A good friend of mine was wrong recently, and I didn’t mind telling him! He’s one of those types that is often right…and doesn’t mind sharing this fact with you. He was sure that the #1 transfer we take on here at Towson Transfers is a VHS to digital transfer. I can’t blame him for thinking that, and truth be told, that is what I thought it would be as well. But surprisingly, there are a number of other formats that are higher on the list, but I’m sure VHS will be a contender for years to come!
I’m sure it will vary from area to area and even from time to time, but the leader in transfers for 2021 so far is…drum roll please…8 mm film (thanks to our new friend Ellen in Towson), followed closely by mini DV (Thanks to Joe in Timonium) VHS (Thanks to Sue in Annapolis) then 8 MM tape. VHS-C is making a late run into the top 5. As the holiday season shapes up and our customers are getting their transfers ready to show at holiday gatherings, I’m looking forward to seeing if VHS can make a late run for the top spot here in Towson. I’ll keep you posted!
I think some of the confusion about the popularity of VHS may have to do with the number of VHS tapes people of a certain age may remember around the house. Obviously, VHS was the video rental market undisputed leader for a very long time and it was the only format that people were using to record their own favorite programs from broadcast TV and cable. I’m just thinking of the stack VHS for “Days of our Lives” soap operas we had from our Mom, let alone the other must-see TV shows and sporting events. New VHS are hard to find now of course but they used to fly off the shelves in 3 and even 10 packs! Needless to say, millions of memories are on VHS tape and thankfully, they have held up pretty well over the years.