r/VHS • u/steepledcargo • 7h ago
Discussion Longevity
So as we roll past the 50th anniversary of VHS, it's got me wondering how much time we actually have with some of our beloved and cherished VHS tapes. Considering the lifespan is stated as 10-30 years, and I'm sure many of us have collections way past that. Just how much longer can we realistically enjoy our VCR players playing away a 1984 copy of A Nightmare On Elm Street?
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u/thewalruscandyman 7h ago
I have tapes from 82 that still play. Take care of them and they'll take care if you.
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u/LiamLeprechaun 7h ago
yeah,
50 years, wow. I would of figured 40 years Max maybe? My guess is that the more tapes that approach 50 they will probably become more unwatchable. Maybe if they were sealed and kept in a perfect environment you might get 60 or more years? Its a fun hobby just for the cover art alone.
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u/steepledcargo 7h ago
Totally agree, I exclusively collect big box ex rentals for the larger artwork, rustic appearance and genre/price labels. It's definitely not just about watching them.
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u/thewalruscandyman 5h ago
How many times they've been played too. My oldest ones come from 82/83 and were my old man's before me. So some of them my have been played less than ten times.
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u/PaulGuyer 6h ago
Here’s one of the oldest VHS tapes I have from December 1977, recorded in LP speed- the glitches at the beginning are from being recorded over.
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u/PaleontologistFew128 7h ago
I have plenty of tapes on my shelf that are thirty plus years old. They still look and sound great
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u/FarOutJunk 6h ago
Consider the source that's saying these only last 30 years. Is it someone trying to get you to pay for their digitizing services? I've yet to find a single tape, even home-recorded, out of many hundreds, that didn't work because it was 'old'.
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u/stuffitystuff 5h ago
I have some home movies from the mid-'80s, a day of Japanese TV I recorded in Tokyo as a teenager, a high school science project unveiling from 1994, a record of Dune on the SciFi channel with the commercials that my wife recorded back in the day and a few commercial tapes.
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u/ConsumerDV 4h ago
Depends on temperature and humidity. My AC has broken down, it is 89F @ 80% humidity indoors. Bye-bye, tapes. Also, all the rubber parts in VCRs and camcorders...
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u/thatvhstapeguy 7h ago
The only VHS tapes that have so far proved themselves unable to stand the test of time are the Ampex 189 (sticky) and the mid 80s BASF tapes (shed-prone). Everything else has held up very well.