In the final episode of Say Yes To VHS, Brian and Sam fast forward to the end of the series to discuss the ‘90s heyday of video sales, the eventual decline of physical media and the current wave of nostalgia for VHS.

In the 1990s, video sales became more profitable than video rentals, with films such as The Lion King, Jurassic Park and Titanic selling millions of copies. But only a few years later DVD supplanted VHS as the most popular home video format. The arrival of streaming platforms such as Netflix marked the death-knell for the remaining video shops in Northern Ireland, with the final XtraVision branch shutting its doors in 2016.

We finish the series by taking a nostalgic look at the impact and importance of VHS, asking what we have lost with the switch away from physical media.

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Written and presented by Dr Sam Manning and Brian Henry Martin
Music by Score Draw Music
https://thewondercinema.buzzsprout.com

In the fifth episode of Say Yes to VHS, recorded live from Queen's Film Theatre in Belfast, Brian and Sam press play on a discussion about the wonder of the video shop.

As home video grew in popularity in the late 1970s and early 1980s, businesses such as newsagents and electronic shops opened their own video libraries, renting VHS and Betamax tapes to meet growing consumer demand. Soon after, dedicated video shops became a viable business model, with the number of these premises in Northern Ireland increasing from 89 in 1985 to 248 in 1990.

Independent shops, such as Agnes and Sandy's Video Library or Topper's Video Shack, were joined by branches of XtraVision, the largest chain on the island of Ireland. By the late 1980s, falling video prices led customers to start buying 'sell through' copies rather than renting them.

Brian recalls his memories of the video shop in 1980s Belfast, emphasising them as community spaces that offered a wide range of films. And after everyone had watched a VHS screening of The Princess Bride, we invited the audience to share their own video shop memories.

Links

The Northern Ireland Screen Digital Film Archive, '80s Tech!' collection

Queen's Film Theatre, Belfast

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Written and presented by Dr Sam Manning and Brian Henry Martin
Music by Score Draw Music
https://thewondercinema.buzzsprout.com

In the fourth episode of Say Yes to VHS, Brian and Sam press pause to discuss how cinema owners and television broadcasters responded to the rapid rise of home video in the 1980s.

Before the arrival of the VCR, film choices were limited to the three television channels or the ever dwindling number of cinemas in Northern Ireland. Video shops offered people a wider range of choice and there were no longer any restrictions on when you could watch a film. The blank video cassette meant that people could also now record content directly from television and watch at their own leisure. A VCR timer meant you could even leave the house and not miss your favourite programme or movie.

Home video forced television broadcasters to expand and diversify their content. When Channel 4 arrived in 1982, it aimed to reach new audiences and its series of 'red triangle' films reached millions of viewers. Programmes such as BBC's Moviedrome became curators of cult cinema. Cinemas were forced to up their game by splitting into several screens and offering more choice, paving the way for the arrival of the multiplex to Northern Ireland in the 1990s.

Links

The Northern Ireland Screen Digital Film Archive, '80s Tech!' collection

Send us a message

Written and presented by Dr Sam Manning and Brian Henry Martin
Music by Score Draw Music
https://thewondercinema.buzzsprout.com