i remember when video cassette tape players first came out--there were two kinds: vhs and beta. about 3/4ths of the world bought the vhs while the other 1/4th bought the beta.
being a visionary, my dad derrill bought the beta machine. the only other people that i knew who owned beta were my uncle dale and my uncle grey (my dad's two brothers.)
i recall going to 'rent a video' on st. george boulevard to pick out which movie we would watch that night--what a great concept! i always remember feeling sorry for those poor suckers who bought the clumsy, larger vhs tape machines. the beta tapes were littler and so much cuter in my 7th grade mind--the people who made the mistake of NOT buying the beta machine would certainly rue the day later when betas ruled the world.
that was, until the vhs tapes took over the betas and beat them to a bloody pulp. after a few years you couldn't even RENT a video in beta, and our beloved machine was sold for pennies at a yard sale.
i tell this long, not very interesting story because it explains why i feel so compelled to visit a betamax christmas--it's basically sitting in your wood-panelled basement and watching christmas shows and videos from the 80's. you even get to change channels with a ghetto remote and switch between oldies but goodies designing women, silver spoons,growing pains, friday night videos, night court, and even some vintage commercials.
so, slip on those reebok high tops and la gear sweatpants and hide what you're watching from the parentals! (just kidding mom and dad--i never watched anything of a questionable nature.)
11 comments:
I love your nostalgic posts. It's like The Wonder Years, but in the 80s in St. George, and you are like Kevin except that you are a girl. Keep them coming!
I know what I am doing tonight!
I remember the days when we didn't have a VCR - so we rented a Betamax from the Island Video so I could watch Friday the 13th for my sleepover slumber party.
Good times...
We were like Tib's family. Not only would we rent the movies, we'd rent the machine. And we'd have to rent Ghostbusters every single time. We didn't get a VCR until about 1988. We were poor, neglected children.
We so had the BETA machine! Of course, you could hardly find any movies that played on it, but hey, we were cutting edge!
I wish my mom still had hers, I would like it to add it to my antique collection!
my best friend in high school had a beta max....so classic! thanks for the trip down memory lane, good times.
Oh the nastalgia... We had the beta. We had a great Beta section at the video store...for about 6 months. If I rented Purple Rain once, I rented it a thousand time.
My neighbors had a beta and I always felt sorry for them... I'd think of them every time we'd go to the video store and see the obscure section in the corner of 27 videos to choose from.
I love the Amazing Grace light house on crack - where can I see it in real life? I must make the pilgrimage.
Ha! This is funny! I remember the first time that I saw a VCR. It was around the early 80's at my Aunt's apartment. She had just graduated from college, and she bought one with her first paycheck! It was HUGE! She had a bunch of recorded Saturday Night Live's and one movie; Flashdance! It was the first movie that I ever watched on a VCR. I thought she was a millionaire for having such a contraption!
dude. is that george clooney and rudy a la fax of life fame on the tv screen in the background? i'd bet you 3 dollars i'm right.
we rented the big ole VHS player too. we were a little behind the times:)
That is trippy! Are you talking about the Blockbuster on the corner? Is that still there? Or did Red box take it over?
Doesn't it make you wonder about what our kids will think is funny when they are our age?
I can remember being 10 or 11 years old, sitting in our kitchen (of all places), after Mom rolled out the Betamax so we could all watch The Exorcist.
Man, was that a BIG mistake!!! I could never look at pea soup quite the same again.
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