TORONTO – There is much to be said about the now antiquated technology known as the VHS tape – from the fuzzy images, to the old plastic covers or cardboard slips they were housed in, they are undoubtedly a staple of the 80s and 90s.
But, despite the nostalgia, there is not much to be missed about the VHS tape and the Video Cassette Recorders (VCR) that we played them on.
The technology was known for poor sound quality and unstable imagery, not to mention the frustration of having to physically hold down a button to fast forward or rewind to your favourite scene in a flick. Plus, remember the horror of ejecting one of your most-watched movies, only to discover the tape inside has come off its reel and is quickly unraveling in your hands?
YouTube is allowing users to relive the magic of the VHS tape on some of its videos today, in honour of the 57th anniversary of the first commercial video cassette recorder, the Ampex VRX-1000, which revolutionized the videotape recording industry.
The special treatment called “tape mode” can be seen on only select video on YouTube in the bottom right hand side of the video player, where the quality settings are usually found.
Turning tape mode on displays the video with those familiar static lines and warped picture. The video’s even mimic the way cassette tapes look when paused, with constantly moving, wavy lines.
Check out one of the tape mode videos.
In celebration of the VCR’s 57th anniversary Global News looks back on the top five things about VCRs and VHS tapes that are now obsolete.
1. Setting the tracking on a VCR
Thanks to DVD technology, we no longer have to worry about this once-integral part of the VHS viewing experience. Setting the tracking on your VCR prevented the video from skipping, or jumping around and often had to be changed if you were working with older tapes.
Those who still have newer model VCR’s probably have automatic tracking, which means the VCR makes the changes for you.
2. VHS tape rewinding machines
The ultimate time-saver development for VCR’s had to be the VHS tape rewinding machines – separate devices that served only one purpose, to rewind your VHS tape in a speedy fashion. But the devices weren’t just useful for speedy rewind times; they actually prevented damage to tapes caused by frequent rewinding in VCR’s.
3. The “Please be kind, rewind” sticker
Anyone who visited a video rental store back in the day remembers this charming sticker placed on the front of a VHS tape to remind the renter to rewind the tape before returning it.
4. Recording TV on your VCR
At one time recording TV on a re-writable VHS tape was all the rage. People were able to tape their favourite TV shows, movies played on TV, or even once-in-a-lifetime specials like Olympic opening ceremonies. But, thanks to PVR’s and the Internet, recording television no longer seems so revolutionary.
5. Home videos
Many children from the 80s and 90s have been subjected to the embarrassment that comes along with the dreaded home video – America’s Funniest Home Videos even made a hit TV show out of such embarrassing memories.
But now that smartphones and tablets equipped with cameras have saturated the market, the art of taking hours-long videos of your kids has been replaced with short clips posted instantly to the Internet.
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