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



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.