# Is there still any use for VHS tapes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 28, 2014, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219 "2014-04-28T22:34:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219/21 "2014-04-29T16:01:57Z")
> [@demian\_travis](#): > > Do people still actually use VHS tapes somewhere? Is there any advantage on using tapes instead of DVDs, digital storage or anything more modern? I am aware that people still buy Vinyls (I do!) because it has superior sound quality, but tapes… come on! The answer to the first question is certainly yes. Blank VHS tapes are still being made (at least, an Amazon search brings up plenty for sale), so there must be some market for them. As anecdotal evidence, I have a VCR which I still use to record the occasional program, just because I’ve never bothered to upgrade to anything more technologically advanced (although since TV went digital it no longer has the ability to tune in specific channels). The answer to the second question is: Not that I know of. As far as I know, people who use VHS do so out of inertia rather than any technical advantage. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219/22 "2014-04-29T16:24:45Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > One thing that keeping VCRs around is that, as far as I can tell, DVRs seem to only come with Tivo, cable, or some other subscription service. Those of us who don’t have cable still need VCR’s to record programs. > > Are there any DVRs that are completely independant of any pay service, where you just program the device like a VCR? (ie, record channel X from time A to time B). magnavox models MDR533H, MDR535H ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219/23 "2014-04-29T16:36:08Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > One thing that keeping VCRs around is that, as far as I can tell, DVRs seem to only come with Tivo, cable, or some other subscription service. Those of us who don’t have cable still need VCR’s to record programs. > > Are there any DVRs that are completely independant of any pay service, where you just program the device like a VCR? (ie, record channel X from time A to time B). Magnavox sells the most popular non-subscription DVRs. E.g., this [one](http://www.amazon.com/Magnavox-MDR533H-F7-HDD-Recorder/dp/B009WROL6G). Note that is for OTA. You can build one yourself, using Windows Media Center or for Linux and other OSes with a package such as MythTV. Need a tuner card for OTA broadcasts. For cable TV the signal is usually encrypted and there’s a whole 'nother world of hurt involving cable box IR control or CableCards. There is a glut of lifetime used Series 3 and 4 TiVos hitting the market right now. No monthly fees (except to your cable company if you go that way). Much better boxes than the Magnavoxes for a little more money. OTOH, they are used. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219/24 "2014-04-29T17:18:15Z")
the magnavox machines are listed as DVD recorders, which they are, but they also have a hard drive inside which can be recorded to and played from. so they are DVRs. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219/25 "2014-04-29T18:15:56Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > FWIW, I use VHS to record TV shows several times a week. > > I don’t have a digital TV, and no DVR. I do this, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219/26 "2014-04-29T21:31:01Z")
Some of you will be happy to know that floppy disks are also still being used. Not for anything important. Only running our [nuclear arsenal.](http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/04/28/huge_floppy_disks_and_other_old_tech_is_common_at_air_force_nuclear_missile.html) ---
**Author:** ![runningdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@runningdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runningdude)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219/27 "2014-04-29T21:50:21Z")
> [@Vercingetorix](#): > > Tape is still widely used to backup data. Google apparently buys 200,000 tape cassettes a year (the largest single buyer), and IBM developed a new tape format as recently as 2011. There’s apparently still a need for it. In terms of cost-per-byte, HDDs have been cheaper than tape for over a decade now. Might tape be more stable long-term than a hard drive? If a hard drive dies, the data is pretty much cooked. With tape, even if part of it become tangled or ripped, the rest can be easily (and cheaply) spliced into a new reel to recover the data. ---
**Author:** ![runningdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@runningdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runningdude)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219/28 "2014-04-29T21:56:45Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Steven Allen’s 1960’s late night shows fall in this category; all were recorded to videotape (probably 1 inch) and almost all were erased after airing so the tape could be reused (the cheapskates). The list of performances that are now lost reads like a TV Golden Age Who’s Who. > … The original telemetry and video feeds for the Moon landings met this same fate!!! :eek::smack: ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219/29 "2014-04-30T19:48:29Z")
I own VHS bought at thrift stores for $1 or less for movies that I plan on watching only once or twice. Also, I have VHS for movies that aren’t available at a reasonable price on DVD. I don’t watch movies online because my computer monitor’s picture quality is terrible, and there’s already someone else in the computer room that watches movies on their computer. Also, I think the Star Wars movies are preferred in VHS by some due to being unedited, though I think they have the unedited version available as an alternate on DVD now. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_North](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@Richard\_North](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_North)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219/30 "2014-04-30T19:51:35Z")
> [@demian\_travis](#): > > I am watching Mythbusters (season 3, Outtakes). The episode is a few years old, but they say they are destroying old tapes from the program. Do people still actually use VHS tapes somewhere? Is there any advantage on using tapes instead of DVDs, digital storage or anything more modern? I am aware that people still buy Vinyls (I do!) because it has superior sound quality, but tapes… come on! Yes, there are still uses for VHS tapes. People can make money off hipsters. They still use and buy VCRs. There’s a shop in Wicker Park, Chicago that sells non-flat screen TVs and VCRs. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219/31 "2014-04-30T20:00:34Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > Personally, i would save Beta tapes as the sound and visual quality on them is far superior to VHS. But I would probably not save VHS. I would never have imagined that there would still be people fighting the Betamax/VHS war in 2014. That bird has flown, landed, died of old age, and had its species go extinct. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219/32 "2014-04-30T20:35:44Z")
> [@runningdude](#): > > If a hard drive dies, the data is pretty much cooked. With tape, even if part of it become tangled or ripped, the rest can be easily (and cheaply) spliced into a new reel to recover the data. Well, that’s not entirely true. It’s just that recovery from the tape won’t cost you several hundred dollars. ---
**Author:** ![runningdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@runningdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runningdude)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219/33 "2014-05-01T00:38:44Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > Well, that’s not entirely true. It’s just that recovery from the tape won’t cost you several hundred dollars. Ah, thank you. That had a surprisingly straightforward answer. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219/34 "2014-05-01T02:29:36Z")
> [@Richard\_North](#): > > There’s a shop in Wicker Park, Chicago that sells non-flat screen TVs and VCRs. No doubt because the picture quality is somehow subtly superior to the new-fangled digital stuff! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219/35 "2014-05-01T02:57:38Z")
Watching movies You can get great deals and some people are literally giving them away ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219/36 "2014-05-01T03:00:52Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > No doubt because the picture quality is somehow subtly superior to the new-fangled digital stuff! 😉 I think there actually is something to CRTs having higher quality images than LCD and Plasma (for one, they can show true black which LCDs and plasma can’t), and are shown to cause less eye strain. However, I think you have to get to the really expensive stuff to really do that, and high-end projectors are still better than CRTs anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Time\_Shift](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Time\_Shift](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Time_Shift)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219/37 "2014-05-01T05:36:17Z")
> [@demian\_travis](#): > > I am watching Mythbusters (season 3, Outtakes). The episode is a few years old, but they say they are destroying old tapes from the program. Do people still actually use VHS tapes somewhere? Is there any advantage on using tapes instead of DVDs, digital storage or anything more modern? I am aware that people still buy Vinyls (I do!) because it has superior sound quality, but tapes… come on! To play devil’s advocate, there’s VHS enthusiasts out there who would say the same kind of things about VHS you say about vinyl, whether it’s VHS having analog ecstatic, no skipping/buffering, no ads/trailers/menus to skip, no subscription price, having hard to find movies, better durability, etc. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219/38 "2014-05-01T13:15:51Z")
I still have a VCR, but I am trying desperately to phase it out of my house - there are just one or two movies that I have that are not available on DVD in this country, so… eh. ---
**Author:** ![Artemis\_Tardis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@Artemis\_Tardis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Artemis_Tardis)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219/39 "2014-05-01T14:28:04Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > I still have a VCR, but I am trying desperately to phase it out of my house - there are just one or two movies that I have that are not available on DVD in this country, so… eh. I see here in Brazil sometimes people that transfer vhs and super-8 to dvd. If there is a service there must be a demand… ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219/40 "2014-05-01T15:26:31Z")
Up until this week, I was using VHS to archive stuff I had recorded to my DVR but didn’t want to have on there permanently taking up space. However, I’ve just now found a good deal on a combination VHS-DVD recorder, which should enable me to not only transfer homemade VHS tapes to DVD, but also hopefully archive the DVR stuff. Tried it out last night for the first time on the former, and it worked fine. Will give the latter a shot tonight. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-any-use-for-vhs-tapes/687219.md?page=3)