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FEBRUARY 28 VHS HISTORY : DECLINE OF VHS TAPES
The VHS VCR was a mainstay in the TV-equipped living room for more than a decade, but is being replaced by newer technologies. For time-shifting (off the air or cable/satellite taping), hard-drive based DVRs have replaced the VCR as the time-shifting device of choice, especially in households with subscriber-based TV-services. The home camcorder market, one which VHS shared with alternative formats, has already transitioned to digital-video recording. But the largest blow to VHS was the March 1997 introduction of the DVD format to American consumers. For home-video (that is, pre-recorded commercially-released movies, etc.) rental and sales, DVD has almost completely taken the place of VHS. At most electronics retailers, choice among VHS equipment is increasingly shrinking. New sales are focused on DVD-recorders and subscriber-based DVRs (such as TiVo). Most electronics chains have stopped stocking VHS home-video releases, focusing only on DVD and Blu-ray Disc technology. Major Hollywood studios no longer issue releases on VHS. The final major Hollywood motion picture released on VHS was David Cronenberg's A History of Violence. On December 31, 2008, the final truckload in the USA of recorded programming on VHS tapes rolled out of a warehouse owned by Ryan Kugler, the last major supplier of VHS-recorded videos. Kugler is President and co-owner of Distribution Video Audio, a seller of distressed goods such as VHS tapes. According to Kugler, "It's dead, this is it, this is the last Christmas, without a doubt. 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." However in 2009, the Hayao Miyazaki film Ponyo received a VHS release in Japan alongside DVD and Blu-Ray. Home-video VHS tapes can still be found in many second-hand shops, and are sometimes very cheap due to the lack of demand. In 2010, The House of the Devil received promotional distribution on VHS and is available exclusively on Amazon.com with a DVD copy of the film. Another horror film was released on VHS the same year. After a petition on the website WeWantVHS.com, Paranormal Activity had a limited VHS release in the United States and the Netherlands. Although VHS has quickly faded from mainstream home-video, a VCR is still owned in many US households. The Washington Post noted that as of 2005, 94.5 million Americans still owned VHS format VCRs. Archived tapes (mostly VHS) at a TV Station in Olympia, Washington. The last standalone JVC VHS-only unit was produced on October 28, 2008. JVC, like many other manufacturers, still makes combination DVD+VHS units. Several retail chains in the United States and in Europe planned to stop selling VHS equipment in 2004, 2005, and 2006. Despite these plans, VHS recorders and blank tapes are still being sold in major stores worldwide. As an acknowledgment of VHS popularity, in 2009 Panasonic has announced the world’s first dual deck VHS-Blu-ray player.
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