The Video Store
Oh, please . . . say it ain’t so . . . yet another thing from my childhood doomed to the 80s graveyard? Not my awesome, big, boxy VHS tapes! I’m not ready for VHS to RIP just yet. Beta, sure, I’m fine with Beta . . . but not my tapes. My first two jobs ever were at video stores so I feel a real affinity toward VHS tapes. From the giant cardboard boxes displayed on the shelves, to the clear plastic boxes I would snap the tapes into for...
VHS versus Betamax: The Great Format War of Our Time
By Brad Williams Picture yourself at your local video rental shop in 1984 – you know the one, in the local strip mall between the convenience store and the dry cleaners, drab grey carpet and rows of wire shelves filled with propped up cardboard boxes. You head for the new releases to grab something for the weekend and are shocked to see a copy of The Empire Strikes Back, sitting all alone. You instinctively reach for it but stop...
