Was VHS Video Really That Bad?
VHS video was terrible, right? Awful snowy, washed-out picture quality, distorted rolling images. Yeah... sadly, a lot of TV VHS recordings do look awful. But then, every once in a while, you come across a tape that was recorded from a solid source—or captured on one of those rare clear days of analog TV reception—and wow... it can look almost as good as a first-generation DVD. I said almost!
In this video, I take a trip down memory lane, reliving the VHS collection of my youth. Our collection includes a mix of tapes dating back to the mid-to-late 1980s, most of which were recorded from local television broadcasts. And let me tell you, the real time capsule isn’t just the shows—it’s the commercials! Some are hilariously bad, while others bring back a wave of nostalgia.
If you’re like me, you probably think that old VHS videos look pretty bad. Well… check this out! I recently revisited a 20-year-old PAL VHS tape, and if it weren’t for a slight horizontal wave in the image, I wouldn’t have guessed it was that old. There’s a bit of tracking misalignment, causing scan lines to start and finish slightly unevenly. Whether that’s from the recording or the playback, I’m not sure—but it’s incredible how well it has held up.
Now, I should point out that this is the exception and not the rule. I’ve been looking at a bunch of VHS tapes, and this was by far the best one. Some movies, especially those that weren’t played often, still look surprisingly good. However, tapes that were played repeatedly tend to degrade in quality.
I’ve got some other examples, including pay-TV recordings that look similar to the good-quality tape. However, free-to-air TV recordings from back in the day are a different story—many of them are extremely snowy, with lots of lateral and vertical movement. Not all, but a significant number of them. It’s easy to see why VHS has such a poor reputation. Looking back, my memories of VHS were mostly bad, but now that I’ve rewatched some of these tapes, I’m honestly stunned. When blown up on a larger monitor and viewed from a typical seating distance, a well-preserved VHS tape can look just like any other 4:3 image.
Here’s another example: one of the original Star Wars films. The tape has been sitting around for decades without much use, and yet it still plays remarkably well. It’s incredible to think that these tapes—over 20 years old—have survived this well. In fact, when comparing them to some early DVD transfers from the mid-to-late 90s, the VHS quality is sometimes better! Those early DVDs often had low bit rates, 4:3 aspect ratio cropping, and poor compression, making them look worse than expected.
Of course, not all VHS tapes aged gracefully. Some are filled with snow and distortion, making them nearly unwatchable—like trying to watch TV in a blizzard. The decline of VHS coincided with the rise of digital recording in the early 2000s, making analog formats obsolete almost overnight. However, the transition to digital wasn’t smooth for everyone. Early digital TV had low bit rates, terrible reception, and frequent signal dropouts, leading to blocky, corrupted video streams. In contrast, while analog VHS recordings had their flaws, they were at least watchable from start to finish without major disruptions.
So, was VHS really that bad? Well, it depends. The worst VHS recordings look horrendous, but the best ones can still be surprisingly watchable.
What are your memories of VHS? Did you have any tapes that looked shockingly good? Or was it all just static and tracking lines? Let me know in the comments!
Buy VHS Video Player
Camera: Motorola Motog9 Plus
Music:
The Sleeping Prophet - Jesse Gallagher
Back To The Future (VHS vs DVD)
Starwars (VHS)
National Rodeo Championships (VHS recorded from Satellite TV) & Many more.
