VHS Officially Dead (For Real This Time)

VHS's death spasms have been rattling for about three years now, but now it's finally official: VHS has died at the age of 30, hastened by retailers getting rid of the things due to a lack of shelf space (given to high-def players for the holiday season).

I've got seriously mixed feelings about VHS's demise: For my generation, VHS was the first "new technology" most of us were ever exposed to, predating the PC by quite a while. I can still remember the day we got our first VCR, a workhorse JVC that survived in our family for about 15 years. Setting it up was a nightmare, and I remember long spans of static on the display as we struggled to figure out how to make all the connections right. Soon after we got cable TV, which launched the collection that everyone made in the early '80s: We recorded every movie we could, typically jamming three on a tape. My parents still have this monstrous collection of tapes, though I assume most have degenerated in quality to the point where they're unwatchable. Still: Nostalgia.

Today, I've jettisoned all but about 20 VHS tapes from my movie collection, all stuff that hasn't yet been released on DVD. I never watch them, of course. It actually took me six months after we moved into our new house to even plug in a VCR, and that was only because I was sent a preview of a film on tape that I had to watch. Otherwise, the VCR sits there, dormant. I haven't even bothered to set the time on it.

VHS has attempted numerous revivals over the years. First there was Super VHS (got one), then the abortive D-VHS (never bothered). But all were pushed aside after the rise of DVD, which had a strikingly better picture quality and full surround sound, didn't degrade like tape, took up half the shelf space, and didn't have to be rewound. The coffin construction was underway in 1996, the minute DVD was introduced.

Naturally, you'll still be able to buy VHS players somewhere (just like cassette tapes are still around), but don't expect a shelf full of them at Best Buy.

So... how long until we're bemoaning the death of DVD, which turned 10 years old this year? Will HD-DVD or Blu-ray supplant it, or will we turn to online media instead? Or will some future technology like holographic storage change the picture entirely? Your predictions are probably as good as mine... let's hear 'em!