Why VHS Might Have Sometimes Been Better Than DVD

So topical because it might be 2001 but after preparing for a garage sale this spring and uncovering my old VCR and watching a few old recordings of Degrassi: The Next Generation. It got me to thinking about how much I missed those tapes. I feel like in this growing age of technology we are always looking forward to the next new thing. Where as I am still mad the iphone chargers keep changing. I still sometimes have a yearning for a simplier time. While I love Blu-ray and streaming movies/tv sometimes I do miss the straight forward nature of the VHS.

1. Skipping Past Things More Easily

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One of my favorite things about VHS is that you can skip past the FBI warning. Sorry not sorry copyright laws.

2. Durability!

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You could throw those bad boys in your backpack, put in em' suitcases even toss them around the room and the VHS didn't falter. Now you have to constantly beware of scrathes and smudges.

3. DVD Menus Are The Worst

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If you accidently fall asleep during a movie (or real talk if you hook up) nothing is going to be more of a boner killer than listening to frickin' Buddy the Elf do his best lines on a loop or Dory telling you to keep on swimming till your lazy ass gets up and turns it off. There was a certain comfort in that blue screen of VHS and rythimic sound of the VCR rewinding the tape.

4. Showing Off Was Easier

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Showing a friend a scene in a movie was much easier during VHS days. You find the part you like and you just take it out of the VCR and put it back in at your lesiure. If you need to find a specific scene in a DVD you have wait for FBI warnings (see above), pick widescreen/full screen choices, remember the timeline of when it happened and either do scene select or try to fast forward around.

5. Recording TV and Moments Were More Special

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Recording shows/movies on VHS was a personal favorite of mine. Sure everyone now has DVR but even when DVDs first became mainstream there was a real lag between the start of DVDs and the growth and accesibility of DVR (unless you were some jag off who had TiVo). In VHS primetime you could record everything so simply and make fun labels. Family videos were more of a thing back then and reserved for special occasions unlike now where everyone has a daily video of their kids on the phone. It used to be a special part of one's history to watch momunental moments in your life but kids today are overally documented in the opinion of this reporter.

But also...

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Althought I won't pretend it wasn't straight up witchcraft to set up your VCR to record on a timer.