There was a time when the term ‘VHS’ was as ubiquitous as any trending topic ever on Twitter. For the first time ever, a consumer had access to a technology that provided an affordable and convenient way to not only create and store home videos – but record live TV!
Today, we take for granted the convenience of video on demand and the high definition video camera built into the phone in your pocket. But before the electron replaced the ball bearing, it was an analog world and things got exciting.
The first Video Home System, more commonly shortened to VHS, hit the US market in 1977 courtesy of its inventor JVC. The first VCR cost nearly $1300 – quite an investment in 1970s dollars. Blank tapes were about $20…each. But as the format grew in popularity, it didn’t take long for cost to come down. Much like the TV a generation prior, it was only a matter of time before every home had a VCR. And most had a home video camera.
Who can forget that iconic red JVC camcorder that Marty carried around the mall parking lot in Back to the Future? We didn’t know it then, but our culture was beginning to document every memory for posterity…The average home movie library, with hand-written, dated labels, seems to have foreshadowed the average Facebook profiles of today. But we had no idea. We just liked to be able to make our own movies.
Fast-forward to 2017. VHS had a good run. Funai, the last manufacturer of VCRs for retail sale, stopped its production in July of 2016. The beginning of the end occurred far earlier with the introduction of the DVD format and the growth of home theater. By the time high definition become the standard, VHS was already on its lat leg. Cheap digital video cameras and ultimately the smartphone simply punctuated the end.
Today, aside from the occasional refurbished VCR on eBay it has become increasingly rare to even encounter a functioning unit. But the boxes of VHS tapes full of holiday gatherings and little league games haven’t gone away. They are just deteriorating each and every day, bit by bit.
And a life long hobby becomes an industry with Mayrath Video Solutions. There is an art to properly digitizing VHS home movies while maximizing the quality of the conversion throughout the process. We are proud of the work we do and always enjoy the enthusiastic ‘Thank Yous’ we receive after nearly every project.
So next time you move those boxes of home video tapes, photos or slides or out of the way during spring cleaning, give us a call. We can help you make your home movie memories viewable again.
Thanks,
Bill
Mayrath Video Solutions
837 Leslie, Coppell Tx. 75019
469-865-7666
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