October 12, 2009
VHS is dead
VCRs were first introduced in the early 1970's and VHS went on to win the VHS - Betamax war in the mid-70's. For several decades, VHS was the standard for video playback both at home (VHS stands for Video Home System) and in the office. VHS camcorders made it easy to record video and take it to a VHS machine for playback. However, when DVDs were introduced to consumers in 1996, it triggered a new war for video. By 2006, the United States had stopped releasing new movie titles in VHS format, opting for others such as DVD and Blu-ray. On December 23, 2008, the last major United States supplier of pre-recorded VHS tapes, Distribution Video Audio Inc. of Palm Harbor, Florida, shipped its final truckload.
Last year, we decided to stop using VHS camcorders altogether since we can no longer purchase replacement machines to replace our aging units. Instead we offer MiniDV camcorders to be setup in classes requiring them. This year, because many manufacturers are no longer making VHS decks, we have decided to stop installing these machine in Smart Classrooms. All new Smart Classroom installations will have Blu-Ray/DVD players installed instead. If you need to play a VHS tape in your classroom that does not have a VCR, please call Classroom Support or submit an equipment request to have us deliver one to your room (I will keep some units on hand for this).
Posted by sauern at 2:22 PM | Comments (0)