It's like records. You can still buy them on-line and get them at flea markets and specialty stores. The end will come when companies stop producing the players. I can still buy a record player and needles. I can still buy VHS machines (for as low as $35). There are still a lot of movies not yet on DVD but are on VHS. I have 3 that I just may have converted because I tired of waiting.

CNN has just posted a retraction of sorts.Dont throw out those racing car rewinders yet folks.

Yea but some new movies still come out on VHS. Does new stuff still come out on records?

A lot of new releases still come out on vinyl. It's a pretty strong niche market.

Yeah, about the same here with me. I didn't get a CD player in my vehicle until June 2003. I've got a '99 Dodge Ram pick-up and it only had a cassette deck. I bought a $240 200w (50w x4) CD deck in June '03 and thus started my CD collection. I've only got about 45 CDs right now (3 complete catalogs of 3 bands and a few Best-ofs of classic rock groups). DVDs have been my main purchase. Last year I bought over $400 worth of new speakers with Kevlar cones. (I like to tell people my speakers are bullet-proof. ) Best sounding car stereo I've ever owned and I'm on my fourth vehicle since getting my license at age 16.


Anyway, with regards to the phase out of VHS, my question is WHAT TOOK SO F'in LONG??? I mean here we are 8 years into the DVD format with the next format looming, and there's still remnants of the former format. This would be like keeping 8-tracks around after the CD came out in 1980.

umm...no it's more like casette tapes than 8 tracks.

Actually, I just googled the history of the CD.

History of CD Technology

1841 Augustin-Louis Cauchy Proposes a Sampling Theorem.
1842 Charles Babbage Proposes analytical engine for performing and storing calculations.
1854 George Boole publishes "An Investigation Into the Laws of Thought." A book that contained, among other things, theories that were later used to build digital circuits.
1855 Leon Scott de Martinville invents the phonoautograph, a machine that records vibrations on a carbonized paper cylinder.
1876 Alexander Graham Bell introduces the telephone
1877 Thomas Edison invents the phonograph while trying to invent a device that would record and repeat telegraphic signals (digital)
1887 Emily Berliner replaces Edison's wax cylinder phonograph with the audio disc.
1915 78 R.P.M records introduced
1922 J.R. Carson examines the idea of time sampling for communications
1928 Harry Nyquiest publishes "Certain Topics in Telegraph Transmission Theory." His theory contained proof that the technology used in todays audio cd's could work.
33 1/3 Records Introduced
1937 A. Reeves invents pulse code modulation (PCM), a technology used by computers and CD's for audio in the present day.
H. Aiken from Harvard approaches IBM and proposes a electrical computing machine.
1943 The U.S. Army turns on the first computer (ENIAC) at the University of Pennsylvania.
1947 Magnetic Tape Recorders hit the U.S. market.
1948 The transistor is invented by Bell Laboratories.
Claude E. Shannon publishes "A Mathematical Theory of Communication." -- Yet another important development for theories used in CD technology
1949 45 rpm records hit the U.S. market, thanks to microgroove technology.
1950 Richard W. Hamming publishes information about error detection/correction codes. It would be impossible for CD's to work without error correction.
1958 Invention of the Laser.
Stereo LP's produced.
Integrated Circuit introduced by Texas Instruments
1960 Computer Music experiments take place at major laboratories.
I.S. Reed and G. Soloman publish information on multiple error correction codes. These come to be known as the "Reed-Solomon" Codes which are the codes used for enconding and reading CD's.
Working Laser produced.
1967 NHK Technical Research Institute demonstrates a 12-bit PCM digital audio recorder with a 30 kHz (30,000 times per second) sampling rate. The digital recording goes onto a high-grade video tape.
1969 Sony introduces it's 13-bit PCM digital recorder at a 47.25 kHz (47,250 time per second) sampling rate. The digital recording is sent to a 2" video tape.
Klass Compaan, a Dutch physicist comes up with the idea for the Compact Disc.
1970 At Philips, Compaan and Pete Kramer complete a glass disc prototype and determine that a laser will be needed to read the information.
1971 Microprocessor produced by Intel
Digital Delay line used by BBC's studios (first digital audio device).
1972 Compaan and Kramer produce color prototype of this new compact disc technology
1973 BBC and other broadcast companies start installing digital recorders for master recordings.
1977 Mitsubishi, Hitachi & Sony show digital audio disc prototypes at the Tokyo Audio Fair.
JVC Develops Digital Audio Process
1978 Philips releases the video disc player
Sony sells the PCM-1600 and PCM-1 (digital audio processors)
"Digital Audio Disc Convention" Held in Tokyo, Japan with 35 different manufacturers.
Philips proposes that a worldwide standard be set.
Polygram (division of Philips) determined that polycarbonate would be the best material for the CD.
Decision made for data on a CD to start on the inside and spiral towards the outer edge.
Disc diameter originally set at 115mm.
Type of laser selected for CD Players.
1979 Prototype CD System demonstrated in Europe and Japan.
Sony agrees to join in collaboration.
Sony & Philips compromise on the standard sampling rate of a CD -- 44.1 kHz (44,100 samples per second)
Philips accepts Sony's proposal for 16-bit audio.
Reed-Solomon code adopted after Sony's suggestion.
Maximum playing time decided to be slighty more that 74 minutes.
Disc diameter changed to 120mm to allow for 74 minutes of 16-bit stereo sound with a sample rate of 44.1 kHz
1980 Compact Disc standard proposed by Philips & Sony.
1981 Matsushita accepts Compact Disc Standard
Digital Audio Disc Committee also accepts Compact Disc Standard.
Sharp achieves production of semiconductor laser.
Philips & Sony collaboration ends.
1982 Sony & Philips both have product ready to go.
Compact Disc Technology is introduced to Europe and Japan in the fall.
1983 Compact Disc Technology is introduced in the United States in the spring
The Compact Disc Group formed to help market.
CD-ROM Protoypes shown to public
30,000 Players sold in the U.S.
800,000 CD's sold in the U.S.
1984 Second Generation & Car CD players introducted.
First Mass Replication Plant in the United States built.
Portable (i.e., Sony DiscMan) CD Players sold.
1985 Third generation CD Players released.
CD-ROM drives hit the computer market.
1986 CD-I (Interactive CD) concept created.
3 Million Players sold in U.S.
53 Million CD's sold in U.S.
1987 Video CD format created.
Allen Adkins of Optical Media International joins with SonoPress in Amsterdam and demonstrates a desktop system for pre-mastering CD's (Adkins and SonoPress, produced a replicated CD in less than 24-hours using this system).
1988 CD-Recordable Disc/Recorder Technology Introduced
1990 28% of all U.S. households have CD's.
9.2 million players sold annually in the United States.
288 million CD's sold annually in the United States.
World Sales close to 1 Billion
1991 CD-I format acheived.
CD-Recordable Introduced to the Market
"QuickTopix" the first CD-R pre-mastering Software introduced by Allen Adkins.
1992 CD-R Sales reach 200,000
1996 DVD Technology Introduced.
Prices of Recorders and CD-R Media go down significantly.
High Demands cause World-Wide CD-R Media Shortage.
1997 DVD Released.
DVD Players/Movies hit consumer market.
DVD-R standard created (3.9 Gig).
Mitsui builds it's first CD-R production plant in the U.S.
World-wide shortage ends.
Price of CD-R media lower than ever imagined.
1998 DVD-RAM, DVD-Recordable systems/equipment hits market.
DVD-Video/ROM authoring tools hits the market.
CD-R prices continue to drop.
1999 DVD-Video Becomes main stream.
Consumers begin purchasing DVD Players & Movies on a mass level.
Most major film studios have titles on DVD.
DIVX Dies (DIgital Video eXpress).
Second Generation DVD Burners.
4.7 Gig DVD-R Media Developed.

Source
1841-1991
Pohlmann, Ken C.
"The Compact Disc Handbook, 2nd Edition" (Click to See this Book at Amazon.Com)
Copyright 1992 & 1989 A-R Editions, Inc. 1991-1999
Copyright 1999, Jeremy Despain
OneOff, Inc.

And on VHS only. I see some newer titles on IMDB that list their availbility on VHS only. Why the hell in this day and age don't you get a DVD release at the same time??

I can't figure out if you're just trolling at this point, but the statement with which you originally disagreed was regarding when CDs were "introduced". Indeed, this whole thread involves the presence of a media in the actual marketplace. All of this historical background is nice, but irrelevant to what is being discussed.

Right, so like I said...

DJ

Well, the point that stores didn't start selling them until 1983 didn't really have anything to do with this thread either, but I didn't accuse anybody of trolling. I posted it to show that I didn't come up with it myself, as you seemed to think I did. I had looked up the information a while ago, not relating to this thread or you at all. I just thought it was some interesting extra information. Sorry if it bothered you.

Actually, it had everything to do with this thread. This thread is about the longevity of VHS in the marketplace, isn't it? In order to get a wider view of the situation, it was asked how long, in the exactly comparable situation, audio cassettes lasted once CDs were introducred in the marketplace. It's related because it's comparing a similar situation to get an idea of how fast (or slow) these things occur. That the telephone is somehow a precursor to CDs is well...I'm not sure I can put it into words other than:

It doesn't bother me how you waste your time.

DJ

LOL! Too funny!

I didn't remember when CDs were introduced, so I looked it up really quick before posting. The site that came up said 1980, so I went with it. I'm more than willing to accept 1983 as the year of introduction that most closely resembles the introduction year we accept for DVDs (which, I believe is 1997, though I'm going from memory of what I've heard there as I didn't get a DVD player until 2000.... I was a little quicker with the DVD than the CD).

Either way, it appears VHS tapes are disappearing faster than cassettes did.

I actually bought the "Kill Bill" soundtrack LP a couple of years ago. I haven't had a record player in years but the LP looks cool hanging on my wall. It amazes people that see it. They think LPs aren't made anymore.

It only took a few seconds to post that info. A quick Google search. How much time did you waste replying to it?

Not to mention all the DJ's across the globe. I know there are digital ways of DJ'ing now, but most still use LP's. So most all Hip-Hop and a lot of House/Dance music still comes out in that format.

The first DVD I ever saw was Enemy of the State with Will Smith and I never rented a VHS since (I never bought them). Only time I used VHS was to record tv stuff.

Wal Mart is responding to the demands of its customers, so this can be taken to mean there's no longer any mass market demand for VHS. I'm surprised this took so long.

Japan started selling CDs in 1982. In 1983, the U.S. started selling them, and the first U.S. release on CD was Billy Joel's 52nd Street.

Someone mentioned Atari in this thread. My handle is the name of the green dragon from Adventure on the Atari 2600. Heh.