What Is a VHS Tape?

Did you know at height of the VHS crave in 1999 United States consumers were spending roughly $12.2 billion on rentals and sell-throughs? Four years later this figure was halved.

By the end of 2008 new VHS sales were all but non-existent. So, what exactly happened? If you want to learn the answer to this question, then it’s important to know more about the VHS tape, both its history and its schematics.

That’s why we made this article. In it, we’ll provide you with everything you need to know about this now-dated piece of technology that revolutionized the movie industry.

Let’s start with definitions. VHS stands for Video Home System. This type of magnetized videotape was first created by the Victor Company of Japan (JVC) in 1976 to compete with Sony’s Betamax.

By the 1980s JVC’s VHS had dominated all other competition. This is thanks to a couple of reasons. For one thing, it could hold longer recording times (two hours). Plus, it came with faster rewind and fast forward options, as well as an unthreading system.

Why Did VHS Go Away?

During the time that it was around VHS changed the movie industry. It gave movies that performed poorly at the box office a chance at a second life. Plus, it spring-started the independent movie industry and the video rental industry.

So, why did it go away? Because of the great march of technology. Soon, in 1996, DVD technology came around. It provided both better quality and increased storage capabilities.

This soon gave way to streaming and Blu-ray, which made any VHS tapes virtually obsolete.

Is It Possible to Transfer Your Old VHS Tapes to Digital?

Obviously, for copyright reasons, you shouldn’t transfer any old VHS movies or shows that you have. But, what about home videos that you or your loved ones filmed? Odds are that you have a few of them hanging around gathering dust.

Instead of eventually throwing them out, consider converting them to digital to extend their life. This service is capable of taking your old VHS tapes and converting them to either digital formats or DVDs.

That way, you can enjoy your memories without having to hold on to a bunch of outdated stuff.

Want More Content? Keep Reading

We hope this article helped you answer the question, What is a VHS tape? While this piece of technology may be a part of a bygone error, there will always be a market for the nostalgia that the tapes provide.

Whether it’s a favorite childhood movie, or home videos with precious memories, we can expect VHS tapes to stick around. This is true even though they’re no longer financially and come with inferior video quality.

At the end of the day, that’s just the power of film. Did you enjoy this article? If the answer is yes, then you’re in the right place. Keep exploring to find more topics that you’re sure to love.