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STREAMING KILLED THE VIDEO STAR Panasonic’s top-loading behemoth was a high-tech fixture in ‘80s homes. Today, you might actually want to get its sleeker Sanyo cousin.

STREAMING KILLED THE VIDEO STAR Panasonic’s top-loading behemoth was a high-tech fixture in ‘80s homes. Today, you might actually want to get its sleeker Sanyo cousin.


Photo:

F. Martin Ramin/The Wall Street Journal

By

Paul Schrodt

Jan. 25, 2018 1:34 p.m. ET


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I NEVER LET GO of my VHS tapes. Long after my VCR gave out, I’ve hung onto movies in the now-antique format, including “The Little Mermaid” in the clamshell collector’s box whose cover infamously features a suggestive castle spire.

VHS and VCRs may never attain the retro cachet of vinyl, but old Disney Classics tapes and theatrical cuts of the Star Wars trilogy—created before

George Lucas

“fixed” the films in 1997—have a devoted following and can fetch serious cash on sites like eBay. In a Netflix HD streaming culture, it’s easy to forget that this faded format was how most people first watched their favorite films “on demand” at home (versus praying they might make a surprise appearance on TV), rewinding the cassettes until they were frazzled and unplayable.

The video era created a generation of cinema geeks. “If I grew up without a VCR, I don’t think I would be a filmmaker today,” said Ryan Patrick, 29, a director whose recent “Gremlins”-inspired short film went viral. He remembers seeking out rare behind-the-scenes tapes as a kid to learn about industry people and jobs.

Luckily, for people like Mr. Patrick, VCRs linger even in the face of their demise. Though Funai, the last known manufacturer of the technology, ceased production in 2016, you can still score one of Funai’s refurbished Sanyo DVD/VCR combos at B&H in New York ($250, bhphotovideo.com); the site claims it’s a “top-seller.” A related Sanyo product ($399, newegg.com), also still on store shelves, lets you transfer cherished home videos to DVD. These machines’ black casing looks downright sleek and modern compared to chunky top-loading ancestors. Used devices are also widely available secondhand.

I’m reminded as I test a new machine that there’s something undeniably satisfying about the way a VHS tape clicks into place, kicking off the presentation. (The FBI warning!) The fuzzy lo-fi quality has an analog charm that feels out of place on my HD flat-screen. As a kid, I mastered the tracking controls on my family’s JVC player to make the picture’s static lines disappear. Decades later, I’ve still got the touch.

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