VHS-C was the first variation on the VHS videotape in the early 1980s after about six years of battling for market domination against Betamax. By 1982 VHS had largely won the market and began to make slight improvements, along with attempts to make the format smaller and more compact.
The Attempt to Make VHS Smaller
VHS-C tapes and camcorders were introduced around the same time as Sony's comparable Video8. Both brought to market the first video cameras small enough to fit in the palm of one's hand. Both formats had picture and sound quality that were a slight improvement on their predecessors. While much smaller than a VHS tape, VHS-C tapes could be played in a standard VCR with an adapter cartridge that made it a compatible size. Though larger in size and having a shorter running time than Video8, this VHS compatibility made VHS-C tapes the preferred choice for most consumers. Another feature was the fact that VHS-C tape could be wound by hand with the use of one's finger if there was any slack in the tape or if it somehow came unraveled.
Later Variations on VHS-C
With the later advent of S-VHS tapes (Super-VHS), a comparable S-VHS-C format was introduced to compete with the further evolution of Video8 called Hi8. With improved picture and sound quality, the size and shape of the new VHS-C tape hadn't changed, and it stayed a viable option for many until the MiniDV videocassette came out in the mid 1990s. Some expected a D-VHS format (digital VHS) would be introduced to compete with the new Digital8 tapes around the same time period but it never happened. Instead, MiniDV eventually took over the market until more recently when DVD and hard drive camcorders became standard.
Up until a few years ago, some limited markets still sold VHS-C and S-VHS-C camcorders. Perhaps you were one of the many families who used this more compact format to create family movies and recordings of special events throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Those tapes may be still in storage somewhere in your home gradually deteriorating.
Rescue those tapes and bring them to us here at Click-Scan-Share in San Diego, San Francisco or Chicago or send them in from anywhere in the US. We're widely recognized for our special care in restoring old media formats and transferring them to gold DVD's to preserve for the next century. We'll transfer whatever precious memories are on your VHS-C tapes at an affordable rate, with careful attention to detail and returning your originals. We can also give you quality transfers from all other 20th century media formats you've had stored away for much too long, including photos, film and slides.
Up until a few years ago, some limited markets still sold VHS-C and S-VHS-C camcorders. Perhaps you were one of the many families who used this more compact format to create family movies and recordings of special events throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Those tapes may be still in storage somewhere in your home gradually deteriorating.
Rescue those tapes and bring them to us here at Click-Scan-Share in San Diego, San Francisco or Chicago or send them in from anywhere in the US. We're widely recognized for our special care in restoring old media formats and transferring them to gold DVD's to preserve for the next century. We'll transfer whatever precious memories are on your VHS-C tapes at an affordable rate, with careful attention to detail and returning your originals. We can also give you quality transfers from all other 20th century media formats you've had stored away for much too long, including photos, film and slides.
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