现在流媒体服务已经成为娱乐消费的标准途径，物理媒体的时代已经一去不复返了。装满电影的架子都被闪亮的新流媒体设备(streaming devices)所取代。
这不是一个新现象。正如这些设备取代了DVD(DVDs)和蓝光(Blu-Rays)一样，DVD(DVDs)也取代了VHS磁带。这种家庭电影格式已经过时，您甚至可能不知道或不记得VHS一词的含义。或者，VHS磁带是如何出现的。
“VHS”代表什么？(What Does “VHS” Stand For?)
VHS代表视频家庭系统(Video Home System)。VHS磁带的主要卖点是它允许电视观众在家中将节目录制到这些磁带上。该格式由JVC 公司(JVC)于 1977 年在美国发布，并于 1976 年 在日本首次发布。(Japan)
当时，由索尼创建的另一种名为(Sony)Betamax的家庭视频格式处于大多数家庭视频消费的最前沿。但是VHS的增长是天文数字，到 1980 年，VHS格式已经控制了北美(North America)60% 以上的家庭视频市场。
帮助后者获得普及的Betamax(Betamax)和VHS之间的争论点是录制时间，以及基于VHS的(VHS)VCR(VCRs)（盒式录像机）的较低成本。这使消费者可以在一个磁带上录制完整的电影和更多的电视剧集，这是Betamax的一个非常诱人的功能，它当时最多只能录制一个小时。
VHS 磁带如何工作？ (How Does a VHS Tape Work? )
一旦JVC将(JVC)VHS格式授权给其他多家公司，其中许多公司就开始制作VHS播放器。这就是为什么您可以找到这么多不同型号的VCR(VCRs)的原因。它们中的许多具有不同的功能，具体取决于品牌和发布时间，但它们通常都以相同的方式工作。那么VHS磁带和VCR背后的技术是什么，不可避免地导致了它在市场上的主导地位？
视频将首先记录在 800 英尺长、半英寸宽的磁带上，磁带缠绕在箱子内的两个线轴上。盒式磁带内部有一些滚轮将录像带移动到边缘，该边缘由弹簧加载的门覆盖，因此不会因常规处理而损坏。
当放置在VCR内时，机器会打开此门以使用磁带。它使用电动机构将磁带移动到播放磁头上，使用螺旋扫描读取磁带上的内容并将信号发送到电视。然后电视将这些信息显示为视频和音频。
VHS和VCR在消费者偏好中长期处于领先地位。该格式持续了 20 多年，直到 1997 年由于DVD(DVD)格式 的兴起而开始逐步淘汰。
VHS磁带的衰落(The Decline of the VHS Tape)
2003年6 月(June 2003)，美国的DVD出租量首次超过VHS出租量，达到 900,000 台。(VHS)从那时起，VHS格式的受欢迎程度稳步下降。
此后不久，许多零售店停止销售录像机(VCRs)。您只能在商店货架上找到DVD播放器和DVD电影，这只是时间问题。(DVD)这包括家庭视频租赁店，例如Blockbuster，现在已成为过去。
DVD-VHS之争催生了一些可以支持两种格式的组合视频播放器。尽管VHS在 2000 年代中期失去了收入，但仍有超过 9400 万美国人(Americans)拥有某种VHS播放器。然而，慢慢地(Slowly)，DVD以及它的竞争对手Blu-Ray成为了首选格式。
然后，当流媒体服务后来让观看电影和电视节目变得更容易、更实惠时，VHS被进一步排除在外。DVD(DVDs)也是如此，视频租赁店开始破产。物理媒体不再是首选。
VHS 和现代格式之间的差异(Differences Between VHS and Modern Formats)
拥有VHS(VHS)磁带还值得吗？这取决于您在娱乐体验中寻找什么。
VHS 和数字格式(VHS and digital formats)之间最明显的区别是质量。您可以轻松地在DVD(DVDs)、蓝光(Blu-Rays)和流媒体设备中获得比从VHS中挤出的更好的视频质量。虽然(Though)，对于某些人来说，这种格式产生的嘈杂和颗粒感的画面具有一些怀旧的魅力。
你现在当然可以为VHS的便宜而争论不休。由于它已经变得如此过时，人们几乎不用花钱就可以摆脱他们的 VCR，您可以花几分钱或完全免费找到VHS磁带。
对于视频爱好者来说，VHS磁带几乎是电影、节目和节目的免费金矿，尤其是那些从未转变为数字格式的晦涩难懂的磁带。而且，与每隔几周循环浏览其标题的流媒体服务不同，您总是可以随时随地拥有您的最爱。
VHS 及其他(The VHS and Beyond)
您可能已经忘记了所有关于VHS和周末前往各个年龄段的人蜂拥而至的音像店的旅行。那时，您必须选择一两部电影来租或买，因为那是最实惠的选择。
这些天来，我们的选择被宠坏了，数百种标题触手可及，只需支付少量月费。既然普通美国人至少订阅了三种不同的流媒体服务，并且每天流媒体大约 8 小时的内容，那么有大量设备可供选择，提供数百个流媒体平台(streaming platforms)。有时，它会让人感到不知所措。
因此，下次当您在Netflix或Hulu中无果而终地试图寻找可观看的内容时，记住我们所知道的家庭视频的卑微开端可能会有所帮助。
What Does VHS Stand For?
Now that streaming services have become the standard route of entertainment consumption, long gone are the days оf physicаl mediа. Shelves full of movies have all been replaced by shiny new streaming devices.
This is not a new phenomena. Just as these devices have replaced DVDs and Blu-Rays, so too did DVDs replace the VHS tape. This home movie format has become so obsolete that you may not even know, or remember, what the term VHS means. Or, how VHS tapes came to be in the first place.
What Does “VHS” Stand For?
VHS stands for Video Home System. The main selling point of the VHS tape was that it allowed television viewers to record shows onto these tapes at home. The format was released in the U.S. by the company JVC in 1977, and first released in Japan in 1976.
At the time, another home video format called Betamax, created by Sony, was at the forefront of most home video consumption. But VHS grew astronomically, and by 1980, the VHS format had control over 60% of the home video market in North America.
The contention points between Betamax and VHS that helped the latter gain popularity was recording time, as well as the lower cost of VHS-based VCRs (video-cassette recorders). This allowed consumers to record full-length movies and more TV episodes on one tape, a very alluring feature over the Betamax, which could only record up to an hour at the time.
How Does a VHS Tape Work?
Once JVC licensed the VHS format to multiple other companies, many of them began to make VHS players. This is why you can find so many different models of VCRs. A lot of them have differing features, depending on the brand and when they were released, but they all generally worked the same way. So what was the technology behind the VHS tape and VCR that inevitably led to its dominance in the market?
The video would first be recorded on the 800-foot long, half-inch wide magnetic tape, wound around the two spools inside the case. Inside the cassette are some rollers that move the video tape around to the edge, which is covered by a spring-loaded door so it doesn’t get ruined by regular handling.
When placed inside a VCR, the machine opens this door to use the tape. It uses a motorized mechanism to move the tape over the playback head, using helical scanning to read what’s on the tape and send signals to the TV. The TV then displays this information as video and audio.
The VHS and VCR enjoyed a lengthy stay at the top of consumer preference. The format lasted for over 20 years, until it began to get phased out in 1997 due to the rise of the DVD format.
The Decline of the VHS Tape
In June 2003, the number of DVD rentals in the U.S. overcame VHS rentals for the first time, by 900,000. Since that time, the decline in popularity of the VHS format was steady.
Shortly after this, many retail stores stopped selling VCRs. It was only a matter of time before you could only find DVD players and DVD movies stocked on store shelves. This included home video rental stores, such as Blockbuster, now a relic of the past.
The DVD-VHS battle gave rise to some combination video players which could support both formats. Despite VHS losing revenue in the mid-2000’s, over 94 million Americans still owned some sort of VHS player. Slowly, however, DVD became the preferred format, as well as its rival, the Blu-Ray.
Then, when streaming services later made watching movies and TV shows even easier and more affordable, VHS was even further pushed out of the picture. The same happened with DVDs, and video rental stores began to run bankrupt. Physical media was no longer preferred.
Differences Between VHS and Modern Formats
Is it even still worth it to own VHS tapes? It depends on what you’re looking for in your entertainment experience.
The most obvious difference between VHS and digital formats is quality. You can easily get better video quality in DVDs, Blu-Rays, and streaming devices than you could ever squeeze out of a VHS. Though, for some, the noisy and grainy picture produced by the format has some nostalgic charm.
You could certainly argue for the cheapness of VHS nowadays. Since it has become so obsolete, people are getting rid of their VCRs for next to nothing, and you can find VHS tapes for pennies or completely free.
For the video enthusiast, VHS tapes are an almost free gold mine of movies, shows, and programs, especially those obscure ones that never made it over to a digital format. And, unlike streaming services that cycle through their titles every few weeks, you’ll always have your favorites around whenever you want them.
The VHS and Beyond
You might have forgotten all about the VHS, and weekend trips to the video store that was flocked to by people of every age. At that time, you had to pick one or two movies to rent or buy because that was the most affordable option.
These days, we’re spoiled for choice, with hundreds of titles available at our fingertips for small monthly fees. Now that the average American has a subscription to at least three different streaming services, and streams about eight hours of content daily, there are tons of devices to choose from that offer hundreds of streaming platforms. At times, it can feel overwhelming.
So the next time you’re fruitlessly scrolling through Netflix or Hulu trying to find something to watch, it may be helpful to remember the humble beginnings of home video as we know it.
