Yes, I’m talking about the VHS videocassette format. We all thought it was dead years ago but it turns there was still a major supplier in Palm Harbor Florida (very close to where PCMech is based). However that supplier shipped the last of its stock very recently.

So now yes, ding-dong the witch is dead, VHS is ka-put. For real this time.

Some VHS notes

The Sony Betamax video standard was introduced in 1975. JVC introduced VHS one year later. For about 10 years the two formats battled it out for market dominance with Betamax eventually losing.

There were three key reasons for this:

First, VHS videocassette decks were simpler in design (meaning they could be produced cheaper) and could be deployed more quickly.

Second, VHS could record an entire movie’s length whereas Betamax could not. The Betamax format was 60-minute whereas VHS could record up to 3 full hours. By the time Sony got around to getting videocassettes out that could record longer spans of time, it was too late.

Third, well.. it has to be said. The adult movie industry liked VHS better. It was available on VHS first and Betamax a far second. For those that ask “Why does that matter?”, it’s because the adult movie industry is #1 for home video purchases – and it always has been. Never in the history of home video has adult titles ever lost the top spot in sales. For those that wonder what #2 is, it’s training videos. If you ever wanted to have a real live example of “sex sells”, look no further than the home video industry.

Whatever happened to the Betamax format?

So whatever happened to the Betamax format? It did die, however it inspired (so to speak) the de facto standard format in the professional television production industry for many years, Betacam SP.

You will notice that if you placed Betamax and Betacam SP videocassettes side by side, they look identical. However the “guts” are different and require different (and much more expensive) equipment to work with it.

Linear format video is still widely used in ENG (electronic news gathering) in the television industry. While many use DV there are still those who use (and sometimes even prefer) Betacam SP. The reason is reliability. Betacam camcorders can take a pounding and then some. Additionally, Betacam SP videocassettes can also take a pounding and can handle being edited over and over again while still retaining quality.

Also, let’s not forget HDCAM and HDCAM SR. Does that cassette format look familiar to you?

Got old VHS you want to convert to digital?

Well, now’s the time. Actually, it’s been the time for a while now but you get the point.

You have a few options:

1. Use a deck and dub direct-to-DVD

There are plenty to choose from with varying price ranges. You just pop in the VHS tape, dub it over to recordable DVD and that’s that. Works well.

If you have a lot of VHS footage to convert, you want the deck.

2. Use a “bridge”

This is an example of a bridge. It’s usually some funky-shaped thing where you plug in a VCR to the bridge, then it outputs back to your computer.

With bridges it’s hit-or-miss. Sometimes it works great and other times it will fail miserably.

3. Use a TV Tuner card.

There are lots of these to choose from as well. Like the decks the prices vary all over the place.

For VHS conversions, tuner cards are fairly reliable. You output the VCR to the card, set up shop and record the video you need to.

4. Record from VCR to camcorder to computer.

This is the longest roundabout way of doing it. Your camcorder most likely has an AV cord with three RCA-style jacks on it (yellow, red and white). This will take in a signal from a VCR and record it to DV. Then you can play back the DV to your computer over Firewire or USB.

This is a big pain in the butt to do and it’s not recommended – just because it’s so annoying to get set up and working.

The deck is the easiest of the lot. No question. If you want to rip your DVDs to computer afterwards, just grab some ripper software and have at it if there’s stuff you want to post to YouTube, Vimeo, Viddler, etc. In fact, whenever you do a conversion you can just pop in a tape, record to DVD and leave it alone until it’s finished. That’s a big plus.

Further help:

http://www.videohelp.com/capture
Look under the “capture” header on that page. It covers everything. And I mean everything.

http://www.videohelp.com/convert
Look under the “convert” header on that page. If you want to rip a DVD made in the deck to your PC afterward, information on how to do that is here.