Saturday, November 18, 2006

VHS, 30, Dies Of Loneliness

(From Variety -- 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 DIRECTTV.

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.

VHS, 30, Dies Of Loneliness

[VHS still lives on here...for now.]

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hey Rob, VHS still lives on here as well even though it has been on life support for some time. While I do own 2 DVRs and DVD Recorders, the VHS decks still get use since I have several hundred video tapes in my library that either haven't or can't be replaced. I also have many Laserdiscs that I still watch from time to time. Yes I also still own hundred of audio cassettes and vinyl records. Even at work (Lehigh Univ.) I purchase and use several thousand VHS tapes each year. Not to mention the few family members that still do not even own a DVD player.