History

The first Video Cassette Recorders (VCR) was developed in 1956. At the time, the technology was still new, expensive and clunky – while it was used by the television industry, it would not become readily available for public use for another two decades. Several companies began developing affordable, everyday-use magnetic tapes to accompany the VCR, hoping to reach a unified standard.

The U-matic hit the market in 1971, but was ultimately unsuccessful: blank tapes cost over $30, and the machine required to play the tapes cost over $1,000, making the system unaffordable to most households.

For many years, it seemed uncertain which format would become the standard in the industry, however, JVC eventually won the format war. The company successfully started selling VHS in the United States in 1977, following up with a European release. VHS cassettes were cheaper to produce, as was the lighter VCR player.

In 1988, Sony released a VHS recorder, effectively putting an end to the "format war". VHS remained the most popular home video format until the early 2000s, when Digital Video Disc (DVD) sales started overtaking VHS's.

In 2006, “A History of Violence” became the last blockbuster to be released in both DVD and VHS format.

Specifications

VHS videotapes, commonly simply referred to as "VHS," come in four main formats: the standard VHS, the compact VHS (VHS-C), super VHS (S-VHS), and compact super VHS (S-VHS-C). The cassette is made of a plastic shell that encases a flexible magnetic tape. Standard play times vary between 120 to 210 minutes. 

The Video Cassette Recorder (VCR) plays VHS tapes by manipulating the tape itself and converting the tape's signals to be read and played on a television. VHS tapes go through an M-shape guidance system to be played. 

References

Cusumano, M.A., Mylonadis, Y., & Rosenbloom, R. (1992). Strategic maneuvering and mass-market dynamics: the triumph of VHS over Beta. Business History Review, 66(1). 51-94. DOI: 10.2307/3117053.  Retrieved from https://go-gale-com.proxy.bib.uottawa.ca/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA14378259&v=2.1&u=otta77973&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w 

Greenberg, J.M. (2008). From Betamax to Blockbuster. The MIT Press.  Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/1420955/From_Betamax_to_Blockbuster

Iraci, J. & Canadian Conservation Institute. (2017)  The Digitization of VHS Video Tapes – Technical Bulletin 31. Retreived from https://www.canada.ca/en/conservation-institute/services/conservation-preservation-publications/technical-bulletins/digitization-vhs-video-tapes.html

Pravda, K. (2015). A (Somewhat Personal) History of VHS. Retrieved from https://kinopravda23.blogspot.com/2015/09/a-somewhat-personal-history-of-vhs.html

Today's Engineer. (October 2014). Magnetic Videotape Recording. Retrieved from https://ethw.org/Magnetic_Videotape_Recording

Wallace, D. (2018). What were the Last 10 Movies Made on VHS. Analog: A LegacyBox Blog. Retrieved from https://legacybox.com/blogs/analog/what-were-the-last-10-movies-made-on-vhs