Radiowiz wrote:

One possible reason.
What if the VHS version of something has original music tracks, while the DVD has replacement music? 
Wasn't that the case with WKRP at one point?  
I think later DVD's fixed that issue, but it's still a good example. The VHS version secures originality, while the DVD might not.  

I believe there were a few select episodes of WKRP on VHS, but not the whole series. 20th Century Fox Home Video released the first season on DVD in 2007 with heavily substituted music and it didn't sell very well, so they didn't go ahead with seasons 2, 3 and 4.

In 2014, Shout! Factory released all four seasons with most of the music intact. There's still a few substitutions that are a little bit clunky, but I'll take a slightly butchered WKRP over none at all. That show looked like it was lost forever until Shout! Factory came along.



PJ
 

Shorty Wave wrote:

I think things like VHS, cassette tapes and the likes enjoy a resurgence in popularity due to nostalgic comfort. For example, audio cassettes enjoyed a comeback of sorts a few years ago, there is even a store dedicated to them in Scarborough still in business, Dupe Shop, which sells recorded tapes and I believe manufactures them as well. Surprisingly, it has been around for a few years and originally located on Bloor.

I kept a few of our VHS tapes but let’s face it, they are bulky to store, I also have tons of cassettes, mostly my old mixtapes which still play great!

There's also a good number of groups on Facebook that cater to fans of 8-track tapes. A lot of times you see members asking others in the group what to do when their tape snaps or snarls or when the cartridge breaks and how to go about fixing it. That's how dedicated to the medium they are.



PJ

Shorty Wave wrote:

Paul Jeffries wrote:

Shorty Wave wrote:

I think things like VHS, cassette tapes and the likes enjoy a resurgence in popularity due to nostalgic comfort. For example, audio cassettes enjoyed a comeback of sorts a few years ago, there is even a store dedicated to them in Scarborough still in business, Dupe Shop, which sells recorded tapes and I believe manufactures them as well. Surprisingly, it has been around for a few years and originally located on Bloor.

I kept a few of our VHS tapes but let’s face it, they are bulky to store, I also have tons of cassettes, mostly my old mixtapes which still play great!

There's also a good number of groups on Facebook that cater to fans of 8-track tapes. A lot of times you see members asking others in the group what to do when their tape snaps or snarls or when the cartridge breaks and how to go about fixing it. That's how dedicated to the medium they are.

PJ

 
I have heard about the 8-track fans but not for me! We had an 8-track recorder when I was a teenager and I remember having to time out songs so that it didn’t switch tracks half way through, I only used it twice and went back to cassettes! My Dad didn’t care though and just kept on recording them 8-tracks, Sinatra and all!

8-track tapes seemed to work well in the '60s when songs were shorter (like around the 2:30 mark or less) and a bunch of songs could easily fit on a tape with minimal or oftentimes no interruption. 

When albums started becoming more popular, that's where 8-tracks showed their limitations. Record companies would often switch the sequence of the songs or fade them partway as the tape headed toward the next program (with that ominous "clunk" sound we all remember!)

I wasn't really into 8-tracks that much either, although I bought a Yorx stereo back in 1982 that had an 8-track player in addition to a double cassette deck, AM/FM tuner and a separate turntable. I did manage to pick up some 8-tracks at a pretty good bargain, as a lot of record stores and also Columbia House were clearing out their old stock. I bought an 8-track of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon back in 1983 (from Woolco's, IIRC). Great album, but it doesn't really lend itself to the medium very well. I bought the album on CD about 9 years later. 


PJ

DOPEfm wrote:

With VHS, no DRM issues (unlike those with ATSC 3.0 DTV)

In later days of VHS, they did figure out a DRM.(or ARM, I guess.) where if you connected 2 VCRs to record a rented movie, your recording with have this big green wave scrolling over it.

RadioAaron wrote:

In later days of VHS, they did figure out a DRM.(or ARM, I guess.) where if you connected 2 VCRs to record a rented movie, your recording with have this big green wave scrolling over it.

Yes - Macrovision. They did (and do) sell devices that defeat it, though never containing that term - just "digital video stabilizer".



 

On the subject of WKRP, creator and executive producer the late Hugh Wilson talks about the music licensing challenges the show faced during its syndication runs and also the attempts to get it on home video.





PJ