The POTENTIAL Return of the VHS Tape Format

[stevearino]

Hello Out There From TV Land,

As I'm sure you may know, on Tuesday, in addition to its regular DVD, 4K and Blu Ray releases, "Alien Romulus" will ALSO be released on VHS, marking the first MODERN Film since I believe 2006 to be issued in America on such format.

That being said, I STRONGLY urge you all--those of you reading this--to buy "Alien Romulus" on VHS like I myself would IF I could afford it so that way, the VHS Tape can make a VERY Successful Comeback JUST like the Vinyl Disc.

As part of the potential success of the VHS Comeback, TBH I'd LOVE for not only Modern Films from 2006 onward to be issued on VHS, but also Classic and Recent TV Shows from the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and onwards as well.

Among the shows and/or movies I'd LOVE to see issued and/or re-issued on VHS--many of them Out-of-Print, many of them New-to-VHS format--include, but not limited to, the following shows and titles, with the Studios for such film and TV titles in Parentheses, with Long-Running Series to be issued in season titles just like the DVDs of such shows originally were many years ago.

1. Hello Ladies: The Complete Series (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment) -- Created by Gene Stupnitsky & Lee Eisenberg, "Hello Ladies" was a criminally short-lived 2013 Disney sitcom originally airing on the HBO Television Network from September 29, 2013 - November 17, 2013; the show was based on Steve Merchant's successful stand-up comedy routine about his search for a wife, with Steve starring as Stuart Pritchard, a web designer by trade in Los Angeles who, after coming to America from England, set out to reinvent himself--with disastrous results. Joining Steve in the cast were Christine Woods (fresh from the short-lived 2009 Disney Sci-Fi show "FlashForward") as Jessica Vanderhoff, a struggling actress who served as Stuart's tenant in the guest house owned by Stuart; Wade Bailey (Nate Torrence, futurely of the 2016 Disney movie "Zootopia," where he played Officer Klawhauser), Stuart's best friend, struggling to cope with the fact that his wife, Marion (Crista Flanagan), with whom he had a little girl, Cassidy (Reece Caddell), at home, wanted a divorce; and Kives (Kevin Weisman, fresh from the early 2000s Disney Crime Drama "Alias"), a wheelchair bound man who, despite his Disability, was more successful with women than Stuart (ironically, in reality, Kevin Weisman IS NOT wheelchair bound). After HBO unjustly decided to end "Hello Ladies," the show was released on DVD by HBO Home Entertainment (folded in recent years to Warner Bros. Home Entertainment) in 2015. "Hello Ladies" was Produced by Four Eyes Entertainment and Quantity Entertainment in association with ABC Studios and Distributed by Disney Media Distribution.

2. Dick Tracy: 35th Anniversary Edition (Walt Disney Home Entertainment) -- Released Theatrically on June 15, 1990, "Dick Tracy" was based on the famous Comic Book Series by Chester Gould and Adapted and Directed by Warren Beatty Written by Jim Cash & Jack Epps, Jr., with Beatty himself starring as Dick Tracy alongside Madonna Ciccone as Breathless Mahoney, Charlie Korsmo as The Kid, and Al Pacino as Big Boy Caprice among many others. Disney was originally gonna release it under the traditional Walt Disney Pictures banner, but instead issued it internationally under its now-defunct Touchstone Pictures banner, with Disney still issuing it under the traditional Walt Disney Pictures banner in select theaters across North America and Canada. "Dick Tracy" was A Walt Disney Pictures & Touchstone Pictures Presentation and Distributed Theatrically by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc.

3. Star Wars: The Complete Saga (LucasFilm, Ltd. Home Entertainment) -- From the Mastermind of George Lucas, all 9 "Star Wars" movies shall be issued and released on VHS appropriately enough on May 4, 2025 in an exclusive VHS Box Set by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment under its LucasFilm, Ltd. Home Entertainment banner--including "Star Wars: A New Hope," "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back," "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi," and many more, with the original "Star Wars" trilogy shown for the first time in DECADES in its original Theatrical Cut: no edits, no fan edits, no nothing, just as they were originally shown in theaters from 1977-1983, as they were meant to be seen.

4. Seinfeld: The Complete Series (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) -- For the first time EVER on VHS, ALL 8 seasons of the perennial '90s sitcom classic "Seinfeld," in addition to being issued on DVD, Blu Ray and 4K, shall also be issued on VHS just in time for its 35th Anniversary on May 27, 2025, all 180 half-hour episodes shown as originally aired on the NBC Television Network.

And those are just SOME examples of what I PERSONALLY would love to see issued on VHS in 2025 AND Beyond, depending on the VHS Success of "Alien Romulus." Anyone here agree with me and want this to happen? Feel free to respond, and thanks in advance, and remember, if you want somebody to be your friend, you've got to be a friend to them. Bye Bye, Everybody!!!!!

Steve Arino

[benricci]

This is a fancy piece of nostalgia-fueled merch, a fun little curiosity that will likely just sit on collectors' shelves as a keepsake of the movie.

There is no serious comeback being mounted. If you think otherwise, you're delusional.

You may see the odd smattering of similar retro-themed VHS releases being purchased by kids who think it's cool -- again, as a way to basically sell a piece of merch as a movie tie-in -- but don't think for one minute the general public gives two shits about videotape mounting a successful revival.

Ain't happening. If anything, you'll see the usual movie geek showing off VHS "hauls" they found at thrift stores and garage sales on their YouTube channels, which gives the appearance of a bigger, more widespread "movement" than actually exists in the wild.

Don't let the prevelance of these "collectors" vids and appreciation posts skew your view that VHS is in anyway "coming back."

[renegadeviking]

Oh my goodness. I cannot go back to VHS. Cassette tapes and VHS deteriorate after 20 years. My Disney VHSs and camcorder VHS started warping 15 years ago to the point it broke my VCR DVD recorder console. VCR also started chewing up my 1980s VHS in the 1990s.

It's weird Commodore 64 made it to games emulation when the original physical tapes don't work anymore and Commodore went bankrupt.

[Jay H.]

Not my monkeys, and not my circus.

[renegadeviking]

Originally Posted by Jay H.

Not my monkeys, and not my circus.

Exactly, my Circus VHS in AVC format shown on my youtube looks distorted.

[Shane Rollins]

The only reason VHS hasn't completely died isn't because "it's so cool", but because there's stuff stuck on tape, and unfortunately there's many cases where tapes have a better viewing experience than a Blu-ray or 4K (editing, disc has actually bad color timing, soundtrack problems, etc).

Make no mistake, if everything from VHS, or at least all the top-tier titles, had properly made the jump, VHS indeed would've died in 2006.

I'd love for VHS to come back, but I'm also not delusional. If anything, I want the hardware to come back specifically for people like us who still watch certain movies on VHS. But that ain't happening. And the format as a whole, really ain't happening.

[Telemachus]

Lol no

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by stevearino

Hello Out There From TV Land,

As I'm sure you may know, on Tuesday, in addition to its regular DVD, 4K and Blu Ray releases, "Alien Romulus" will ALSO be released on VHS, marking the first MODERN Film since I believe 2006 to be issued in America on such format.

That being said, I STRONGLY urge you all--those of you reading this--to buy "Alien Romulus" on VHS like I myself would IF I could afford it so that way, the VHS Tape can make a VERY Successful Comeback JUST like the Vinyl Disc.

As part of the potential success of the VHS Comeback, TBH I'd LOVE for not only Modern Films from 2006 onward to be issued on VHS, but also Classic and Recent TV Shows from the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and onwards as well.

Among the shows and/or movies I'd LOVE to see issued and/or re-issued on VHS--many of them Out-of-Print, many of them New-to-VHS format--include, but not limited to, the following shows and titles, with the Studios for such film and TV titles in Parentheses, with Long-Running Series to be issued in season titles just like the DVDs of such shows originally were many years ago.

1. Hello Ladies: The Complete Series (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment) -- Created by Gene Stupnitsky & Lee Eisenberg, "Hello Ladies" was a criminally short-lived 2013 Disney sitcom originally airing on the HBO Television Network from September 29, 2013 - November 17, 2013; the show was based on Steve Merchant's successful stand-up comedy routine about his search for a wife, with Steve starring as Stuart Pritchard, a web designer by trade in Los Angeles who, after coming to America from England, set out to reinvent himself--with disastrous results. Joining Steve in the cast were Christine Woods (fresh from the short-lived 2009 Disney Sci-Fi show "FlashForward") as Jessica Vanderhoff, a struggling actress who served as Stuart's tenant in the guest house owned by Stuart; Wade Bailey (Nate Torrence, futurely of the 2016 Disney movie "Zootopia," where he played Officer Klawhauser), Stuart's best friend, struggling to cope with the fact that his wife, Marion (Crista Flanagan), with whom he had a little girl, Cassidy (Reece Caddell), at home, wanted a divorce; and Kives (Kevin Weisman, fresh from the early 2000s Disney Crime Drama "Alias"), a wheelchair bound man who, despite his Disability, was more successful with women than Stuart (ironically, in reality, Kevin Weisman IS NOT wheelchair bound). After HBO unjustly decided to end "Hello Ladies," the show was released on DVD by HBO Home Entertainment (folded in recent years to Warner Bros. Home Entertainment) in 2015. "Hello Ladies" was Produced by Four Eyes Entertainment and Quantity Entertainment in association with ABC Studios and Distributed by Disney Media Distribution.

2. Dick Tracy: 35th Anniversary Edition (Walt Disney Home Entertainment) -- Released Theatrically on June 15, 1990, "Dick Tracy" was based on the famous Comic Book Series by Chester Gould and Adapted and Directed by Warren Beatty Written by Jim Cash & Jack Epps, Jr., with Beatty himself starring as Dick Tracy alongside Madonna Ciccone as Breathless Mahoney, Charlie Korsmo as The Kid, and Al Pacino as Big Boy Caprice among many others. Disney was originally gonna release it under the traditional Walt Disney Pictures banner, but instead issued it internationally under its now-defunct Touchstone Pictures banner, with Disney still issuing it under the traditional Walt Disney Pictures banner in select theaters across North America and Canada. "Dick Tracy" was A Walt Disney Pictures & Touchstone Pictures Presentation and Distributed Theatrically by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc.

3. Star Wars: The Complete Saga (LucasFilm, Ltd. Home Entertainment) -- From the Mastermind of George Lucas, all 9 "Star Wars" movies shall be issued and released on VHS appropriately enough on May 4, 2025 in an exclusive VHS Box Set by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment under its LucasFilm, Ltd. Home Entertainment banner--including "Star Wars: A New Hope," "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back," "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi," and many more, with the original "Star Wars" trilogy shown for the first time in DECADES in its original Theatrical Cut: no edits, no fan edits, no nothing, just as they were originally shown in theaters from 1977-1983, as they were meant to be seen.

4. Seinfeld: The Complete Series (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) -- For the first time EVER on VHS, ALL 8 seasons of the perennial '90s sitcom classic "Seinfeld," in addition to being issued on DVD, Blu Ray and 4K, shall also be issued on VHS just in time for its 35th Anniversary on May 27, 2025, all 180 half-hour episodes shown as originally aired on the NBC Television Network.

And those are just SOME examples of what I PERSONALLY would love to see issued on VHS in 2025 AND Beyond, depending on the VHS Success of "Alien Romulus." Anyone here agree with me and want this to happen? Feel free to respond, and thanks in advance, and remember, if you want somebody to be your friend, you've got to be a friend to them. Bye Bye, Everybody!!!!!

Steve Arino

Nope, we have 4K disc, leave the format in the past where it belongs.

[Telemachus]

Also wait a second, I thought physical media is dying/on it's last legs? Now VHS is coming back, what's next LaserDisc? Get consistent with the scare tactics. Sheesh.

[suspiciouscoffee]

Maybe if new releases only cost single-digit dollars and there were any infrastructure to support mass tape releases. It's not making the comeback vinyl or even audio cassettes (relatively speaking) have had.

Also, you can get Star Wars original trilogy tapes at just about any thrift store in the US for pocket change. You could start a museum Star Wars' entire VHS history after hitting every such shop along a short road trip. Even if tapes magically came back, those are the last catalog titles that would warrant them, down there with the two-tape Titanic.

[danny24]

I would never go back to VHS and Laserdisc even if it was offered to me for free. This is a purse nostalgia thing for people now. Now if I was offered to go back to DVD for free yeah ok as long as it's anamorphic WS.

For me it's just Blu-ray and 4K UHD with an occasional used DVD on the cheap.

Laserdisc collecting and VHS though lots of good memories with those formats.

[meremortal]

My last real tape phase was the early 2000s when there were warehouse stores selling them by the droves with pretty much daily inventory refresh. For a time I was going multiple days per week to see what all would show up and found tons of 70s to 90s horror including big box titles for around $0.99 to $1.99 each. No tapes were marked up for rarity or anything and was pretty uniform pricing. I got rid of them all before the resurgence a few years ago and had I held onto them another decade that collection would probably have been worth something crazy like maybe 20k as I accumulated so many horror tapes. But no one wanted them when I tried to get rid of them pre-2010 and so the majority I just gave away to save space. The same goes for music cassettes. I had many sealed albums from the late 90s and early 2000s that I had trouble even giving away.

[RFK]

Never Happen. If VHS made a comeback we'd have to go back to crt displays since the resolution of vhs and beta tapes was pretty low. I'd want one of those 400 lb., 40 inch Sony's.

[Egbert Souse]

I'm all for including a VHS "mastered" version of a film as a bonus feature, sort of like how A24 included the laserdisc master of Stop Making Sense on the restored Blu/4K editions (or even Sony with the Pioneer extended cut of 1776 on the 4K edition).

[yhzmr]

Glad I never sank a small fortune into VHS. That's the one consolation I have for spending so much on discs.

[El Sleezo]

VS is selling, and selling out, 60 dollar deluxe VHS copies, so at least a few hundred people are clinically insane.

[BobSimms]

I have a friend who insists that “adult films” from a certain era all look best on VHS (maybe the ones shot on videotape, not film) and on a CRT TV, so he has a small stockpile of VCRs and CRT TVs that he plans to use to watch his “late night” videotapes until either the TVs all die, or he does. He’s in his mid 60s.

[El Sleezo]

Originally Posted by BobSimms

I have a friend who insists that “adult films” from a certain era all look best on VHS (maybe the ones shot on videotape, not film)

At his age? More power to him.

[drush9999]

Haven't bought a VHS tape since 1999 and that was only because there was no DVD release.

[bongozoid]

Originally Posted by stevearino

Hello Out There From TV Land,

4. Seinfeld: The Complete Series (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) -- For the first time EVER on VHS, ALL 8 seasons of the perennial '90s sitcom classic "Seinfeld," in addition to being issued on DVD, Blu Ray and 4K, shall also be issued on VHS just in time for its 35th Anniversary on May 27, 2025, all 180 half-hour episodes shown as originally aired on the NBC Television Network.

Steve Arino

So that would be, at best, 30 VHS tapes. Which would be like having the current 4K or blu-ray set on your shelf 10 times.