VHS cassettes were the primary way of creating home movies, dating all the way back to the 1950s. Depending on the camcorder that was used, one of four basic formats was produced: standard VHS, Compact VHS, super VHS, and compact S-VHS. Knowing the differences between the formats and what format you have will make it easier to figure out what you should do with the cassettes now.
Standard VHS
The standard VHS is the most common format. It is what was rented out at video stores. They were everywhere – though the camcorders that were used to make these movies were bulky.
A standard VHS will be able to record up to 200 minutes if it was in SP mode. By switching it over to EP mode, you could get up to 600 minutes on it.
There were also different formats to coordinate with the analog television standards in different countries.
NTSC was used in North America, parts of South America, and Japan.
PAL was used throughout most of Europe, Africa, and Southern Asia along with parts of South America.
SECAM was used in Northern Asia and a few other parts of the world.
One format was not compatible with one another, so it meant that different TV systems had to be used to view them.
Compact VHS
As a way to compensate for the size of the large camcorders, the compact VHS was created, hitting the market around 1982. These smaller cassettes could fit inside of a converter so that they could play in a traditional VHS player.
A compact VHS tape didn’t hold as much, though. The average VHS-C was able to record approximately 40 minutes in SP mode or 120 in EP mode. These were commonly used for smaller instances of life, such as first steps or moments at a birthday party as opposed to filming a recital or a wedding.
Super VHS
Super VHS (S-VHS) was introduced in 1987 as a way to address the poor quality of VHS films. It’s considered comparable to SD and HDTV by today’s standards. It allowed people to focus on the higher resolution as well as better sound quality.
Now, although the tape width and cassette size are the same, it required an S-VHS VCR to be able to play the higher quality tapes. That meant that those who had a standard VCR suddenly had to decide between quality and more expensive investment in equipment.
Compact S-VHS
The compact S-VHS (S-VHS-C) is the compact version of the S-VHS that was introduced in the same year – 1987. It made it easier to go into camcorders that were focused on recording at a higher quality. Due to the smaller size of the cassette, a converter was needed for playback.
What Format Do You Have?
It’s important to know what format you have for a few reasons. One, you will want to see if you have a player or converter so that you can watch the content that is recorded on them. Two, you’ll want the information to help you determine what companies are capable of helping you with the conversions.
Many of the consumer cassette tapes will have the information printed on the shell. However, over time, this information may have worn off or stickers may be placed on top.
You’ll want to look at the size of the shell as well as the width of the film inside.
Standard VHS tapes have ½-inch wide tape and the shell itself is 7.4” x 4.”
Compact VHS tapes have ½-inch wide tape and the shell itself is 3.6” x 2.2.”
Super VHS is the same size as a standard VHS but will have an “S” in front of the logo on the shell.
Compact S-VHS tapes are the same size as compact VHS tapes. They, too, will have an “S” in front of the logo on the shell.
When in doubt of the format, even outside of the traditional VHS tapes, you can always ask a professional company that handles conversions. You can send them the tapes, allow them to determine the format, and provide you with a custom quote based on how much footage you have.
How to Preserve the VHS Cassettes That You Have
Regardless of what format you have, your VHS cassettes may contain pieces of your history. It may commemorate your first dance recital, your wedding, or even the first steps your child made. People broke out the camcorder for all sorts of reasons – and depending on how far back your collection of tapes goes, you may have footage that spans multiple generations.
You can preserve these recordings by having them converted to DVD and digital format. ARS Video can work with any format that you have to ensure that you have your movies converted into a format that you can actually watch and share with others.
VHS formats of all sizes are considered outdated. Many people began getting rid of their VHS players in favor of DVD players in the late 1990s. Major movie studios even stopped releasing movies on VHS in 2006. As such, most people don’t have VHS players anymore – and converters for the compact cassettes are even harder to find.
You may have years and years’ worth of memories stored on various formats of VHS tapes. When you want to keep those memories alive and share them with others, you need to make sure that they are in a format that works for you. If you have a DVD player, you can have the footage converted. Several compact cassettes may be held on a single DVD, allowing you to free up space in your home movie storage.
If you’ve gotten rid of your DVD player because you’ve gone digital and use streaming services, your home movies can be turned digital, too. This way, you can access them in the cloud, share links to where they’re stored, and even share them on social media. Regardless of your VHS format, the movies can live on with the right conversion service.
