Goodbye VHS

It's official, the VHS video tape is going the way of the cassette audio tape. Wal-Mart and Target are getting rid of 'em:

Wal-Mart and Target will virtually clear their shelves of VHS tapes, except for major new releases - a move that underscores the country's shift to digital entertainment.

The moves, which follow the leads of Best Buy and Circuit City, are a major sign that videocassettes are quickly vanishing from the retail scene now that there are at least one or more DVD players in more than 60 percent of U.S. homes. When DVD computer capability is figured in, the number soars to 73 percent.

"DVD is growing, so naturally the demand for VHS is phasing out," said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Karen Burke. "It's going to vary from store to store."

As the country's largest retailer, with more than 3,600 U.S. stores, Wal-Mart accounts for approximately one-third of the home-video market. The chain's decisions on the home-video front are closely watched by the entertainment industry.

"It certainly signifies the end of VHS or being close to the end," said independent industry analyst Dennis McAlpine of McAlpine and Associates.

Both stores will continue to offer new releases in VHS, but I wonder how long the movie companies will continue to produce them. There are so many advantages to DVD, and the technology to play them is getting amazingly cheap. I just boxed up dozens of VHS tapes and stuck them in my garage because I don't even have a VHS player in the house anymore.

In another sign of changing technology, I also boxed up a couple of hundred CDs. Every song on every one of those CDs is now on my iPod (2,222 in all), and I haven't even used up 40% of the capacity. Amazing. As I write this I have the iPod plugged into my computer and Ray Stevens is singing the "Haircut Song" (I never said I had great taste in music).