Re: [ARSCLIST] RIP, VHS (from Variety)

[David Lennick <dlennick@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Very much alive here as well, although there's remarkably little I archive on VHS these days,
especially since most of it will turn up on DVD pretty quickly if it's a movie or TV series. And
usually with extras, deleted scenes or unaired episodes..no downloading for this boy, I watch TV on a
TV set, not a 'puter. And not a cellphone! (Actually, the only thing my cellphone will do is send and
receive telephone calls. How quaint.)

Incidentally, I check the dollar stores regularly. Last month I picked up a sealed VHS of Eddie
Cantor's "Roman Scandals" for a buck, and this was issued by MGM as recently as 2000.

Lenny the Luddite

Tom Fine wrote:

> I still do all time-shifting around here on VHS. We have a rotation of 50 or so tapes. Very rarely
> watch a program as it's broadcast. No thanks on Tivo or anything else that requires a monthly
> subscription to operate. We do have a combo VHS/DVD recorder and make DVD's of programs, usually
> movies or documentaries, that we are likely to keep or pass on to someone we know will like it.
>
> So, VHS is far from dead around here.
>
> -- Tom Fine
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "David Lennick" <dlennick@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2006 11:47 AM
> Subject: [ARSCLIST] RIP, VHS (from Variety)
>
> > VHS, 30, dies of loneliness
> >
> >  The home-entertainment format lived a fruitful life
> >  By DIANE GARRETT
> >
> >
> >  After a long illness, the groundbreaking home-entertainment format VHS has
> > died of natural causes in the United States. The
> >  format was 30 years old.
> >  No services are planned.
> >
> >  The format had been expected to survive until January, but high-def formats
> > and next-generation vidgame consoles hastened
> >  its final decline.
> >
> >  "It's pretty much over," concurred Buena Vista Home Entertainment general
> > manager North America Lori MacPherson on
> >  Tuesday.
> >
> >  VHS is survived by a child, DVD, and by Tivo, VOD and DirecTV. It was
> > preceded in death by Betamax, Divx, mini-discs
> >  and laserdiscs.
> >
> >  Although it had been ailing, the format's death became official in this, the
> > video biz's all-important fourth quarter. Retailers
> >  decided to pull the plug, saying there was no longer shelf space.
> >
> >  As a tribute to the late, great VHS, Toys 'R' Us will continue to carry a few
> > titles like "Barney," and some dollar video chains
> >  will still handle cassettes for those who cannot deal with the death of the
> > format.
> >
> >  Born Vertical Helical Scan to parent JVC of Japan, the tape had a difficult
> > childhood as it was forced to compete with
> >  Sony's Betamax format.
> >
> >  After its youthful Betamax battles, the longer-playing VHS tapes eventually
> > became the format of choice for millions of
> >  consumers. VHS enjoyed a lucrative career, transforming the way people
> > watched movies and changing the economics of
> >  the film biz. VHS hit its peak with "The Lion King," which sold more than 30
> > million vidcassettes Stateside.
> >
> >  The format flourished until DVDs launched in 1997. After a fruitful career,
> > VHS tapes started to retire from center stage in
> >  2003 when DVDs became more popular for the first time.
> >
> >  Since their retirement, VHS tapes have made occasional appearances in
> > children's entertainment and as a format for
> >  collectors seeking titles not released on DVD. VHS continued to make as much
> > as $300 million a year until this year, when
> >  studios stopped manufacturing the tapes.