Days of Yore: Video Recordings

When I was in elementary in the Philippines, we had a dedicated room for watching movies and documentaries. It was called the A/V Room, or Audiovisual Room. It had several devices depending on the equipment required for what we were watching. The big reel-to-reel projector involved large spools of film (like the ones in the picture below). It involved a certain amount of threading through the machine, and it was projected on a big screen. This was also how my grandparents did their home videos when my parents were young. I don't know how they were recorded as that was before my time, but they were still in use when I was little. While playing, the reel-to-reel made a fast-paced clicking noise (best way I can think of describing it) that you could hear the whole time. We were used to it, so it wasn't that disruptive. (It's actually a nostalgic sound for me.)

Photo by Alexander Vasilyev
Adobe Stock

The other device I remember in the A/V Room was the TV on a cart. I think it may have been on that (or there may have been a projector) that we watched in horror as the Challenger exploded in 1986. It was on that TV with a VCR (Video Cassette Recorder) that we watched Back to the Future when I was in 4th grade during a sleepover that my teacher put on. We brought sleeping bags and slept on the floor.

Video cassettes, or VHS tapes (Video Home System), were similar in concept and shape to the audio cassettes, but were larger. For the most part, they were black, though they occasionally came in other colors. The film inside was very similar to the way the film in the smaller cassettes was rolled. They fit into a slot in the VCR, which was connected to a TV. Unlike their smaller cousin, they were not double-sided, so you had to rewind when you were done. Video rental stores (such as Blockbuster) often had stickers on their videos that said, "Be kind. Rewind." Failing to rewind would put a damper on watching it again, though the next user could rewind it themselves. But if you're on a schedule, it's a pain to have to wait a few minutes while the video rewinds to the beginning!

They also had Betamax cassettes (Beta for short). They were similar to VHS, but a bit smaller (though still larger than the audio cassettes). There was a special player for them. I believe our A/V room was equipped to play both kinds of video cassettes. They weren't nearly as popular as VHS, however, and went obsolete much sooner.

VHS and Beta each had their own version of the video camera. The camera made further adjustments as other formats were introduced.

Following the success of the CD in the audio format, the DVD (Digital Video Disc) was introduced. It looked almost identical to the CD, though slightly thicker and a bit more durable. Any DVD player can typically play CDs as well, but not vice versa (an audio device kind of defeats the purpose of watching a movie). Unlike videos, DVDs did not need to be rewound, and they also allowed for navigation so you could skip straight to your favorite scene, or watch extras, such as documentaries on the making of the movie, blooper reels, sing-a-longs if the movie had songs, audio commentary by the filmmakers and/or cast, and other fun stuff.

VHS and DVD were divided into regions around the world. Region 1 videos and DVDs could only play on US and Canadian players. Region 2 included the UK and other countries. I believe there were 5 regions if I remember right. When I was studying French and wanted to watch the French versions of movies on VHS, I ordered them from Amazon.ca (Canada), because France was in a different region and wouldn't play on our VCRs. When A.R. Rahman and Värttinä's musical of Lord of the Rings (not to be confused with Peter Jackson's movies) came out in London, I couldn't wait for it to come out in the US, so ordered the cast recording from Amazon.co.uk. The CD worked great, but the accompanying DVD with pictures from the production did not work in our DVD player. To watch that, I had to play it on my laptop, which had a DVD-ROM. DVD-ROM and certain region-free players could play any format.

Sometime in there, the LaserDisc was introduced. It was never as popular as its counterparts, and it didn't last very long. We watched The Abyss in high school on a LaserDisc, and that's the only movie I remember watching in that format. It looked like a giant CD, but was about the size and shape of a vinyl record.

The Blu-Ray followed the DVD. Again, it looked almost identical to the DVD, but had more space and more options for extras, as well as better picture quality. Again, the typical Blu-Ray player can play a DVD or CD, but once again, not vice versa. The Blu-Ray does not have regions like the video and DVD, so it can be played on any Blu-Ray player.

Meanwhile, as the internet picked up steam, websites like YouTube and Vimeo offered ways of watching online. Depending on the web connection, these options involved a lot of buffering at times, though that has been gradually getting better so it doesn't happen now as much as it used to. Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and other social media sites have also added video-playing capability.

Netflix used to send DVDs that members could order and then mail back when they were done watching, similar to checking it out from a library. Due to the popularity of Netflix, among other factors, video stores like Blockbuster couldn't compete. There is now only one branch of Blockbuster left, in Oregon. As streaming from YouTube and other sites gained popularity, Netflix jumped on the bandwagon. Many studios have joined the fun, introducing their own streaming platforms, generally adding "Plus" or "Max" to their name. So now we have Disney+, AppleTV+, Paramount+, HBO Max, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and others. Some TV shows, such as The Chosen, have their own app.

As in my post on audio recordings, I now hardly use the other formats any more, as I can watch movies streaming on my cell phone and Kindle. It also streams to the TV.