What should I do with these VHS Tapes?

vhs - does any one still watch these
Philippines
January 6, 2011 10:24am CST
Hello Lotters, Just after Christmas Last Year my brother asked for my help in doing some general Cleaning. It all started with looking at his sons toy that resulted cleaning, which got me pissed a little bit. by the time it was almost over, he asked me to send some stuff to our house, folder, chairs and a set of CD's and VHS TAPES. that's right, VHS TAPES. there are some that still exist in our cabinets and now some that my brother had it sent it to me. I have no Idea what to do with this. I wish there was a VHS converting into a CD or a DVD. it's such a waste to have these wasted into nothing. My Favorite VHS tape then was Air Force one and Executive Decision. What would you Have done? (D: 1/6/11)
8 people like this
37 responses
• United States
6 Jan 11
When I lost my house last year I had well over 130 VHS tapes. , what I did was go through each one and kept all the ones that were of my children's special events, like reconciliation, and communions. The rest I took over to my church and donated them to anyone who would want them. There was a large assortment of cartoons, horror and comedy. The way I saw it is that I would probably never see them again, and or own a VCR again, so I just gave them to people who would want them. What they do thereafter is okay by me as I probably would have discarded them at some point. If you have the space I suppose you can just save them, if you like but if you don't then offer them to people who will want them and still own the VCR's some people still do. I did have a few favorites in there also, I just could not afford storage and did not have anyone who could store for me along side a full house of many other things.
1 person likes this
• United States
6 Jan 11
It was truly hard but like a great many things in life we have memories and we relish them. I do feel good about giving my things to people who could use them.
• United States
6 Jan 11
That's really sad. At least they went to a good cause. Best wishes. That must have been really hard to overcome.
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
6 Jan 11
Do you want to keep them? Maybe you can find a store that can convert them into dvds for you and then after that you maybe can pawn the tapes or something to get a little extra cash out of it.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
6 Jan 11
Hello SomeCowgirl, We don't have that kind here though. Am not sure if any one from this place from the Third Wolrd Country, people are more of a saving thing than buying junk unless it turns into a complete junk.
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
6 Jan 11
You can still get VHS players. My daughter bought one in November. It was a DVD player Plus a VHS Player so her husband could tape football and hockey games. She got it at Wal-mart. I had a friend convert some home movies from VHS to DVDs too.So it can be done. According to him the problem with converting most movie is that most blank DVDs only hold about 1 and 1/2 hours.
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
6 Jan 11
I looked for some that held more but 90 min was all I could find.
• Philippines
6 Jan 11
Hello Deebomb, I don't know really if there's available here. Unfortunately, my DVD player Is also kinda toast as well because of some power shortage, I still havent' fix it though. Well, I do know VHS can just hold only to one and half hours? Probably there are DVDs that can hold more. I have one set but it was for the wrong set up.
@smacksman (6053)
6 Jan 11
The trouble I found was that my old VHS tape player had bad heads or something and the playback was all jerky and with white bars across the screen. I also think some of the old tapes had degraded and the picture quality was poor. If it was just a film or a TV program then that is not a problem as you can get all of those. My problem was that some tapes were of weddings and home movies which we wanted to copy. I bought a Panasonic VHS/DVD/hard drive recording machine to record TV programs but also to convert old VHS tapes and this it does really well once you have learned the quirks. It only works with DVD+R discs and then only with some top brands. You really could do with having a PhD in IT to make sense of the manual but after a while I got it to work. What was a bit disappointing was the poor quality of the VHS recordings compared to modern digital cameras but still some of the movies were still priceless.
• Philippines
6 Jan 11
Hello Smacksman, Well, the VHS Era is really damn so old compare to the Newest things. How can you really change things with a device. Sorry, I haven't heard some of this things. Digital Cameras are something that I haven't really used that much but so unfortunately I still have it. I don't know what kind of memories that should be converted.
@smacksman (6053)
6 Jan 11
Well it is a fairly crude operation. The VHS tape is played on one part of the machine and recorded at the same time on a DVD writing deck - the same as you would have in your computer. It can also be seen on the TV at the same time if you wish to see what is being recorded. It just takes a bit of effort to work out how the damn thing works!
@gloryacam (5540)
• Philippines
6 Jan 11
I think I've seen some shops that convert VHS into CD or DVD. If you're near MetroManila, I think there are shops that do that. For movie VHS tapes, it's okay because they are reproduced in CD and DVD. But, for VHS (and even Beta tapes, remember those?) that were shot at home, they really need to be well taken care of and converted to CD or DVD format as they contain precious memories. If you can't find the shops, better keep the VHS tapes. You know, today's junk is tomorrow's precious antiques.
• Philippines
7 Jan 11
Hello Gloryacam, How i wish you can just be more specific on where are they exactly i am not sure though how long i can keep them since i've been having a lot of junk already in our stock room. probably i should start throwing stuff too some day, which reminds me to clean it up
@gloryacam (5540)
• Philippines
7 Jan 11
I don't remember exactly where or what mall I've seen the shop/s. I just remember that there are those kinds of services. I'll let you know when I come across any of them again.
• Philippines
7 Jan 11
Hello LK, You have options sell it to a scrap yard but it will just cost little amount per kilo or you can convert it to cd/dvd that will cost you too much. You can go to Recto or ask a photograph and video coverage store if they are offering this kind of services, i think Kodak offers this kind of services. Happy posting
• Philippines
7 Jan 11
Hello Catch, You don't mind if i sell it you do you? well, am not sure but we do have a kodak service here but i don't know if the VHS can be converted into DVD or even CD in this branch, even though it's been here for a long time.
• Philippines
8 Jan 11
LK, Good idea just drop by at my shop , some Kodak branch is offering a services like that so if you decided to keep it or you want to convert it maybe they can help you
@jhartana (1084)
• Australia
7 Jan 11
I used to watch videos on VHS tape when I was a kid, that was back in 80s where CDs and DVD has not existed yet. I still kept only few VHS tapes, mostly from my university days where I got a project that involves recording and we have present it to the lecturer and students. I don't want to throw these tapes although I don't have VHS player anymore.
• Philippines
7 Jan 11
Hello Jhartana, I used to watch those videos from the VHS way back in the 90s and it was great but they were some set backson reloading it or the tapes getting stuck on the VCR. yeah, CD's were the best at those times, then comes the DVD. i believe a few years from now DVD would surely become obselete as well.
@sid556 (30960)
• United States
7 Jan 11
Hi Letran, Well, I just got rid of a big box of VHS tapes that I had stored in my closet. I don't have a VCR and When I moved in to this place last year, I could not bring myself to toss them. Some were some very good movies but still...I don't see myself investing in a VCR any time soon. My grandson has a VCR still so I gave him the ones that I thought he might like. The rest I brought to a consignment shop. If they sell, I'll get a few bucks. If not then they donate them which is better than throwing them in the trash. I did the same with my cassettes and let me tell you that broke my heart...I had a HUGE collection of them but truth is that I no longer have a cassette player and I doubt I will so the only point in holding onto all that beloved music is for it to collect dust on the shelf. So ya..I parted with it. That was the toughest...it was my music but truthfully what good is it if you aren't going to enjoy it?
• Philippines
7 Jan 11
Hello Sid, Those two movies i have mentioned were the last VHS that i have watch before the VCR itself went whack. if only there are collectors here, but this is a third world you know. only seldom people collects VRS tapes. yeah, thank god for the cassette player, something that doesn't produce anymore.
@dloveli (4366)
• United States
7 Jan 11
Believe it or not there are some people that still use a VCR. Check around in your area there might be a place that will buy them. Donate them. My sister had a bunch of VHS Disney movies. She had them put on CD. You could do that. THere is a proper way to dispose of them. I would contact you city government and find out if there's a place who could use them or if its okay to dispose of them. I would put them on CD. Good luck. dl
• Philippines
7 Jan 11
Hello Dloveli, I don't know, it's been a very long time since every one had a VCR. those disney movies can sure come in handy for future generation kids.well, it's not a bad idea to give it a try but i am not hoping for anything. besides, some of these VHS are already in the DVD.
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
6 Jan 11
HI LetranKnight I wuld hang onto them as in time they will be collectors itms and meantime look into getting a converter so you could change them into cds of a DVD. good luck . I rally loved both of those Air Force on1 and Executiv e Decision.
• Philippines
6 Jan 11
Hello Hatley, I don't know which one can be a collector here, probably not after a decade or two. As for the converter, I haven't seen one and never thought it can be possible. Yeah, these air scene movies are really into these things, not just the action but mostly the suspense.
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
7 Jan 11
I am no clinger. Whenever there are stuffs on my possession which are no longer of use I either give out to friends who may be in need of them or just junk them and let the scavengers benefit from them if ever. So there are no more VHS tapes in my possession. I can't forever keep them in my drawer just gathering dust so I would rather let other people make use of them in whatever way. I gave them out to interested friends. Now my drawer is free from any VHS. Not even one could be found.
• Philippines
7 Jan 11
Hello Salonga, It would be just another junk if it remains longer in our house. but am still thinking on what to do with it though. some actually use them for other purposes not but not watching it because it can recycled. but i don't have any sort of imagination right now to how to change it.
@buggles64 (2709)
• United States
7 Jan 11
My kids still have a large amount of vhs tapes. The majority of them are Disney movies, and I just won't sell them. We have sold a lot of tapes/dvd's over the last few summers, but these disney ones are classics. We have a dvd/vhs player so we can still use both types of movies. We will have to take good care of it, so we will be able to continue to watch these movies. Pretty soon, dvd's will be obsolete after blu-ray takes over everything.
• Philippines
7 Jan 11
Hello Buggles, I see, but have you consider converting them instead? what if those classic VHS don't work anymore incase you may wanna try watching them. MAN! I haven't heard of Blu-ray eitherthis is something new i haven't heard of this. technology, it's just not enough, isn't it. i remember when this DVD thing was being commercialized but now a new one?
@cerebellum (3863)
• United States
7 Jan 11
A few years ago I asked for a VHS & DVD player combined for a Christmas present! I had quite a few VHS tapes that I still wanted to watch. One was a tape of my wedding etc. It was almost impossible to find anything but DVD's to rent. I say rent, because I never buy a tape. I don't like to watch the same movies over and over. With a machine that plays both I can watch either. Until something new comes out and then I am stuck again.
• United States
7 Jan 11
I should have my wedding tapes transfered to something else. They were made on BETA tapes and I had to have them transfered to VHS. Now that is becomming obsolete. I hate to have them switched until I need to because whatever I have them switched to, probably won't last either.
@RONDOLAWE (774)
• Indonesia
7 Jan 11
become a collector of antiques and become a hobby and maybe it will be expensive item in your child's future
• Philippines
7 Jan 11
Hello Rondolawe I really really don't know and don't think that is ever going to happen. even if am rich, i won't go to collecting useless things and sell them off. i can sell but collecting, no way and not a chance really.
@chertsy (3798)
• United States
11 Jan 11
Whatever you do, don't get rid of them. A lot of the vhs movies are considered collectables. You can go and look online and see which ones are worth a lot or not and sell them. Some actually go for a lot, just have to look around to see who is willing to pay for them. I am hoping that many of my disney movies are worth a lot, because I plan on selling them since I have purchased them on dvd and blue ray. So, the ones that are in really good shape, hold on to. The ones that isn't in to good of shape, you can always check your public library to see if they will take them. If not donate them to goodwill, and get a tax write off.
• United States
9 Jan 11
There was a VHS/ DVD recorder. I believe they would convert a VHS into a DVD. I still have my VCR and a back up one too. I still have more VHS than DVDs! Suggestion. Ask your local library. My library take donations of VHSanmd they sell them at their booksale!
@neildc (17239)
• Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines
26 Jan 11
when we were in manila, my brother-in-law gave 2 VHS tapes to Zayzay. those are of Power Ranger movies. but have it brought here in Cebu even though we have no VHS player. we had asked someone from Bulacan to convert them to CDs but they asked about 500 pesos for its conversion to we refused. if that was the case, i am sure we can also find someone here to convert them but we still have to look for it. we just need some free time to look for. i hope we can find it soon.
@jdyrj777 (6530)
• United States
11 Jan 11
I still have vhs tapes too. My vcr is barely used so im keeping them. And watching them as if time has not changed. Why throw them out while i can still watch them? I just bought my vcr around the time dvd's were becoming more popular. I now buy dvd's but if i happen to see a good movie at a garage sale for $1. or less im getting it.
@RobtheRock (2433)
• United States
9 Jan 11
There are VHS converters out there. I still play my VHS tapes because I have a VHS player and a VHS player on my television. Since I don't watch television shows, I play my DVDs and VHS movies.
@asliah (11137)
• Philippines
9 Jan 11
hi, i have also VHS tapes,but my mother want me to keep that, even we are now using a modern DVD player.