# Movies split up on VHS **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 25, 2020, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-split-up-on-vhs/854422 "2020-05-25T05:42:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-split-up-on-vhs/854422/41 "2020-05-26T16:13:49Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Reds and The Bridge on the River Kwai. I worked at a video store and both were among my favorites. > > Reds hasn’t aged well at all but Kwai is still an amazing film. When I was a usher at a movie theater I once had to move a print of Reds–it took 4 of us to pick the danged thing up. You can figure a pound a minute for movie film, and dropping it on the floor is very bad… ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-split-up-on-vhs/854422/42 "2020-05-26T18:16:37Z")
My copy of braveheart was two tapes. ---
**Author:** ![journeyman\_southpaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5e9695/32.png) [@journeyman\_southpaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/journeyman_southpaw)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-split-up-on-vhs/854422/43 "2020-05-26T20:34:07Z")
Probably doesn’t count as a movie, but WrestleMania III was on a [single 3-hour tape.](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BFfNsLEUMkQ/maxresdefault.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-split-up-on-vhs/854422/44 "2020-05-27T00:36:39Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > [First Criterion SS was 1 DVD](https://www.criterionforum.org/DVD-review/seven-samurai-1998-edition-with-restoration-demonstration/the-criterion-collection/1457). [2nd Criterion was 2 DVDs](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/23429/seven-samurai-criterion-collection-3-disc-edition/) (plus DVD of bonuses.) _2001_ doesn’t have a Criterion release, but both Warner releases are a single disc. ([The second disc in the SE is bonuses](http://www.dvdmg.com/2001se.shtml).) > Not even remotely accurate. There have been many DVDs of movies over 2 hours released on _DVD-5s_ (especially in the early years) and vast numbers of movies above 2 hours published on DVD-9s. You didn’t quote my second sentence: “Up to ~11-13 hours of DVD compliant video can be recorded in very bad video quality.” I have movies both on DVD-5 and DVD-9 [released by the same company] and the video quality is noticeably better on the DVD-9. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-split-up-on-vhs/854422/45 "2020-05-27T03:11:52Z")
> [@Didi44](#): > > You didn’t quote my second sentence: “Up to ~11-13 hours of DVD compliant video can be recorded in very bad video quality.” I have movies both on DVD-5 and DVD-9 [released by the same company] and the video quality is noticeably better on the DVD-9. But “The maximum video length of a Video DVD-9 (dual-layer) DVD is two hours to maintain quality” is a ridiculous statment. Your own Google Books link refutes it, showing 243 minutes for a DVD-9. (Hint–there are 60 minutes in an hour, not 120.) ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-split-up-on-vhs/854422/46 "2020-05-27T14:38:58Z")
> [@journeyman\_southpaw](#): > > Probably doesn’t count as a movie, but WrestleMania III was on a [single 3-hour tape.](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BFfNsLEUMkQ/maxresdefault.jpg) The Good Old Days when Wrestlemania was _only_ 3 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Scoobysnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Scoobysnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoobysnax)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-split-up-on-vhs/854422/47 "2020-05-27T16:19:06Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > As I recall (and I’ll admit it’s been a few years) the standard VHS tape was a 120, which would record 120 minutes at standard speed. You could also record at slow speed or very slow speed which would give you either 240 minutes or 360 minutes of recording time but would also give you a poorer quality picture. Most commercial copies of movies were done at standard speed. > > There were also other sizes tapes; 150’s and 180’s, which would give you either 150 or 180 minutes of recording time at standard speed. But these tapes were thinner and tending to break or tangle up in your VCR. Again, commercial movies generally didn’t use these tapes because movies got rented and got pretty rough treatment anyway. > > I think there were also shorter tapes like 60’s and 90’s. I recall renting Saving Private Ryan when it first came out. It was actually on one cassette and used the very thin tape. We had to exchange the first copy we got after finding the first 20 minutes of the film was mangled and unwatchable. The employee told us that a large percentage of their copies were coming back damaged. ---
**Author:** ![shstrang98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@shstrang98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shstrang98)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-split-up-on-vhs/854422/48 "2020-05-27T16:54:51Z")
The Right Stuff was on two cassettes. ---
**Author:** ![shstrang98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@shstrang98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shstrang98)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-split-up-on-vhs/854422/49 "2020-05-27T16:56:32Z")
> [@journeyman\_southpaw](#): > > Probably doesn’t count as a movie, but WrestleMania III was on a [single 3-hour tape.](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BFfNsLEUMkQ/maxresdefault.jpg) Dang!! That would’ve been a t180 tape and very thin unless they used something other than SP speed. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-split-up-on-vhs/854422/50 "2020-05-27T18:49:54Z")
The longest tape I ever saw was a T200. They typically lasted about a year (recording and playback at least twice a month.) T180s usually lasted a couple of years. T120s and T160s, unless you just happened to get a bad one, were virtually timeless. And I did have a T130 at one time, apparently not a particularly popular format. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-split-up-on-vhs/854422.md?page=2)