As it dawns on us that the internet isn’t forever, and you don’t really have control over your digital media, it’s becoming more popular to collect physical media. While DVDs and Blu-ray media are a non-issue, what about older formats like LaserDisc and VHS? Should anyone be collecting these? If so, which one makes the most sense?
Quality and Format Differences
LaserDisc is a higher quality format than VHS, period. LaserDisc offered almost twice as many horizontal lines of detail than VHS, so there really is no comparison. However, with LaserDisc you’ll have to flip the disc over partway through most films. Like me, you probably have rose-tinted memories of what VHS looked like, but if you head to YouTube and look at digitized VHS recordings, you’ll soon realize we could barely see what was going on. While LDs are still short of DVDs in quality, on the right equipment it can still look great.
Longevity and Durability
VHS tapes are not great from a longevity and durability perspective. Every time you play back a VHS tape, it gets a little more worn out. Not to mention that the tape itself will degrade over time, and it’s susceptible to magnets.
LaserDiscs, on the other hand, may also be analog in nature, but because the disc is read using a laser, there’s no wear and tear, and the quality should not degrade through normal use. However, these discs are susceptible to their own form of “disc rot.” It’s not entirely clear why some LDs get disc rot, but it’s enough of a problem that enthusiasts maintain a list of problematic titles.
Overall, I’d give this one to LaserDiscs on balance, especially since VHS seems to have its own inevitable decline as well.
One thing I do worry about is the longevity of the actual players, since LDs will eventually break down when the lasers don’t work anymore, and VHS players are mechanically complex and were unreliable even when new. Well, at least the mainstream models my family could afford were. Whether there will be any way to play these media decades from now is debatable.
Rarity and Availability
LaserDisc was a relatively rare format at the best of times. One of the main reasons VHS became so popular was affordability, and the sheer number of VHS titles released. So finding VHS from the late 90s and onward should still be relatively easy. That said, you’ll find plenty of LaserDisc listings on sites like Ebay. Not as many as VHS titles based on my casual browsing, but they’re still available.
Packaging and Artwork
The truth about vinyl records is that the perceived “quality” advantage it has over digital music doesn’t have a basis in reality, but I feel many people collect them because the shape and size of vinyl records lends itself to amazing packaging and artwork. Similarly, there’s just no comparison to how beautiful LDs can be as objects, even if you never play them. From this perspective, they are highly collectible.
VHS tapes, on the other hand, are ugly and spartan. Of course, that’s just my opinion, but in this category I just find no merit to them at all.
Cost
Oddly enough, as I was looking for prices on both VHS players and LD players, it seems that things more or less even out. As for the prices of the media, LDs seem quite a bit more expensive. However, I’d hazard to say that if the LD is in good condition it’s probably worth the additional asking price.
Cultural and Historical Significance
Let’s be honest, if any film or show that exists on either LaserDisc or VHS is available on DVD or Blu-ray, you’re far better off getting those more modern formats. If something only exists on LD or VHS, then LD seems like the better choice, and then VHS should be a last resort.
However, there is the nostalgia factor with VHS, and in the case of LDs, there might be historical value to some of them. After all, for a long time the widescreen LaserDisc releases of the original Star Wars trilogy was the only untouched version of the original theatrical edits of those movies, untouched by George Lucas’ “improvements.”
There’s no winner here, other than LD being the better option for preservation if no newer media of that content exists.
Community and Fandom
You’d think that LaserDisc would have a more intense fandom, but as a crude metric, consider that r/VHS has over 60K members, while r/LaserDisc has a hair under 10K members. There are, of course, forums and groups dedicated to both media all over the web, but the size of the VHS community did surprise me a little.
I think perhaps a part of it has to do with just how many VHS titles there are, and there’s an endless flood of rare or obscure finds in the VHS world, whereas LDs are more about quality over quantity. A media nerd can get lost in either rabbit hole, so it’s not like I want to say one is better than the other, but the two types of collector communities sure feel like they have different “flavors” for lack of a better word.
Personally, I think I’ll stick to collecting DVDs and Blu-rays, though I am a little envious of my friends who do collect LDs, until I come to my senses. Even collecting DVDs is starting to feel like media archeology, so while going further back than that feels daunting. Whichever you might choose to collect, any preservation is worth it, and as long as you enjoy your hobby there’s probably no objectively correct answer as to which is the “right” medium to invest in.
