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'The Last Video Store' is a Blockbuster-inspired game coming to PSVR
The Last Video Store game coming to PlayStation VR brings back those nostalgic Blockbuster VHS vibes.
Alamo Drafthouse to open video rental store with rare VHS tapes
Do you miss the days when finding a movie to watch meant browsing the local video store, hoping that you'd stumble across some rare gem? Alamo Drafthouse sure does. After amassing collections from small shops, the enthusiast-driven theater chain is opening a "reimagining" of rental stores, Video Vortex, that will sit in the lobby of the company's future Raleigh location. It'll include Blu-ray and DVD titles, but the real highlight will be a "massive" selection of rare VHS tapes, some of which never made the leap to digital. Alamo will even rent you a VCR (complete with an RCA-to-HDMI adapter), since you probably don't have one hooked up to your 4K TV.
Say farewell to VHS (if you hadn't already)
The last company that still makes VHS players will reportedly cease production of the technology at the end of July. The news comes from Japan's Nikkei, which claims that Funai has decided to call it quits long after everyone pulled out of the game. The firm has decided to bow out after sourcing the components necessary to build the devices became too difficult to continue. Oh, and the fact that it's 2016 and VHS is about as useful a format as wax cylinders in an age of lossless digital transfer. Despite this, 750,000 of the players were sold worldwide last year, the majority probably going to hipsters who say that they can only appreciate Terminator 2 with tracking lines.
App takes VHS-quality videos on iPhones and iPads
If you're wondering why anybody would want to record in VHS quality, well, you clearly never woke up with a strange desire to recreate 80's family home videos that show your dad's mullet in its full glory. In case we've helped you see the light but can't find your parents' decades-old camcorder in the basement, here's the next best thing: an iOS app that can mimic its effects. It's aptly called VHS Camcorder, and TechCrunch says it doesn't only take grainy videos, it also captures crappy audio -- the app's clearly aiming for accuracy.
The Big Picture: VHS monstrosities invade Iceland
French artist Ob Rey mashes together a number of different media for his latest series, dubbed "V"HS. The five apparitional black and white images, each of which is accompanied by a short film, is supposed to represent a post-human world in which monstrous beings burst forth into a confusing and frightful existence, their skeletal frames clad in VHS ribbon and whatever detritus could be found during the Icelandic production. Their visages are meant to invoke thought and questions regarding the forced obsolescence of humans and their electronics in our ever-accelerating march of technological advancement. Or something like that, at least. It's art -- it means whatever you think it means.
Daily Roundup: a new Engadget, sex ed on VHS and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Santa Ragione's VHS rewinds movie-selection sims at Fantastic Arcade
VideoHeroeS is a good fit for Fantastic Arcade, the annual indie game exhibition tied to Fantastic Fest, a genre film showcase held in Austin, Texas. VHS is a game about the nostalgia of picking out movies, on VHS, in the 90s from the local rental store – players are the store clerk and have to find the right tape for each customer. Customers have specific demands, such as, "I hate movies. They suck. Give me anything that is not a movie," and questions including, "Do you still have that martial arts movie with the screaming guy? You know, when he says, "Kiiaiii!" I played VHS during GDC Europe in Cologne, Germany, and it's more than a simple point-and-click method of movie selection. It's a physics game in the way that Octodad uses physics, flinging films around the carefully organized shelves to float above the floor in a jumbled, chaotic pile. This adds to the frenzy of helping customers as their demands pile up. As the clerk, you only get paid if you find a film to meet the customer's needs. It's a joy not only to pick the correct movies, but also to look at all that old-school box art. Currently, VHS uses actual movies and their box arts, but if the game takes off outside of Fantastic Arcade, developer Santa Ragione has a plan: commission famous and talented artists to design boxes inspired by classic titles, mimicking them enough for players to get a sense of each film's contents, but not enough so the devs get sued. As a bonus, this avenue would create tons of original artwork within the game, which could be an extra selling point. Anyone going to Fantastic Arcade in Austin on September 19 - 26, check out VHS – and please be kind, rewind.
YouTube lets you relive the old-school look of VHS -- in HD
Sure, watching YouTube videos in HD is great when you want clarity, but maybe you've been yearning for that grainy, tape-recorded look. Marking what's apparently the 57th anniversary of cassette-based video recording, the YouTube team has snuck a VHS tape-shaped button on select videos. Clicking it will throw a filter over the content, providing a highly distorted and nostalgic feast for the eyes. There's no official list of compatible content, but the option seems to be available on most of the videos on YouTube's native channel. We have a feeling at least one VCR enthusiast will be quite pleased.
Connect with your 8mm memories using YesVideo's app and a TUAW discount
Nothing says "analog" like a shoebox full of old videotapes, Super 8 movies and slides. Even if you wanted to watch them (or subject friends / kids to them), digging out the old projector or VCR is a dicey proposition. Converting film to video or digital storage is possible to achieve DIY, but can be daunting and/or expensive -- although with an HDSLR, the results can be pretty cool. If you'd rather pay than tinker, there are scores of shops and services, ranging from LargeCos to small local shops, that will happily tackle the task of digitizing your old media. One of the biggest in the space -- more than 10 million home videos made into bits already, $50 million in 2012 retail revenue -- is YesVideo. YesVideo offers convenient drop-off locations at thousands of drugstores, megamarts and shopping clubs, and it provides hosted Web access to your converted movies in addition to the traditional DVD delivery. Submitted movies and other materials are processed domestically in either the eastern (Norcross, GA) or western (Santa Clara, Calif.) YesVideo facility. Although the Web library at YesVideo is HTML5 savvy and works with iOS and Android, the company is taking the next step today and launching an iPhone app. Users can watch all their digitized content in the app, chapter by chapter or a full movie at a time. Clips are shareable over Facebook and via email, and of course the app is AirPlay-friendly for inflicting your memories on a roomful of people at once via your Apple TV. You can also track the progress of an open digitizing order in the app. Do you have one of those aforementioned shoeboxes hanging around? As a special treat for TUAW readers, YesVideo is offering a 30 percent discount on conversion orders until April 1. Prepare your order at direct.yesvideo.com, then enter "TUAW" in the coupon field. You can request an EasyShip Kit from YesVideo, or just ship your movies to the conversion facility in the box you're currently using to hold them (assuming it's not disintegrating from age and neglect).
These old Nintendo promo videos are a national treasure
A collector of gaming antiquities has provided an incredible public service to the world, by uploading six extremely rare, extremely retro Nintendo corporate promotional tapes to YouTube. The six videos (above and after the break) were originally used as sales pitches to promote various products and live events, such as the Super Game Boy and the 1990 Nintendo World Championships, to retailers and potential venues.Beyond their value as hilarious distractions, however, these blurry, color-smeared glimpses into the past also serve as a reminder of our community's history -- one that must be preserved and cherished, so that our children may one day know how completely ridiculous everything was in the early 90s.Their tiny, adorable faces will look up and ask "Daddy, why are there day-glo pink triangles all over everything in these 'video tapes'?" To which we'll reply, "Hush, sweetie. Eat your gruel before Ag'rathas and his Labor Wardens start our next shift, here in the Salt Mines of Kuu'uultepth, which is in space because this is humanity's bleak future as a conquered people."
VCR head gets Frankenstiened into a beefy momentum scroll wheel
We've seen a fair share of VCR hacking in our day, but this momentum scroll wheel built from an old VCR head by Instructables community member Osgeld sets a new bar for jerry-rigging dead technology. Apparently the project arose from a desire to find a 21st century-approved use for the circular part that was gathering dust after being stripped from a spare Sony VHS player. The result is a bulky, yet useful, scroll wheel that can easily be set into motion and sustained via its own inertia to keep spinning for long periods. That feature could prove useful to anyone saddled with a mountain of video editing work, or even you lazy folk just hoping to flick less while reading the web. Unfortunately, a quick glance at Osgeld's DIY tool and part lists indicate you'll need to do quite a bit more than ransack a tape player to get this job done right. But then, when do the good things in life ever come easy?
Finnish VCR enthusiast is a Finnish VCR enthusiast
50 years from now we'll all be making this same video with Android handsets, you just wait and see.
UK VHS sales more than double in 2009, Bill Cosby enjoys the attention
The way we see it, unless you're old enough to have taped a world premiere Smiths video off of 120 Minutes (probably "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before") you have no business hoarding VHS tapes. But maybe you are enamored with their many charms: actual tape that gets taut, stretches, or simply loses signal over time, resulting in color bleeds and ghastly images; bulky physical media; cardboard cases that stain and tear quickly and easily. Well, you probably live in the United Kingdom, then! According to a report by that nation's Entertainment Retailers' Association (ERA), while music sales dropped by 0.8 percent in 2009 (the lowest decrease in five years) and all other video fell by 10.6 percent, VHS sales more than doubled, from 44,377 in 2008 to 95,201 last year. Of course, everything is relative -- while PC games, for instance, declined nearly 25% last year, some 6.4 million titles were sold. Even so, this is no small potatoes when you realize that almost all the sales were attributed to Bill Cosby's Razzie Award-winning classic. What do you think, guys? Time for a Leonard Part 7?
iPhone icons in felt keychain form
Unfortunately these guys are already sold out (though maybe there'll be more soon), but I'm still posting them here just to gaze on their awesomeness -- Etsy user Rabbitrampage put together these six iPhone icon keychains (well, five iPhone and one Finder) out of felt, thread, and fiber fill. I think they look great, though it would be nice to have even more custom icons available. I guess if you want a special icon keychain made of your own app (ahem), you'll have to make it yourself. This same Etsy user also enjoys wrapping your iPhone in felt recreations of old retro items like Game Boys and even a VHS tape. I've already got a case on my iPhone, but if I didn't have one yet, I'd definitely pick up one of these. [via iPhone Savior]
Toshiba updates VARDIA line of DVRs with Blu-ray, VHS... wait, what?
Toshiba's showing it has moved on from the horrors of the format war, today announcing Three Non-HD DVD Recorders and a few other Japan only Blu-ray products. The top of the line D-BW1005K DVR connects with the future via a 1TB HDD, several tuners and the aforementioned disc burning capability but also gives a nod to the past and our old copies of Days of Thunder, A History of Violence and The Young Teacher thanks to its included VHS deck. Ditching the tape player, 1TB HDD or recording capability saves a few yen, while all-in-one fans can opt for the R1BDP series of REGZA LCDs, an offshoot of the R9000 line in 32- and 26-inch sizes with Blu-ray burning drives tucked in behind just like Sharp & Mitsubishi's HDTVs. All are due over the next few months, check Impress for the prices and dates, but we'd wait to see what kind of Blu-ray upgrade is heading the Cell TV's way before buying, even with the potential return of sweet, sweet VHS to our lives (it's amazing how a few years of nostalgia has made us forget all those worn out rentals, poor quality and the need for something called a "rewinder.")
Mitsubishi's new Blu-ray DVRs have you covered, from super resolution to VHS
Mitsubishi has always tried to take a different tack with its Blu-ray recording DVRs in Japan -- see its DVR-BF2000 model for evidence -- and we're sure someone's glad to see them going the extra mile with these latest three models. The DVR-BZ330 combines a 1TB hard drive with the super resolution upconversion that promises to pull additional information from low res video via its Diamond HD chip. If that bit of video magic isn't impressive(or believable) there's always the similar DVR-BZ230 sans-Diamond HD and half the hard drive space, while true back compat freaks should opt for the DVR-BV530 with VHS playback (no recording, we know you had an LP tape you've been saving.) Expect these to hit the streets in October from ¥180,000 ($1,915) for the high end DVR-BZ330 to ¥120,000 ($1,270) for the DVR-BV530.
First Look: Roxio Easy VHS to DVD for Mac
Those of us who are old enough to remember the VHS versus Betamax wars are also old enough to have a box of VHS cassettes stored somewhere, filled with memories of vacations, birthdays, and weddings. In the jump from the analog media of VHS to the digital world of DVD, many of those tapes were put away and forgotten. Today, Roxio announced a way to bring those old memories to life on your Mac. The Roxio Easy VHS to DVD for Mac kit (US$79.99) includes a USB 2.0 video capture widget that gets plugged into any USB 2.0 port on your Mac, then connected to your VHS deck or analog camcorder. The Easy VHS to DVD software provides step-by-step prompting for connecting video and audio cables to the capture device, records the video onto your Mac in either standard (4 Mbps VBR) or high-quality (8 Mbps VBR), and then offers you the choice to either edit the movie in iMovie, send it to the included Roxio Toast Basic DVD-burning software, or view it in QuickTime Player. If you already have an Elgato or Blackmagic video adapter, you can use those to achieve similar ends, without the straight-to-DVD option of the Roxio product. I think it's finally time for me convert and burn the VHS video I shot back in 1980 in the U.K. with a 21-pound "compact" Panasonic VHS recorder and separate video camera. What old VHS tapes would you want to burn to DVD? Leave a comment below.
VHS casette hacked into USB drive? Yes, please
Don't bother asking questions, just admit to yourself that you really might want one (if not several) of these. Using very few materials, you can make yourself a USB storage device which looks just like a VHS tape with a giant wire sticking out of it! It's not a terribly complicated affair -- connecting the USB cable to a thumb drive inside the tape, some simple circuit board wiring -- and presto! If you're willing to spend three or four hours and around $10-15 a pop, you could finally make use of your lonely, disused 227 collection. Check out an informative, educational video of the process after the break.
Panasonic CES 2009 Blu-ray / HTIB lineup eyes-on
We were able to spot a few of Panasonic's latest innovations in the home theater space back at CES 2009, but we got a much more intimate look at things during a recent New York showcase. The new Blu-ray decks look nice, if not a touch plain. Not that everyone wants an Alienware-esque BD deck or anything, but we digress. The Blu-ray HTIB systems were particularly of interest, as these things are perfect for sneaking BD into homes that are currently DVD-only, and while we longed for more information on the portable DMP-B15, the on-hand reps didn't seem too anxious to gush over technical specifications with us. Their loss, totally.
Netflix concept spurred by $40 VHS late fee -- who knew?
We've listened to Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings talk business about his company, but how's about a little background? After announcing a momentous Q4 while practically every other outfit on the planet hung their head in shame, the understandably elated exec sat down with Fortune to explain how Netflix came to be. As the story goes, Reed lamented the $40 fee he was nailed with upon returning a VHS copy of Apollo 13 in 1997. Soon after, he began to research the idea of starting a rental-by-mail outfit. Interestingly enough, the subscription based model that nearly 10 million people enjoy today was something that came after the first concept, but obviously he hasn't tried to mess with the magical elixir very much sense. Have a look at the read link for the full writeup.
