Anyone still have a VHS player?

[Kit]

We have several in our home, one that no longer works and the other that still works and we have another one on the main floor we got for 2 bucks at a yard sale from someone we know and it works. We also have a VHS player at our lake house with a bunch of VHS tapes we got at second hand stores in that town.

So my kids who were born in 2010s have seen a VHS and have watched one too but I have always needed to help them put in a video tape each time.

 

[Misery]

Honestly I miss things like that. It's been so long...

I remember we used to have one of those rewinder devices too... you know, the ones that spin super fast to get it done real quick.

Or how about Betamax? VHS, people remember. But most of the time if I mention Beta, they just give me a blank stare.

 

[Sarah S]

Of course i have i think 4-5 and many 100 + VHS tapes both recorded as well as bought

 

[Ezra]

I had a DVD / VHS player once.

 

[Streetwise]

Yes can't use it ,got VHS tapes, never had betamax ,the UK is expensive for things.

 

[Sarah S]

I had a DVD / VHS player once.

Still have mien (combined DVD /VHS ) but sadly the VHS player have started to eat tapes so now i only use the DVD player.

 

[AGXStarseed]

I've still got a VHS/DVD Combi - hoping to use it and some other tech to create digital copies of some of our family memory videos at some point.

 

[Tom]

I've still got a VHS/DVD Combi - hoping to use it and some other tech to create digital copies of some of our family memory videos at some point.

There are companies that will do that for you. You send the tapes and they put them online for you to access. I assume you can download them but haven't looked into the details much.

 

[Gerontius]

There is an old one here in the attic but no television any more.

 

[Aspychata]

Remember when block buster closed in our town, the day VHS died in my mind. Then everyone went to dvds.

 

[AGXStarseed]

There are companies that will do that for you. You send the tapes and they put them online for you to access. I assume you can download them but haven't looked into the details much.

Yeah, I bought a special USB stick with some software on it and some cables with it that let you connect your Video player/combi to your computer.
You then run the software and play the video you want to have a digital copy of as the software 'records' it to your computer as an MP4/other video file.

 

[Skeletor]

Yes. A significant part of my av collection is still on VHS and I would rather just keep the VHS player than replace them on DVD. Problem is VHS players break and are getting harder and harder to find and get repaired.

 

[Judge]

I still recall the moment in 1999 when I hooked up my first Sony Progressive-Scan DVD player to my Sony tv set. Even on a conventional CRT, the resolution was nearly twice that of any videotape. Made my cherished Super Beta format seem utterly lame. So much so that when I moved out of state in 2008 I not only gave away my entire prerecorded VHS tape collection, but also my one remaining vcr, a Sony VHS that still worked perfectly. (My Sony Super Beta died after some 22 years)

Technology and economics have long since passed the vcr by. An electro-mechanical device with an incredible number of parts compared to any optical disk player. And with this endless progression of technology, inevitably invites incompatibility issues with older devices, much as with computer hardware and software.

The fact is, viewing an old videotape on an old conventional television set appears marginally at best in terms of video quality. Terrible when compared to a progressive-scan DVD at 480 pixels. Worse still, a joke when compared to a DVD upconverted to a flatscreen tv at 720 to 1080 pixels.

Then consider that the Blu-Ray format using a native format of 1080p replaced DVDs. And now Blu-Ray has been rendered technically obsolete by the 4K disc and television format. Though IMO it's all overkill given the beauty of a high quality image rendered at 1080p. The point where improvement beyond this just isn't necessary.

I can understand retaining cherished homemade VHS videotapes involving family and such. And playing them on an old vcr that is still working well. But playing any VHS tape on a flatscreen tv that operates at a much higher resolution, leaves the video tape looking well, terrible.

Nope. When I gave away my tapes, vcrs and CRT television sets I never looked back. Not after seeing such a superior picture at a much higher resolution. Just too much of a difference in quality.

And with the advent of video-on-demand the need to record programming isn't so urgent. So I don't miss my vcr, or my Sony DVD recorder that was rendered useless when networks began placing copyguard technology on most of their media broadcast. And if you have a superior broadband connection, streaming media is amazing. Making the very use of discs and their players obsolete.

Time marches on. So does technology...

 

[RESleight]

Yes. It's a dust magnet.

I used to use it for recording my console games way back.

 

[Aspychata]

Plus that dreaded moment when the VHS player got hungry and ate your tape. lol. Then you may be there pulling it out by the tape only. Then rewinding it and putting it back in and crossing your fingers.

 

[WildCat]

Yes, yes I do. It's a DVD/VHS combo player. Finding one that works these days is the tricky part, but it was used to create digital copies of VHS tapes.

 

[Sarah S]

Plus that dreaded moment when the VHS player got hungry and ate your tape. lol. Then you may be there pulling it out by the tape only. Then rewinding it and putting it back in and crossing your fingers.

HAHAHA ive lost count on how many VHS tapes ive lost over the years from that. (also managed to save tapes also tho) Not to mention as the tapes age the quality goes down as well and then its gone

 

[RESleight]

"Be kind. Please rewind."

I remember those stickers.

 

[Pats]

I do. And I got one of those things that I can transfer the videos onto the computer then onto a disk but I don't have the patience to do that and afraid it'll take up too much space on the computer.

 

[Judge]

I still recall paying about $1200 for my first VCR circa 1980. LOL..must have weighed 40 pounds. A Mitsubishi HS-300U.

My how so much has changed...both technology and its economics.