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> Someone's half-recorded an episode of Matlock because they grabbed the first VHS tape in reach so they could watch it later. Did that really happen though? V

> Someone's half-recorded an episode of Matlock because they grabbed the first VHS tape in reach so they could watch it later. Did that really happen though? VHS tapes had a plastic tab that could be removed to prevent recording. Any commercial VHS tape would not allow that. So that would only be happening if you recorded some movie and someone else used the same tape to record their show. Not really a VHS problem.

skylanh 5y ago
TV shows were scheduled for your local stations and there may be an alternate channel that would have an echo or rebroadcast schedule. If you wanted to watch "your show" you had to either have someone record it, or record it yourself. There were even VCRs that could be programmed to start recording at a certain point for a specific duration. In all of humanity's many combinations of people, situations, and outcomes, yes, this has happened hundreds of thousands of times. It's literally a meme that "oh! no, don't watch that one--that has our sex tape in the middle".
- robocat 5y ago
  > There were even VCRs that could be programmed to start recording at a certain point for a specific duration. Although programming VCRs correctly required skill, because the user interfaces were so abysmal. It was a meme that parents couldn't do it. For younger readers: there was a single small display on the early programmable VCRs that could show a few digits, which needed to sequentially program the slot, channel, start time, and end time. Years later there were LCD screens on the remote, although they were still cryptic, and they didn't always synchronise correctly to the VCR, so results were unpredictable. Even later there were on-screen user interfaces (which were still extremely quirky). Reading a manual was definitely required at first.
b112 5y ago
Copying was rampant, and recording off of TV (including movies) too. People wouldn't bother with the tab, because they kept recording over stuff, dozens or 100s of times.
randombits0 5y ago
Or discover the “game” ran long and you only got the first ten minutes of The Simpsons!
carride 5y ago
If the missing plastic was missing, you only needed to cover with tape. Then it was able to be used for a new recording.
1over137 5y ago
>Did that really happen though? Yes. All the freakin time. :)
mywittyname 5y ago
Yeah, I remember this distinctly. VHS tapes used to be really, really expensive. So even though they were $25 in inflation adjusted dollars by the 90s, people had already been used to reusing the same tape until it died, because the one they are currently using was like $80 (inflation adjusted) new. It was like buying a new slow cooker every time you need one. It's not that expensive, but it seems wasteful non-the-less. Media was ephemeral back then.

skylanh 5y ago

TV shows were scheduled for your local stations and there may be an alternate channel that would have an echo or rebroadcast schedule. If you wanted to watch "your show" you had to either have someone record it, or record it yourself. There were even VCRs that could be programmed to start recording at a certain point for a specific duration. In all of humanity's many combinations of people, situations, and outcomes, yes, this has happened hundreds of thousands of times. It's literally a meme that "oh! no, don't watch that one--that has our sex tape in the middle".

robocat 5y ago
> There were even VCRs that could be programmed to start recording at a certain point for a specific duration. Although programming VCRs correctly required skill, because the user interfaces were so abysmal. It was a meme that parents couldn't do it. For younger readers: there was a single small display on the early programmable VCRs that could show a few digits, which needed to sequentially program the slot, channel, start time, and end time. Years later there were LCD screens on the remote, although they were still cryptic, and they didn't always synchronise correctly to the VCR, so results were unpredictable. Even later there were on-screen user interfaces (which were still extremely quirky). Reading a manual was definitely required at first.

b112 5y ago

Copying was rampant, and recording off of TV (including movies) too. People wouldn't bother with the tab, because they kept recording over stuff, dozens or 100s of times.

randombits0 5y ago

Or discover the “game” ran long and you only got the first ten minutes of The Simpsons!

carride 5y ago

If the missing plastic was missing, you only needed to cover with tape. Then it was able to be used for a new recording.

1over137 5y ago

>Did that really happen though? Yes. All the freakin time. :)

mywittyname 5y ago

Yeah, I remember this distinctly. VHS tapes used to be really, really expensive. So even though they were $25 in inflation adjusted dollars by the 90s, people had already been used to reusing the same tape until it died, because the one they are currently using was like $80 (inflation adjusted) new. It was like buying a new slow cooker every time you need one. It's not that expensive, but it seems wasteful non-the-less. Media was ephemeral back then.