VHS as a medium

[nikon_62]

You really needed to buy one of the independent rewind machines.

I was just listing common problems with VCR's that I used to deal with at work. I had one of those re-winders that looked like a corvette at home.

I remember those! Nice to have regardless as it was a little bit faster.

It was quicker than most VCR's would rewind and it saved the wear on the VCR rewind motor. You also helped keep the heads from wearing out by using a re-winder because the tape still covered the head as it rewound so it wore on the heads and the tape by rewinding in the VCR.

Ahh this is why I love this site. Things I didn't even know I still remembered are relevant here.

[Pulsar_t]

One of the best things to have come out from VHS was this movie (yes I know it's been mentioned a hundred times before)

[Flake]

rewinders were a must if I remember. My family used exclusively a VCR up until 2004. My younger siblings still use the VCR though, mainly for the superior version of Star Wars.

Superior versions? How so?

[MrPopo]

rewinders were a must if I remember. My family used exclusively a VCR up until 2004. My younger siblings still use the VCR though, mainly for the superior version of Star Wars.

Superior versions? How so?

You can get the original cut on DVD. I made a point of snagging the discs that came with both cuts of the trilogy.

[AmishSamurai]

rewinders were a must if I remember. My family used exclusively a VCR up until 2004. My younger siblings still use the VCR though, mainly for the superior version of Star Wars.

Superior versions? How so?

You can get the original cut on DVD. I made a point of snagging the discs that came with both cuts of the trilogy.

Oh? I'll have to dig deeper for this. Even the ones they're showing on Spike TV today are the modified cuts.

[Limewater]

VHS is still also occasionally used by guys in communication work to make spectrum recordings of signals. They don't actually call them that, but the media are actually just S-VHS tapes.

As I understand it, digital tapes of the same form factor as VHS are still still used in television studios for internal purposes. I think I've even seen them pop up in an episode or two of 30 Rock.

[MrPopo]

You can get the original cut on DVD. I made a point of snagging the discs that came with both cuts of the trilogy.

Oh? I'll have to dig deeper for this. Even the ones they're showing on Spike TV today are the modified cuts.

They might be out of print; I got them when I was in college and they were advertised as limited editions. All three DVDs are two-disc sets that have the Special Edition on disc 1 and the original cut on disc 2.

[samsonlonghair]

The DVDs you're talking about are these ones, MrPopo:
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These DVDs advertised the "original versions" of the trilogy as a bonus feature, but they use the edited version on the 1978 laserdisc release.
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The VHS set Amish Samurai was talking about is this one:
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This VHS set was released in 1995 after Lucas digitally remastered the video and sound but before all the the extra CG effects and added scenes on the 1997 theatrical re-release. This set is considered by some (myself included) to be the best version of the trilogy. This set is distinguished by its minimalist cover art; don't confuse it with the later VHS tapes with gold borders. The gold bordered VHS tapes are the 1997 theatrical re-release like this:
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I'm sure the trilogy will be released again on Blu-ray soon. Then it will be released again in 3D. Then it will be released on holo-cube then released again on brain-scan format.

[fvgazi]

Im a free lance audio engineer. I like using VHS as a poor mans tape machine. I use Protools to record the audio and then I bounce Stereo mixes of drums and bass to the VHS. That way they get some analog tape saturation and then I record them back into Protools. I don't do this all the time but its fun to do and listen to the differences.

That is a great idea. Couldn't you get the same effect using a 4 track or regular cassette deck? I don't know much about how the size of the tape effects the sound.

[itsmattxp]

Was actually thinking about finishing up my DBZ VHS set since they're so cheap. How long do VHS usually last? Not trying to buy something that will die out on me in a couple of years.