[opendtv] VHS Rides Off Into The Sunset

http://news.digitaltrends.com/news-article/18730/vhs-rides-off-into-the-sunset

VHS Rides Off Into The Sunset
December 23, 2008 | by Geoff Duncan

The venerable VHS tape is finally vanishing in the rear-view mirror 
as the last major supplier stop distribution.

VHS tape, the format that for better-and worse-brought video into 
untold millions of households around the world is finally going the 
way of the dinosaurŠat least in the United States. After the 2008 
holiday season, Distribution Audio Video-the last major distributor 
of VHS tapes in the United States-is finally calling it quits, and 
will stop distributing VHS tapes. Although Hollywood hasn't released 
a movie in VHS format since 2006, a number of bargain retailers were 
still stocking the format, and it's also lived on in a number of 
isolated markets like cruise ships, public libraries, military bases, 
and care facilities.

"It's dead, this is it, this is the last Christmas, without a doubt," 
said Distribution Video Audio president Ryan J. Kugler, to the L.A. 
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."

Consumers have long since indicated their preference for DVD over VHS 
tapes, and Distribution Audio Video is now in the DVD distribution 
businessŠalthough it predicts DVDs are also on their way out, to be 
replaced by Blu-ray.

Nonetheless, the shutdown of the last major VHS distributor in the 
United States doesn't mean the world has finally embraced digital 
video. Countless titles and content that have been available on VHS 
has yet to be released on DVD, whether it be classic films from 
pre-war Hollywood or simply performances by under-appreciated bands 
and artists, the amount of material available on DVD has yet to 
encompass everything that was available on VHS. And, of course, VHS 
will continue to live for some time in developing markets around the 
world.

 
 
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