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May 21, 2005 Coming soon, to an electronics store near you—a double feature: The death of the VCR and recorded music on cassette tape. The VHS (Video Home System) first hit the market in September 1976. According to Home Media Research, the devices are in 94.7 million U.S. households. These machines competed head-to-head with Betamax machines (manufactured by Sony), which was considered to be technologically superior. Experts think the reason VHS won out was because it could record in 3-hr. blocks and Beta could record for only an hour. In March 1997, the DVD (Digital Video Disc) player was introduced. The devices were touted for their clarity and sound quality. Three years ago DVD sales outpaced VHS sales fro the first time. Despite Videocassette tapes still racking up $3 billion in sales, last rites for the players have been expedited by several factors: The nation’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, will no longer carry VHS titles; The nation’s number 2 electronics retailer, Circuit City, announced it was removing the format from its 600 stores. Several other stores, including Best Buy and Target, are expected to follow suit; Nearly all TV series box sets are sold in DVD format only; Then there’s “The Lucas Factor”: According to an article by Jennifer Netherby, “20th Century Fox and LucasFilm will release Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith, expected to be one of the season’s top sellers, on DVD only Star Wars will be the first major new release to skip VHS, some say a move that is unsurprising because of its heavy DVD audience…So far, Fox and Buena Vista are the only studios to announce major releases only for DVD…” Blockbuster and Hollywood Video outlets will retain their VHS properties, since sales of previously viewed VHS cassettes sell. But as VHS becomes obsolete, look for these retailers to follow the trend of DVD-only. The same has happened to pre-recorded music on cassette tapes. By 1983, cassette tapes slowly replaced vinyl albums and its cumbersome counterpart, the eight-track tape. 225 million units were sold that year. However, it took 32 years to outpace the previous technologies. With three formats to promote, the record companies cut one—vinyl. Cassettes was outsold by Compact Discs as early as 1997, just 14 years after being introduced. The CD is a spin-off of the Laser Disc technology, which was a precursor to the VHS Betamax video machine. Some say that the picture quality of the Laser disc was vastly superior to videotape. As a musical format, the CD debuted in 1983. Billy Joel’s “52nd Street” was the first U.S. album to be released in this fashion. “Some audiophiles still swear that records are the highest quality, and are they extremely upset by the industry-wide transition to digital formats. Record buffs swear that records provide a warmer, more natural sound than any other format. They believe that the only way to reproduce sound realistically is to record it on analog equipment because it captures everything in the music instead of just mimicking the music with numbers which produces a harsh and separated sound.” (“The Effects of the Compact Disc on the Recording Industry”). However, in the electronics business, turnabout is fair play. The demise of the compact6 disc on the horizon. It will be replaced by newer technologies, like MP3, I-pods and straight-to-computer sales. This idea has been spouted by several in the electronics industry, including Dallas Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban. “Since the introduction of Napster and its followers the global music industry has experienced stagnant sales. Global sales of recorded music were down 1.3 percent for the first half of 2004, compared to the same period in 2003.” (Duncan and Fox, December 9, 2004). Apple introduced its music service three years ago, and within twelve months sold more than 70 million songs for .99 cents each. So my friend, its time to revamp those movie and music collections. That is until the next :big thing,: Jennifer Netherby, “Death of VHS: Fox Releases Sith on DVD Only,” August 26, 2005 “Compact Discs,” Wikipedia Jen Chaney, “Parting Words For VHS Tapes, Soon to Be Gone With the Rewind,” Washington Post, August 28, 2005; Page N01 “The Effects of the Compact Disc on the Recording Industry,” http://www.ellipsis.cx/ Nancy Bogucki Duncan and Mark Cox, “Computer Aided Music and distribution: The Future of Selection, Retrieval and Transaction,” December 2005, CNN.com ------------ About the author: Timothy N. Stelly, Sr. is a 46-year old poet, novelist and aspiring screenwriter who resides in northern California with his three youngest children--Lawrence, Kimberly and Dante. He is a member of various writer's groups and has three novels in print, his most recent, "Like A Straight-Up Sucka," is available at www.lulu.com. website: http://stellbreadO@tripod.com Email: stellbread@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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