I'll go you one better on the Duran Duran.... I have it on Betamax, along with Do They Know It's Christmas, and a few others. I also have a stack of around 25 VHS music videos that I'd replace with DVD in a heartbeat if there was a DVD to be had. I didn't have many movies on VHS, but I've replaced every one with a DVD when possible.

I'm thrilled Miami Vice has made it to DVD. We taped that every week, and I've still got the beta tapes. :D

VHS? What was that? All my "old" stuff is on laserdisc, which STILL looks and sounds great!
I've got some obscure stuff on VHS (like Can I Do It Til I Need Glasses?), since the low-budget companies couldn't put out laserdiscs, and some of those I've transferred to DVD in case the tapes wear out.
Most of the "Video 45" titles were also on 8-inch laserdiscs, I have a number of them including Missing Persons and David Bowie. I have the Duran Duran video on CED Videodisc, a format I collect only because it's dead- the closest thing video has to 8-track tape.

I'm not ashamed to say that I still have plenty of VHS. I dont see the point of getting rid of them. The movie is the most important thing to me, not necessarily that I have to have the best format for it. Some things just aren't practical. If I just concentrate on replacing VHS with DVD,then there goes my funds for adding *new* movies. Some VHS I have I enjoy, but dont want to spend more money by buying again. (although I have replaced some)
And of course, there's the fact that not all movies are on DVD...to me, getting rid of the VCR for this fact alone is a shame. Just because a movie isn't on DVD yet (and may never be) doesn't mean it shouldn't be watched. Again, to me the movie itself is the most important thing.

Couldn't agree any more strongly. :thumbsup:

I've replaced all but a few that are unavailable on DVD for one reason or another, be they unreleased, imported stuff or bootleg compilations of concert stuff and the likes. Sold a boatload of them to the pawn shops when I first switched for DVD for $2 apiece, then $1 apiece. In the end I was taking them to Goodwill or throwing them away........18 years of accumulated tapes, geez. My discs are going to be staying; not everything is a must have in any better format than what I have at this point.

With the March 1st release of "My Own Private Idaho", ALL of my previous VHS movies are now on DVD! I got rid of the VHS machine a few months ago when it died and didn't even think about replacing it. IIRC, as soon as I realized that DVD was probably going to be the next "thing", I sold off all but the "absolute must have in the house at all times" movies and went about replacing as they were released.

Yes, the movie itself IS the most important thing, but IMO, the quality of the format is a close second.

Although I've ended up giving away many many VHS movies, there are still some titles that sell well on eBay - here's some of the titles (all out and/or officially announced for DVD release) that I've sold since the first of the year, along with the price I was paid for them:

Letter To Three Wives - $6.99
Ride The Wild Surf - $13.00
Knife In The Water - $5.99
Random Harvest - $18.01
Crossroads (Macchio) - $8.27
Blackboard Jungle - $16.25
Fury (Spencer Tracy) - $12.50
Lost Honor Of Katarina Blum - $10.50
Wild In The Streets - $10.50
L'il Abner - $20.50

In several cases, I get <i>more</i> for the VHS than I spend for the DVD. Of course, a lot of titles only sell for $3-5 each, but it all adds up and pays for a lot of DVDs!

Just a heads up, that is out on DVD, in English only (AFAIK,) and in 1.33:1 Full Frame (I presume that is the correct AR, since this was a TV series.)

I would love to see the original Japanese series and movies come out here, with Japanese dialogue and English subtitles (and NO edits!)


I never really had much VHS, as I got my Laserdisc player in 1990. I have about 350 Laserdiscs, although at least 150 of them are anime series, around 7 discs each. I don't mind replacing the Laserdiscs with DVDs, although I will hang on to some Laserdiscs that have edited or changed versions on DVD (The original Star Wars trilogy, The Santa Clause, etc.)

There are still quite a few titles I have on Laserdisc that haven't made it to DVD yet, such as many of the Wheeler & Woolsey films.

I replace my VHS when I find it cheap on DVD, and I do intend to replace as much as possible eventually. But I don't think I'll find half the stuff I have on VHS on DVD anyway. Luckily I probably only have under 100 VHS. The ones I replaced up to two years ago, I sold for a few bucks apiece at a yard sale.

I have replaced some tapes like Raiders and the other Indy movies and Star wars. Still have a bunch of tapes recorded of TV shows and movies from TCM.

Funds are pretty much the deciding factor of when I will replace them.

Couldn't agree with you more on that point cdoug. I have a lot of VHS to replace, but money is always tight, so some movies have to wait in line for others.

I had about 300 vhs titles...I boxed them up just last year and sold most of them in a garage sale and made tons of money...spent it all on more dvds