R.I.P: VHS officially dead

It can now be argued the VHS format is officially dead, as the last major supplier of VHS video tapes shipped out its last truckload last Friday.

"It’s dead, this is it, this is the last Christmas, without a doubt," warehouse manager Ryan Kugler told the Los Angeles Times.  "I was the last one buying VHS and the last one selling it, and I’m done.  Anything left in warehouse we’ll just give away or throw away."

Despite an article posted earlier in the month that announced JVC has stopped production on its last VHS player, though Kugler’s factory was still fully operational. 

Most Hollywood studios and retailers made the transition to DVD years ago, with the final movie to be released on VHS was "A History of Violence" two years ago.  Many retailers now don’t even offer new VHS tapes for sale, as DVDs and Blu-ray take up the vital shelf space.

Kugler reportedly bought back VHS tapes, then sold them to discount and dollar stores across the United States.  There could be as many as 2 million VHS tapes sitting unused on shelves right now, with many of them headed towards the junkyard.

VHS, despite being in control for more than a decade, was eventually phased out with the introduction of DVD and DVRs.

VHS lasted since the 1980s and had market dominance for more than 10 years — a challenging task with the way new technology develops — with Blu-ray reportedly only expected to last until 2012 or 2013, DVDs could continue their supremacy in the future.

If you want to purchase a VHS player these days, it’ll likely have to be a combo drive with another technology, such as DVD or Blu-ray.  DVD/VHS combo drives can still be easily found, while Panasonic announced a new Blu-ray/VHS drive.

To hear an interesting history of the VHS, read the L.A. Times article to learn some additional facts you likely didn’t know.

When did you get rid of your VHS player?