I think that VCRs and VHS tapes will become obsulte by 2007, what does everyone else here think?

VCR and Video tapes will always be around, at various places you can still by Betamax tapes for home recording.

It seems like DVDs are the new hottest item right now.


Howard

It seems like DVDs are the new hottest item right now.


Howard
True Howard...but the question is about VCRs ;)

Years from now...if ever.

I don't have a VCR.

I hope they don't stop selling them before I can get one.

Who knows, hell they still have turntables in a lot of stores. I bet it will be well after 2011.

Who knows, hell they still have turntables in a lot of stores. I bet it will be well after 2011.
I actually have to thank "RAP" for turntables still being around ::)

I don't have a VCR.

I hope they don't stop selling them before I can get one.
Well the good thing is how affordable they've become ;)

When people wake up and realize that DVD has better quality as far as sound and picture goes....

Of course those with a stupid FEAR OF TECHNOLOGY(as well as the eternally clueless that cannot even program their VCR's or turn on a computer!!)will resist the changeover and hold on to their obsolete VCR's...

Until they finally completely stop shooting porn on VHS, there will always be a niche market for VCR's.

Until they finally completely stop shooting porn on VHS, there will always be a niche market for VCR's.
I think the porn trade will stop using VHS with the availability of DVD recorders and camcorders,which are already very much a reality.....besides DVD's retain their quality and can be resurfaced if damaged....while VHS tapes are munched on by VCR's....especially older VCR's...and tape does not keep pristine picture and sound quality unless kept in an optimum environment...

When people wake up and realize that DVD has better quality as far as sound and picture goes....

Of course those with a stupid FEAR OF TECHNOLOGY(as well as the eternally clueless that cannot even program their VCR's or turn on a computer!!)will resist the changeover and hold on to their obsolete VCR's...

Did somebody say VHS was superior to DVD?  Sheesh!  It's bad enough the way some people go on about the "superiority" of LP to CD!
::)

The VCR has been around for quite a while now.....a lot longer than it probably should have been.

Beta-Max was the "Laser Disc" of its time...coming out prior to VHS, however people were not convinced Video Tapes would work...so they were very hesitent to buy into that market.
VHS was pretty much the first time audiences were able to bring there favorite movies home to not only view, but OWN.  Until then, you had to settle for waiting for your movie to appear on TV...which could take a long time. Studios bought into the VHS market and released most of their movies on VHS.  VHS tapes have been available for over 20 years now.......so people have collected a large amount of VHS tapes in their homes.  Why should they just throw all those out and start over again just because a new technology has been thrown into the mix?
I agree that DVD is by far superior in quality as far as sound and picture goes...hence I have a large collection of DVDs....but I think due to the large volume of VHS collections that people still have in their homes today,plus the fact it is harder for a child to jack up a VHS tape than a DVD Disc, the VCR will be around for quite a while.
So don't worry about people who need to "get with the picture"........

I voted for 2010, but I'm almost tempted to say "never".

I've worked at Blockbuster for 5 1/2 years, so I've clearly seen the shift from VHS to DVD's from mid 1999 to now. When I started, DVD's were just barely getting started - we had a few of the new releases and slowly we began getting "old" ones, but it was still 90-95% VHS.

I'd say in 2001, it was a clear 50/50. By about last year, though, VHS was definitely relegated to a 'backup' status. I recently got word that we're gonna be selling all our old VHS movies at a low price sometime in the next couple months. From then on, it'll just be a few for new release movies, and that'll be it.

However, all that having been said, I still think there's enough demand -- and people have invested a large amount of time & money in them -- for there to be at least 2 or 3 VCRs in electronic stores. Although I do think by 2007, they won't manufacture any more "new" movies on VHS, so after that, it'll just be blank tapes and used stuff you could buy.

Plus, there really will always be a demand to "easily" tape off TV. :D

I actually have to thank "RAP" for turntables still being around ::)
most black and death metal bands produce a limited run of the CDs on vinyl, you can find limited editions throughout the 90s

most black and death metal bands produce a limited run of the CDs on vinyl, you can find limited editions throughout the 90s

There is a limited market for vinyl on the progressive/goth side as well.  For instance, the Legendary Pink Dots, Nurse With Wound, Current 93, all put out limited vinyl editions.  A lot of groups that do this put the CD version on three sides, with a fourth side of exclusive material.

There are even labels reissuing on vinyl composers such as Cage, Stockhausen, Iannis Xenakis, and Tony Conrad.  These are composers that have street cred with the progressive electronica/hip-hop/avant-garde pop artists.

I consider vinyl a connaisseur's market or a collector's market.  A lot of promotional vinyl and street-dated rap music comes out on bad plastic as no one banks on it being around more than a few months.  However, the connaisseur's market loves 80 gm vinyl and big ornamental cover art.  In a world full of CDs, it's nice to be able to whip out that sophisticated-looking vinyl on your faux-beatnik old lady!

Never. Even if the mainstream film and television industry stop putting new releases on VHS, more obscure products will continue to be put on VHS because its cheaper and easier, and people will continue to use blank tapes for recording. So as long as there is some sort of market, then SOMEONE will manufacture and sell VCRs. You DO know they actually still make and sell turntables, right? And there is quite a bit of indy music new releases put on vinyl, and new re-prints are still made of older albums. When I bought my copy of Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on vinyl 3 years ago, it was a brand new copy.

Never. Even if the mainstream film and television industry stop putting new releases on VHS, more obscure products will continue to be put on VHS because its cheaper and easier, and people will continue to use blank tapes for recording. So as long as there is some sort of market, then SOMEONE will manufacture and sell VCRs. You DO know they actually still make and sell turntables, right? And there is quite a bit of indy music new releases put on vinyl, and new re-prints are still made of older albums. When I bought my copy of Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on vinyl 3 years ago, it was a brand new copy.

If it was sealed, it might have been worth something.  The record market is fickle, it might be worth three bucks, I don't know.
I remember watching waves of CD re-issues result in floods of a certain artist's records in the used bins.  When Rykodisc reissued the back catalogues of Zappa, Bowie, and Elvis Costello you could suddenly get mint conditon copies used as people ditched their records for the CD with the extra tracks.
There was a period in mid-'70s to mid-'80s when you could shell out fifty bucks for a copy of Freak Out in fair condition!
::)

If it was sealed, it might have been worth something. The record market is fickle, it might be worth three bucks, I don't know.
I remember watching waves of CD re-issues result in floods of a certain artist's records in the used bins. When Rykodisc reissued the back catalogues of Zappa, Bowie, and Elvis Costello you could suddenly get mint conditon copies used as people ditched their records for the CD with the extra tracks.
There was a period in mid-'70s to mid-'80s when you could shell out fifty bucks for a copy of Freak Out in fair condition!
::)


Sealed? You mean, with the plastic cover? Yes it was, but I took that off.

Sealed? You mean, with the plastic cover? Yes it was, but I took that off.

That's OK, prolly wasn't worth nothin.'  Couldn't be, right?
???

That's OK, prolly wasn't worth nothin.' Couldn't be, right?
???


Nah, if it was a mint-condition and not a re-print that record shop wouldn't have been selling it for 3 bucks..unless they are morons who didn't know what they were doing.

They might be unavailable from 2010 onwards, but people may still have them to watch videos or record TV shows.

They will stop selling/making VCRs when recordable DVD players are at their cheapest, so that everyone can afford them.

It is the same for DVD/VHS combos.  When everyone finishes transfering their VHS tapes to DVDs, they wont be anymore need for VHS.

i say that VCR's will never stop selling. VCR's are really cheap now and everybody can afford them. plus there will always be financially disadvantaged who cannot afford DVDs. just my two cents :)

The VCR will never die, personaly i have both a VCR and DVD and for me there is nothing like watching old VHS films with friends or when i get bored of good quality explosions  ::) and I'll never stop watching my VCR untill they put the whole highlander series of film on DVD  8)

I say give it a couple more years. When DVD recorders get even cheaper (and they are not too bad now).

VCR's still have a bit of life in them, give it a few years when DVD's are quite cheap, then VCR's might stop being made.

VERY SOON. There are just so many advantages using DVDs over VHS tapes. That is why the changeover has been so quick. And believe me it won't take much time at all for people to adapt to this new technology. The DVD-Combo recorders we can convert all our old videos to DVDs and as the price of DVD players/recorders goes down, we won't need to buy tape casettes to tape a show.

However, until just about every video in existence (well, at least 50%) is available in DVD format there will be a market for VHS, for those who would rather not make 'illegal' copies of old tapes. Basically, they'll be available at pawn shops and sold privately for a LONG time.

Depends on when all the episodes of "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" are available on DVD!
:D

I don't think it will ever stop being sold, I still see Betamaxs being sold... and I prefer listening to cassettes at times then a CD, (so ancient), or MP3s. DVD players are very cheap now and it seems that every computer and every console system has a DVD drive in it and as Trimac said, DVD recorders aren't that cheap right now, so for the time being, I will watch "American Idol" (someone who tapes it, w00t??), and my NBC soap on VHS...

Hopefully they never go out...I love my VCR's and VH's because DVD's are way to much

I read 2015, when todays TV sets will change over to a new system.

most black and death metal bands produce a limited run of the CDs on vinyl, you can find limited editions throughout the 90s
What--no 8-tracks?!?

I think VHS machines are already on the way out.....in addition to stand-alone DVD recorders,there are computers out there with DVD-R/DVD+R/DVD-RW drives on the market...remember that some VCR's tend to get their own version of 'the munchies'...which means 'goodbye' to a fave movie/TV show/sports event.....

I read 2015, when todays TV sets will change over to a new system.


What kind of new system..???

What kind of new system..???
I think he means HDTV(High Definition TV)...which will become the new broadcast standard here in America by (supposedly)2007...
I think the switch although expensive will be worth it considering the improvement in picture quality that I have seen with HD sets and programming...

I think he means HDTV(High Definition TV)...which will become the new broadcast standard here in America by (supposedly)2007...
I think the switch although expensive will be worth it considering the improvement in picture quality that I have seen with HD sets and programming...


Ah crap will we, the consumer, be forced to buy a damned HDTV?

Ah crap will we, the consumer, be forced to buy a darned HDTV?


No you won't be forced to buy an HDTV, just a digital turner, and that's only if you don't have cable or satellite, which are already transmitting in digital (for the most part).

No you won't be forced to buy an HDTV, just a digital turner, and that's only if you don't have cable or satellite, which are already transmitting in digital (for the most part).


Ah, thats good.

What kind of new system..???

A corperate system, where the gov'ment can control your mind.  That kind of system......yeah!

A corperate system, where the gov'ment can control your mind. That kind of system......yeah!


Yeah.