vhs

VHS, short for Video Home System, is a consumer analog videocassette format developed by JVC and released in 1976. It records video and audio information on 1/2 inch magnetic tape housed in a compact plastic cassette and is played back on a VCR. The recording mechanism uses a rotating video head drum that performs helical scan to access the tape, with audio stored on dedicated tracks and, in later versions, integrated hi-fi audio.

VHS offered a range of recording times determined by tape length and recording mode, typically allowing several hours of video on a single cassette. Its combination of longer recording times and broad licensing encouraged a large number of manufacturers to adopt the format.

VHS competed with Betamax in what is known as the videotape format war. By the early 1980s, VHS had gained dominance in most markets due to longer recording times, lower cost, and wider availability of tapes and players. The ecosystem expanded with variants such as VHS-C, a compact cassette for camcorders, and S-VHS, which provided improved video quality for enthusiasts.

In the 1990s, the rise of digital formats and optical discs led to a decline in VHS as a new-purchase format, with DVDs becoming the preferred medium for home video. Despite this, VHS remained in use for some time for archival purposes, education, and among collectors, before becoming largely obsolete in consumer markets by the early 2000s in many regions.