft confirmed? (Score:5, Insightful)
This just means I need to look for a sale, so I can put a couple of boxed ones in the basement, to be carefully opened only after the current VCR is totally dead.
Yes, I know that there are ways around DRM. but are they as simple?
Re:Still for sale though (Score:2, Insightful)
- You don't have hundreds of dollars, but want to watch shows at a different time.
- You want to record an indefinite number of shows, but don't want to buy new units all the time, and don't want to "DIY".
- You want to record something cheaply from your video camera to a format you can play at a friends house (say, a birthday party or a vacation, whatever).
- The pricing of VHS tapes, per minute of TV recording can't be beat (yet). Even with DVD-R, at $1 per disc, recording to a standard format will only gain you up to about 4 hours of VHS quality video. A $0.99 economy VHS tape can do 6 or more hours of recording.
- Ease of use / Familiarity.
- Lack of trust with PVR companies (example, you don't want a nasty TiVO surprise of banner ads when you skip commercials, and when you learned of this, you no longer trust the company's products).
You give them the originals?!? (Score:3, Insightful)
Seriously, make backups of everything. Blank media is dirt cheap these days, and in our household at least $cost_of_movie * %likelihood_of_destruction is far greater than $cost_of_dvd-r.
Why not have DVD floppy disks? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Buy a VCR... Now! (Score:3, Insightful)
I can not recommend a Sony because the warranty is only 3months on labor on VCRs. I have a few friends who bought DVD/VCRs with flakey DVD players. Their warranty has expired.
Been very happy with my JVC though. Mine is still going strong after 7 years.
And what the hell are DJs doing with a VCR?
Every DJ needs a mix tape to pop in while he takes a break. It's a fact of life and nature, it calls and you don't want to answer it in the booth. It's kinda rude, smelly and you might shock someone or be shocked your self. I know it was common place at one point for DJs I knew to use SVHS. But this was when CD-R drives were not an option and DAT recorders were a tad costly. Still someone who loves vinyl might prefer analog audio but not want to lug around a R2R deck.
Re:No it ain't dead. (Score:2, Insightful)
It doesn't take having kids to know how to raise them, nor does having kids make you a good parent. While the anonymous parent may not have any kids, what makes you think he's never spent time with kids? Cousins, nieces and nephews, younger siblings, children of friends, etc; there are plenty of ways to experience child rearing without doing it first-hand. Moreover, if you can't teach your child a little patience and respect for belongings, perhaps you shouldn't have had a kid in the first place? The last thing this world needs is another parent (I'd say "set of parents", but that seems to be the exception these days) who can't control his ankle biter.
For what it's worth, it says a lot about a person's parenting skills when they use videos as a babysitting mechanism. How about you try spending some time with your child, instead? You could certainly do that by watching a video, during which time you also teach him how to handle the media and respect your property. Saying that you can't teach patience to a 2 year old is a cop-out. Have you tried? Do you realize that sometimes you do have to punish a child? If he breaks a DVD, it's a good time to teach him that actions have consequences. "Sorry, but your <Insert kid's movie title here> is broken, so you can't watch it. No, I'm not going to go out and buy you another one. If you wanted to watch it, you shouldn't have broken it in the first place." You might feel bad about doing this, but tough shit. It's your job to educate your child and help him grow up into a responsible, considerate human being. This is a lesson he needs to learn sooner or later, so why not use this chance to teach it? Otherwise, you just unleash another spoiled brat on the rest of us, expecting to get whatever he wants, whenever he wants it, and damn the consequences.
And before you lash out at me with your wonderful wit, no, I don't have children. Nor do I want children, because I know that I don't have the time or patience be a good parent (at least not now, nor for the forseeable future). I don't need babies to fulfill me or give me a sense of purpose, and I'm not poorer because of it.
Re:No it ain't dead. (Score:2, Insightful)
Sure you can. My daughter will be 2 in January. It is just a matter of not giving into demands. Screaming at the top of your lungs and throwing things gets you a trip to the crib or ignored. Silence and patience gets you a movie and a snack. It is particularly effective if she sees the snack first so she knows what she lost (if she lost it) and knows what is at stake.
Toddlers and DVDs (Score:5, Insightful)
Ahh... scene selection. Nemo is MUCH more watchable the 20th time if you go from school to turtles to reunion to THE END.
Re:Still for sale though (Score:2, Insightful)
Yes, that TiVO ad move told me I don't want TiVO (Score:2, Insightful)
Puh-leeze. (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Still for sale though (Score:2, Insightful)
Because you have children with lots of tapes they want to watch?
Because your two-year-old son can handle putting a tape in a VCR but you won't let him near the DVD's?
Because regardless of picture quality issues you balk at the thought of paying again for the same content in another format, assuming it's still available?
Because you're getting sick of being sold the new stuff when the old stuff still just works?
Other than these reasons, no, can't think why anyone would want to buy a new VCR.
Re:No it ain't dead. (Score:2, Insightful)
Well, yes, I used to think like that and I used to say all sorts of things. For instance I swore that I'd never use the phrase Because I say so as it annoyed me so much when I was a child.
And then I became a parent and everything changed. In particular I learnt the phrase the terrible twos Simply to keep my sanity I learnt a number of tricks to placate the little ball of frutration that cannot articulate his thoughts or his needs (remember this is a two year old we're talking about - no language skills beyond the scream and the gurgle) And sometimes I used the video. To this day the Thomas The Tank Engine theme tune runs in my head.
I don't say I'm the best parent but
Re:Still for sale though (Score:3, Insightful)
Alternatively, perhaps I decided not to buy a DVD player (because of the aforementioned problems) but received one as a gift.
considering the amount of piracy, the copyright notices are there for a reason.
I don't care why they are there. I find them intensely annoying and have no desire to watch an industry's enforced propaganda.
you're in THAT much of a hurry that you can't look at that for, what, 5 seconds? i bet you nuke your poptarts because "you don't have time to cook."
No, I don't generally eat poptarts -- they are junk food.
DVD caddy drive? (Score:2, Insightful)