Your memories can be displayed in many different forms. These include slides, negatives, film, and video. Most of the time these are not easily accessible when you’re looking to take a trip down memory lane. It’s hard to imagine a world without an iPhone or digital camera yet these analog formats are what were used before anyone had access to these new technologies. Before you think about converting video tapes to DVD, you should probably learn a little more about what you have in your archives.

Like the range of digital options available to capture your memories, there have been many formats of analog technology over the years. We understand it can prove to be difficult to establish what type of format you have in your possession. Before utilizing a scanning service to convert video tapes to DVD, we wanted to give you some insight on VHS, S-VHS and VHS-C tapes.

VHS

VHS is also known as the Video Home System. JVC led the industry in 1971 by developing the VHS tape format. The first VCR to play VHS was the Victor HR-3300. A VHS tape is a plastic shell held together by screws.

S-VHS

S-VHS is more commonly referred to as Super VHS. This is an upgraded version of the VHS tape. JVC rolled this out in 1987 in Japan and shortly after it reached international markets.
The Super VHS provided a 60% improvement in picture detail. S-VHS tapes look almost identical to regular VHS cassettes. Ironically enough, even though S-VHS provided such improved picture quality, it failed to gain market share because most people did want to pay more.

VHS-C

VHS-C was introduced in 1982 as the compact VHS. VHS-C was used in analog recording camcorders. These became outshined by digital video formats. These could be played in standard VHS VCRs in an adapter.

This is an exerpt from our ebook "The Ultimate Guide to Slide, Negative, Film & Video Formats." Click below to download the full FREE ebook! >>