In 1976, JVC launched VHS, a recording and viewing standard for Video Cassette Recorders. Initially, VHS stood for Vertical Helical Scan, after the technique used but nowadays, it stands for the Video Home System. The VHS Technology started a tradition for users to take charge of their television sets and view movies. It has been the dominant form of video entertainment for a long period of time. The Eighties’ and even the early Nineties’ were the heydays of VHS Movies.
The VHS uses the relative head/tape scan technique. There is a 12.7 mm magnetic tape around two spools within a VHS cassette. The tape is rolled around the head drum from the shell of the cassette. The video bandwidth of these tapes is about 3 MHz, and for every scan line, there is a resolution of nearly 240 lines. The EP Mode triples the recording time but reduces the speed of the tape by a third, whereas the LP mode doubles the recording time but reduces the speed of the tape by half. It is available in both the NTSC and Pal formats.
There are a lot of user friendly option for the user while watching his favorite VHS movie such as the fast forwarding, rewinding and the ‘Pause’ facility. The later, is convenient for the viewer who may want to halt the movie due to an urgent requirement, and continue the same at their leisure. A lot of VHS libraries and shops sprang up all around the world to cope with the increasing demand for movies. There was a great demand for some of the classic movies like “Gone with the Wind” and “Casablanca” which were difficult to see in theatres. The Video CD and DVD Technologies have posed a major threat to the Video Home System. |
