History of the VCR

VTR?

In order to understand how the VCR came into being, you first have to know about something called the VTR. "VTR" stands for video tape recorder. The VTR was essentially the same thing as the VCR, aside from one major difference: the VTR did not use a cassette, only the tape itself.
VTR technology was primarily used by television stations to record programs and show them again later.

There was no standard or uniform technology for VTR, so recorded programs were relegated to being replayed on the same device that recorded them. However, the major electronic companies were cooking up schemes to alleviate this issue.

Beta vs. VHS

Betamax and VHS where on the verge of arriving on the scene at virtually the same time, but with VHS having one huge advantage over Beta: a VHS could hold up to two hours of video while Beta could handle only one. JVC and Sony were the two companies at the helm of this technology war, and Sony still claims that JVC stole their ideas.

The first piracy battle

When the first VCR was released unto the world by Sony, Hollywood big wigs took their qualms about piracy straight to Congress, calling for a ban on the new technology. Industry lobbyists feared the worst, claiming that the VCR would essentially mean the end of the movie-making business.

The political battle climbed all the way to the Supreme Court, where the future of the VCR was ultimately saved by a single, solitary vote. The piracy fight still rages on today, with film industry officials still attempting to slam the door on new and emerging recording technology.

VCR R.I.P?

When DVDs first hit the market in the early- to mid-90s, there was a certain feeling that it was the beginning of the end of VCRs. They had a nice, long run since they first emerged in the early 1970s. In the late-90s, DVDs slowly but surely overtook VHS as the most popular format for the home viewing if video recordings.

As with all technology, the prices of DVDs reduced dramatically over just a few years, making them more easily accessible to a wider range of consumers. In 2003, VHS rentals fell behind DVD rentals for the first time in the United States. Some say 2006 might be the last year that major movies are released on VHS.