The first

Physical media is something of a collector’s item now. The likes of vinyl, DVDs and Blu-Rays are enjoying something of a renaissance amongst those wanting to touch and feel a piece of audio/visual artwork rather than just experience it. But we ought not to forget about the humble VHS.

After all, it was the VHS that was the first proper time that cinema fans were able to enjoy movies in the comfort of their own homes and at any time they wished. There are so many memories of VHS for those born in the 1990s and the preceding decades, and those thick tapes truly remain things to cherish.

The tapes used a magnetic strip to store audio and visual data, with up to around six hours of total storage. VHS arose as a competitor to the “other” home movie device of the 1970s, the Betamax, and after winning the war, the format quickly established itself as the only really viable option.

They first arrived on the market in 1976 after they were developed by the electronics company JVC. However, they were extremely expensive, and it took several years to emerge as an affordable item on the mass market. The fact that VHS eventually became cheaper than Betamax was a big reason for its subsequent dominance.

The very first movie to be released on VHS is a South Korean film by the name of The Young Teacher. It was filmed at the beginning of the 1970s and was released in cinemas in 1972. By the time 1976 swung around, The New Teacher was made available on VHS, making it the very first of its kind.

The IMDb synopsis for the film reads: “A new teacher organizes a volleyball game to boost school spirit and self-confidence while fighting with the conservative school board and chauvinistic principal. Two of her students run away, and the teacher’s liberal methods and free thinking are blamed. The teacher is fired and tries to sneak away during the volleyball match, which she succeeded in pushing through.”

As for the last movie to ever be released on VHS, that goes to the 2005 David Cronenberg crime drama A History of Violence, starring Viggo Mortensen in the lead role, so there was a good 30 years or so of VHS, those big chunky tapes that still evoke so many fond memories of cinema even today.

Check out a video below that explains how VHS beat Betamax to win the home entertainment war.