V-Lite: Disposable Lightweight VHS tape

[@Rp707]

That's the "dude you're getting a Dell" guy on a Dell monitor. Nice.

[@ShawnBoyko]

Glad I'm not the only one who noticed, it was making me feel old.

[@forkenstein3806]

I had to come looking for this comment. I probably haven't seen that guy in 20 years, but they played those ads so much I guess he's permanently etched into my brain since I recognized him instantly.

[@jonathankleinow2073]

Ben Curtis! Everyone thought he acted like a stoner, and then he lost the Dell gig for getting caught with a bag of marijuana in 2003. He was 20 when he filmed the Dell ads. He turns 43 this year. We are getting so old.

[@gleaming999]

I was just about to post the same thing

[@demodemo5146]

THANK YOU! I thought it was James Franco's brother for a minute.

[@CarletonTorpin]

4:33 - it’s the “Dude, you’re getting a Dell” guy! In 2000 - 2003 he was huge in US television ads for Dell Computer.

[@tylerbrunton7696]

Thank you! I was scrolling for a while looking for this answer.

[@dzltron]

Glad I'm not the only one who noticed that.

[@palrich]

He got arrested buying a small amount of weed and was fired and blacklisted. The world probably owes him an apology.

[@MitchQuadrupleTree]

I KNEW HE LOOKED FAMILIAR!!! THANK YOU!!!

[@tylerbrunton7696]

@@palrich I didn't know that, what a bummer.

[@ethansloan]

As an American, and a fan of failed media formats, I can confidently say this is the first time I've ever heard of this bizarre thing. Thanks for sharing.

[@MissMTurner]

Same!

[@gabedom_]

Me too

[@kane2742]

Yeah, I remember some promotional CD-ROMs (before DVDs were widespread) with video clips on them, but not V-Lite.

[@karlmatthias2698]

Same

[@twistedviewlabs]

same here! of course, by the time this came out here, i was busy being in my early-mid 20's and had moved onto to DVD

[@kennethlee494]

The most interesting VHS tape I ever encountered was in the late 1980's when I worked at a video rental store. It was a screener tape that was sent out by video distributors with a complete version of an upcoming movie release. It had a limited number of plays on it, usually 5 before it would self erase. There was a mechanical counter installed between the reels that displayed the number of plays so far, when it reached zero it would trip an arm that had a magnet on the end of it. That magnet would contact the edge of the tape that contained the tracking info, when you rewound the tape after the last play it would erase the tracking info, making the tape unplayable. Since the tapes were supposedly self erasing we were not required to send the tape back to the distributor. It was easy enough to open up up the tape and remove the magnet and counter device so the tape could be watched an unlimited number of times. I held on to one of those tapes for a number of years with the counter and magnet still in place, resetting the simple mechanical counter after the movie was played a couple of times, I wish I still had it.

[@brentfisher902]

It reminds me of that spy TV show where the tape had a message at the end that would say, "This tape will self-destruct in 30 seconds "

[@blackcentury]

Whoa! I've never come across one of these -- hilarious! Question -- Do you remember what movie it was? Dorkier Question -- Do you remember if it had on-sceen warnings that screeners typically had? You know: "FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY. THIS CASSETTE IS PROPERTY OF ...." Because that AND the time bomb magnet together would be outright adversarial!

[@kennethlee494]

@@blackcentury I do not remember the title of the movie but it did have the "Property of (studio) Not For Sale Or Rental" on screen at the bottom of the screen through the movie. There was a warning on the box that the tape would self erase after a certain number of plays.

[@presidentkiller]

@@brentfisher902 Mission Impossible?

[@Oceanblue_Art_]

I wonder if someone who did this now has a copy of a lost unreleased film

[@dadoubledeuce]

Oh my god…. My sister actually competed in that thing. Her theater teacher took it very seriously and it was a big deal for her.

[@JamesLawner]

Did she get a chance?

[@Epinardscaramel]

Sounds like a fun exercice if anything

[@bostonrailfan2427]

@@Epinardscaramelnah, this reeks of living vicariously through the students…

[@bostonrailfan2427]

hope her teacher didn’t become a perfectionist diva living vicariously through the students!

[@jonwagner8889]

it's fun to see Ben Curtis again! He's the young actor promoting "The Great Gatsby" in the promo. Ben played Steven in a series of commercials for Dell computers in the early 2000s. The tagline "Dude, you're getting a Dell!' is a classic tagline.

[@grandinosour]

He got dumped and blacklisted over buying a bag of weed during the "Dell" campaign.

[@thescott7539]

@@astralgilt My first thought when I saw that guy was "Dude I think that guy got me a Dell"

[@anonymousvampire9572]

I recognized him the second he came up. I'm not shocked about the weed charge. Pretty stupid that got him fired.

[@mechalincoln]

Lol I knew it was that guy

[@CptJistuce]

​@@anonymousvampire9572 It was a different time. He was supposed to "just say no"

[@OldProVidios]

We had a producer talk about a bid for V-lite. The cost to make copies was more than just using 20 minute standard tapes. Mailing costs was no different since it was mailed at the media rate. So, the V-lite was more expensive than standard.

[@turnkit]

This is pretty critical info when trying to understand why this format might not have succeeded.

[@pepe6666]

thats facinating

[@whatr0]

I have to imagine it would only make sense at super high quantities, and even then VHS were so dirt cheap by the 2000s the cost difference would have had to be negligible.

[@Epinardscaramel]

5:25 “Will it eject? (…) Well that’s something I’ll never watch again” You’re breaking that little VHS’ heart! 😄

[@brennyn]

It was pretty common for me to get junk mail VHS tapes here in the US from 1996-2001, and it was always a regular VHS tape. Lots of stuff from Nintendo, but also car manufacturers for some reason. The tapes did not convince me to buy a Porsche Cayenne.

[@litigioussociety4249]

The one in most distinctly remember was Meijer stores sent out a tape in the mid 1990s to towns that recently got a Meijer. You got a discount, if you returned the tape, but one friend of mine kept his, and it was funny watching it years later, because the acting of the customers was awful. Now it's on KZbin for eternity.

[@Shadow-RAM]

Yup I still have some N64 era tape mailers around somewhere!

[@lo1bo2]

I received VHS tapes for the Sega Saturn and Street Fighter II (Genesis release), undoubtedly because of my Sega Visions magazine subscription.

[@lmntcrnstn4970]

@@litigioussociety4249 Just found it: MEIJER Supercenter Grand Opening Video Tour VHS [May 18th 1993]

[@projectartichoke]

I got a regular VHS tape as an invitation to attend a property seminar once. It had footage of the neighborhood and the homes they were trying to sell. Apparently they just sent it to random people, because I could barely afford to buy lunch back then.

[@JaredJanhsen]

My dad used to get quite a few V-Lite cassettes in the mail promoting Agricultural equipment and supplies. The United States Postal Service also charged for bulk media mail by weight so a cassette that weighed 1/4 as much meant considerably less mailing expense. Most of those companies did switch to CD-ROM promo materials that ran on a Windows PC in the late 90's.

[@alloria]

I am surprised that anybody felt brave enough to put one of those into their VCR! I wonder how many got tangled up inside the machine? Will these be featured in the Techmoan Museum?

[@rockets4kids]

My first thoughts here as well!

[@A2theC]

that happens so often with some cassette tapes 😂

[@frankowalker4662]

It's not just cheap tapes that get chewed up. LOL

[@Cre80s]

Good point. My recollection of the "flow of dread" is that I usually worried more that a poor VCR would ruin a prized tape more than the other way around.

[@abadenoughdude300]

@@frankowalker4662 That's the point. If even quality tapes get chewed up, what are the chances these cheap-ass insecure tapes actually won't. 😆

[@Jewellerybybarrie]

We used to duplicate and pack these at Technicolour Video in Wembley in the mid 90's. They were a pain as they got caught in the flow wrapper as it went through tearing the flap.. I was the Engineering supervisor and had to come up with a way to run them with minimum damage.... The tape used was usually pulled from damaged pancakes... That poly shell was also used for the wrap around label that never caught on in the UK... Never thought I would ever see these again...When I left Technicolour in 1999 we were still producing around 50million pre recorded tapes a year just in the UK...

[@itogi]

Thank God this format appeared just before the fall of VHS and not in the 80s

[@KittyMeow1984]

Funny, I thought the exact same thing. Had it come out in the 80s, besides the larger environmental impact, I can totally imagine someone making a slightly more durable, 2-hour long version of it and it eventually becoming the new manufacturing standard for home video releases. Or at least for rentals, like those pointless disposable self-destructive DVDs.

[@DecayingReverie]

@@WinterInTheForest The optimistic pessimist. The true chaotic neutral. I, too, am one.

[@jeffrey997]

Isn’t that the Dell guy in the V-Lite promo? Dude you’re getting a Dell!

[@TobyDeshane]

We witnessed the fall of VHS in this very episode!

[@W4iteFlame]

True

[@mikefellhauer3350]

The "bits of plastic" on the normal cassette are to lock the reels in place...that's why on V-Lite they say you have to tension up the reel as there is no reel lock on it! BTW, that type of foam packing IS recyclable in Toronto, Canada. And yes, also first time I heard of it even though I worked in a vidoe duplication studio.

[@Mordecrox]

I think it is recyclable anywhere with recycling facilities that can handle that. We had on local news that our city got one of those in 2011, barely a week later all the styrofoam burned in a fire and destroyed the machinery, which hasn't been replaced to this day. And since Knauf is 200 mile away and won't take it even of you bring them hundreds of tons... That's going in the landfill.

[@Ice_Karma]

The Return-It depots in British Columbia started accepting polystyrene (resin code 6, expanded or not) a few years ago. To the best of my knowledge, no municipality here accepts it in curbside recycling collection, however.

[@dantevortex]

I remember the "2view VHS cassette". I still have one of those around somewhere. The idea was that it's just another VHS cassette but with a prerecordered film on it. You would be able to watch it twice, and it would delete itself. After that you would be left with a blanc tape you could use for anything else, and that would remain intact. The internals were genius, the mechanism had a permanent magnet in place that would engage once, while you played the tape for the second time, and disengage afterwards to be locked in place away from the tape forever. So the permanent magnet would do its thing and disappear into a corner. These were popular at the very end of the tape era, so naturally they got replaced by DVD's shortly after.

[@sparkstron73]

Never heard of them before. A bit like the mission impossible self destruct mechanism but not si destructive 😆

[@pepsiforbread1416]

Not another Flexplay

[@JaredConnell]

What would the point be in that? I guess if you rented a video that never needed to be returned it would be cool but you'd only get to watch twice and you'd still have to pay for the cost of the tape so it would be pretty expensive compared to rentals.

[@jasonblalock4429]

I'm guessing it wasn't hard to pry them open and remove the magnet...?

[@lindendrache8998]

There was flexplay with VHS?? Never heard of them - but I would love seeing a video about them ^^ Just to see the mechanics - imagine how much engineering work went into something like this... to make a VHS tape erase itself.

[@60gregma]

Pretty sure the actor in the video is Ben Curtis. He was the "Dude, you're getting a Dell" kid from a series of TV commercials in the early 2000s.

[@MatthewHolloway]

You're right -- I emailed Ben and yep he confirmed that it's him

[@perpetualcollapse]

I cannot express how much I enjoy this channel.

[@AI-xr9om]

You're doing a good job expressing your enjoyment with Techmoan's channel.

[@waisinet]

I think you just did 🙂

[@jooei2810]

I can, the British accent, the quirky content, the snarky commentary, the obscure technology and the enthusiasm. One of the KZbin’s greatest channels!

[@skeennah1927]

Truly amazing

[@carlhartwell7978]

One of only two channels I still eagerly watch. SAF is the other...they're too cute!

[@petea]

I get the notion that someone is actually going back in time and creating weird storage media just for you Techmoan.

[@CLEImmortal]

When I was a kid in 1997 or 1998, my family was sent a TV pilot episode on one of these tapes for review by NBC. They asked us to mail it back to them, along with our review. The show was never actually picked up for broadcast.

[@turnkit]

Do you still have that tape? Great story.

[@CLEImmortal]

@@turnkit unfortunately no. NBC made us send it back. If I recall correctly, I think it was supposed to be called “Dads.” Completely unrelated to the show of the same name on Fox in 2013.

[@MrGeocidal]

If the tape only costs 20 cents they shouldn't need it back.

[@ZGryphon]

@@MrGeocidal The idea was probably more about not wanting their unreleased pilots floating around in the wild than anything to do with the cost of the tapes.

[@fsfs555]

I expected that promo video to end with "DUDE! You're getting a Dell!"

[@chrislj2890]

I thought I recognized that guy on the video; he was Ben Curtis, a student who did a bunch of commercials for Dell computers back then. His line was "Dude, you're getting a Dell." He got the axe for dealing with pot.

[@stanwbaker]

The absolute hypocrisy of a Dell campaign by GSD&M, both keeping the cocaine business in Austin like Antone's kept the tourist blues going, is even more astonishing in retrospect.

[@BashoftheMonth]

As someone who's lived in the US for 39 years, I can say that I've never heard of anything like this before just now.

[@Ambrose_TNJ]

I'm 30 1/2 and I've never heard of them either, at least not where I live. Seeing that they were used mostly for promotional material, it makes sense.

[@Suddenlyits1960]

Same here. Never saw one before or heard of it. I’ve seen many promotional tapes that were mailed back in the day. Not one was ever one of these.

[@CDRiley]

I am 42 years old, I never heard of them before.

[@fprefect]

The gag in the beginning was unreasonably funny. I genuinely laughed out loud. Genius in it's simplicity. :)

[@tim2036]

I really appreciate his deadpan delivery.

[@kira07]

Its great that you took it apart for us, I am always excited to see how stuff works when taking things apart myself : )

[@marcberm]

Can you imagine if we were still using this technology, and all of our channel subscriptions were distributed by KZbin on "disposable" VHS tapes through the post? The Earth would be buried in these things!

[@Yeen125]

It’d be like the setup to WALL-E.

[@samuelcolvin4994]

I think at that point some folks would be burning them as heating or fuel🤣🤣🤣

[@TassieLorenzo]

Netflix originally sent people DVDs in the post...

[@marcberm]

@@TassieLorenzo They still did until a few months ago.

[@ZGryphon]

@@TassieLorenzo Fortunately, they weren't those insane self-destructing ones.

[@Recordology]

I’ve seen the cheap VHS tapes with no windows before but this is next level. Actually impressive engineering to be able to pull this off.

[@weasel2htm]

Dude! You're watching on a Dell! Ok, I'm 99% sure the guy on the tape was the "Dude, You're getting a Dell." guy from that infamous ad campaign.

[@Emilysbrother1]

I scrolled down way too far for this comment! I was cracking up the second that dude appeared on screen. What are the odds that he would be on the one V-lite tape that Techmoan has?

[@MatthewHolloway]

I thought so too. I've emailed the actor.

[@Robocopnik]

I like how the instant you pressed "Play" it spat out the tape like "I'd rather not, thanks".

[@matt99is]

He'll need to start inventing his own media formats soon

[@lewdwig]

We live in a post-format world. Fortunately for us, Mr Moan does not.

[@nkt1]

If he did, I suspect it would be along the lines of Elcaset.

[@weltschmerz88]

There are still a myriad of digital formats competing

[@OrbObserver]

​@@weltschmerz88 Nothing that requires a proprietary player or initial investment to use, all file formats play on just about everything so technically competitive in a business sense but when it comes to cultural impact or mindshare no one really cares if the file is mp3 or mp4 or wav or whatever, they all play.

[@hoobidibahbidibah8119]

Who's to say he doesn't use his Time Machine to go back to the past and retroactively create these :^)

[@pepe6666]

i love this channel. im glad it exists and am grateful.

[@patrick600]

Always interesting to find out about a physical media format I have not heard before.

[@aaronring2444]

Thanks to this video I learned the “Dude, you’re getting’ a Dell” guy had other jobs.

[@trublgrl]

Looking at the complexity and parts in a VHS tape, it seems crazy that they sold them for like 5 or 6 for ten dollars. We had hundreds of VHS tapes, each one a little marvel of engineering.

[@andyb2260]

That's where the economies of scale and good old competition come in to play. When the VHS first came out you would have to pay something like $20 each for the tapes adjusted for inflation it'd be close to $100.00 for one blank tape then as it became more and more mainstream lots of different manufacturers jumped in the market. By the end of the VHS era I'd wager that each manufacturer was making more percentage wise per tape than they did when each tape cost $20 each.

[@AfferbeckBeats]

Yeah, and blank audio cassettes. Meanwhile they could stamp out blank CDs and DVDs by the millions and they cost a fortune for a long time.

[@IvanKowalenko]

When VHS was young cassettes cost quite a bit. Blank tapes in the early 80s were like $25USD/ea ($96 adjusted for inflation), but pre-recorded ones were $50-80 ($192-308) depending on the movie or show. IIRC the initial market for pre-recorded cassettes weren't consumers, but rental companies. This meant that while cassettes needed to be as inexpensive as reasonably possible, it also meant they needed to be durable enough to tolerate a lot of handling and playback sessions. Most people who bought a movie typically got it from a rental companies that was downsizing it's stock of particular titles to make room for new ones. This is why VHS had a spring-loaded door with a latch, and brakes to stop the reels from unspooling in transport, unlike professional formats like U-Matic that just had a small flap and free-spinning reels.

[@robintst]

They were very expensive at the start as the other replies explained, as were VCRs. Fabrication methods are costed down over time and made more efficient and when you have multiple companies jumping in to get their cut of the pie, it becomes a race to the bottom until everything a consumer is required to get becomes more widely affordable for everyone. Same thing happened with the pocket calculator market in the 70s.

[@marcusdamberger]

@@IvanKowalenko If I remember with U-Matic or 3/4" tape, the cassette case/holder itself gripped the hubs for transport. You almost never saw a 3/4" tape without it's case, since the spine was a useful place to put a label on the shelf. The 3M tape cassette holders had the special hook insert so you could hang it on the wall with a hanging rail system they had. Rather smart system that meant you didn't have to build a shelf that could hold the weight of such a library of tapes, you just needed wall space to mount the rail on. But this only worked for 3M tapes, I don't think Sony, Fuji, Ampex, etc had a shelf system like that. The only reason VHS movie releases were in the insane pricing they were was because the studio's jacked up the prices on VHS movies when they realized the majority of their titles were being bought by rental houses. They couldn't go after them for the number of views a tape had in home, i.e. how many $3/rental fees the tape did in it's lifetime, and instead did the next best thing and just made the video rental companies pay through the nose to acquire the copies. The price of Laserdiscs and RCA's CED Videodisc releases were usually $19.99. And I think Laserdiscs still maintained the edge in pricing later on when VHS tape manufacture and duplication came way down. Stamping a disc versus making a tape copy was still cheaper, and probably faster too! But alas, video on a disc didn't become the defacto until DVD came along.

[@baremetalHW]

Thanks Scott!!!

[@Lumibear.]

Utterly new concept to me, I’d never heard of such a thing before, how fascinating, I wonder how many plays you got out of it.

[@carlhartwell7978]

If any at all!

[@gcewing]

Hopefully you get at least as many ejections as plays.

[@josephb8268]

The world may never know.

[@Broken_robot1986]

A rewind would absolutely destroy it! "This tape will self destruct" lol

[@BG101UK]

@@Broken_robot1986 Good Morning, Mr Phelps ... ☺

[@thomasmurray9249]

Techmoan never disappoints, always something new and interesting.

[@laustinspeiss]

I worked in the video production industry through the entire product life of VHS, and never came across these. Impressed

[@genreonlinenet]

I remember in 1982, a blank VHS tape from TDK or Memorex, which included a plastic case, were heavier and sturdier than later blank tapes.

[@Ilanvain]

Always great watching techmoan during weekends :)

[@robbiemer8178]

I am about the same age as Techmoan and the "back in my day..." remark prompts me to remind all the younger viewers that back in our day we had to not only send off for our disposable VHS tapes and wait for the post, we also had to watch them uphill both ways. 😁

[@lmntcrnstn4970]

Another great Techmoan video! I live in the US, and I had never heard of V-Lite. Publix Supermarkets have accepted some Styrofoam for recycling since at least 1998, but not the Styrofoam used in shipping which is what the material shown in the video resembles.

[@BB..........]

I'm in the U.S, was in my 20s during the '90s, and this is the first time I've even seen these tapes.

[@shodan2958]

Its interesting how you note that people 20 years ago could still generally play VHS tapes. I remember a lot of the digital viewing upgrades remained somewhat pricey well into the 2000s. I didn't see a digital TV picture until 2003 when my family got Sky television and DVD finally became a thing that was somewhat affordable.

[@JeffFrmJoisey]

While I’ve never seen this type of VHS Tape, I did receive an “odd” VHS tape when I requested a Walt Disney World Planning tape in 1995. The cassette was made of soft plastic and was rather light. It had a door of the same material and the tape was around 30 mins long. This was the 1st and only time I’ve seen that style VHS tape.

[@JMcMillen]

Wait.... wasn't that the guy from those old Dell computer commercials? You know, 'Dude, you're getting a Dell'.

[@jimtaylor201]

I thought so too, i think it is.

[@themax4677]

Yeah it's him. Even same delivery style.

[@borandolph1267]

I'm impressed with the engineer who thought to make it that way. They were pretty clever with their weight saving techniques!

[@M1LAD81]

Never knew something such as this existed! Thanks, Matt for the video.

[@RaccoonHenry]

reminds me of those self-destructing rental DVDs - because more disposable plastic is just what the planet needs! like you said, glad there's youtube for movie trailers and such nowadays!

[@chikkn]

Always look forward each week to your videos. Keep up the awesome work

[@sarah1390]

I remember VHS and I'm only 34 Years old. I even still have a player Kicking around my house SOMEWHERE. Never heard of V-lite. I'm a fan of old Formats and when I lived with my parents we were always behind the curve on getting the latest and greatest tech. I Didn't receive my first CD player until sometime in the early 2000's. I take pleasure in trying to keep new tech backwards compatible with old tech. My parents still have a good collection of Old VHS Tapes that were mostly purchased from rental places like a local rental store such as 1 stop video and also some from blockbuster.

[@mausermann7918]

Considering its age and the simplicity of the mechanism the image quality is surprisingly good. I fondly remember the pre-interner era where the whole family drove to the videotheque to select a couple of movies to enjoy at home, together. Good times.

[@yyunko7764]

Even back in early 2000s I remember we'd go to the DVD rental with my parents about every week or so and select one or two movies for the week end, for sure "content" was not a thing, or the commodity it is nowaydays...

[@mustacheboyo]

@@yyunko7764 Even in 2009 because my family was poor back then we went to blockbuster alot and picked up some VHS movies for family movie night. We didn't get a CD/DVD player till 2012 or so

[@Jewellerybybarrie]

The mechanism has nothing to do with it, just a storage medium. They were one shot or a couple of play only and the tape was the same (well almost as we used damaged pancakes) The tape path in a video player is massive and rarely if ever will it be the tape that causes a jam.. It will be dirty rollers etc (or the two year old posting 2p into it)

[@88porpoise]

The tape is the same, so the quality would be the same as any other VHS running at that speed. The compromise from the build quality is with the longevity. Between the lacking of a door after its first use, all the moving parts just rubbing, and it's flimsy construction not resisting any sort of abuse these would not last long.

[@EldritchFyre]

I'm from the U.S. and about 50 years old - I don't remember this at all. You mentioned it came from CA - My guess is that these campaigns were targeted at larger population areas, and in this case, video & movie production centers... Being from rural Pennsylvania, I never say anything like this in the mail, or even heard of it... it's unlikely the companies wanted to waste the funding on such sparse areas. Only thing similar I recall were the DIGI-PAK CD cases that were cheap and light. Great video as always, Sir- Thank you!

[@Electronics-Rocks]

I came across them in the UK (DVDs was so expensive) as training or promo for computer products. I thought it was completely made of cardboard but probably not paying attention.

[@jestubbs69]

In the US V-light was most often used for things like assembly instructions in equipment/ flat pack etc. and as the one you have, promos.

[@tdelfino2509]

Funny enough, there is somewhat a modern equivalent to this: They make ultra thin "disposable" video players, with a small LCD screen and the content loaded on an SD card, and send that in the mail, usually attached to some card or even a magazine cover.

[@robbruce2128]

I got one of those once, but when I went all Ben Heck on mine it didn't have any removable media, or even any easily re-usable parts. I tracked down the manufacturer, and that's a "feature" they brag about: the anti-tamper/non-reusability of their promotional video player :( I scored a hall effect switch, a magnet and a baby Li-ion battery.

[@hicknopunk]

Weird, never heard of this

[@DaveTexas]

This is a new one for me. I have a collection of media in just about every format I’ve ever found, including all the different video formats. I’ve got U-matic videotape cartridges. I’ve got Select-a-Vision discs. I’ve got CD-V discs. I still have my DVD player that had a phone jack so it could call in to unlock those DivX "disposable" one-time-play discs. I’ve never once seen these styrofoam VHS tapes. This channel teaches me something new every time I watch!

[@emmettturner9452]

In 1994 I got a VHS from Nintendo promoting the future release of Donkey Kong Country. They sent out one to every Nintendo Power subscriber and everyone who registered their Super Nintendo Entertainment System console (potentially millions). It must have worked because that was the first time I ever even heard of putting money down to reserve a copy of an unreleased game… and I did it. “Reserve your copy today!” They didn’t even call it “preorder” back then. It was so successful they did it again in 1996 ahead of the launch of the Nintendo 64. They did it yet again for many other games, like Diddy Kong Racing, Banjo-Kazooie, Pokémon, and more. They definitely weren’t these paper flap things so regular VHS tapes must’ve been cheap enough on their own.

[@lionfyst]

Great timing to release a video about a video with Paul Rudd in it.

[@philiprhoades3139]

I don't remember v-lite, though I do remember we got a few truly disposable vhs tapes as part of a review/ rating program for tv pilots/programs where the tape would erase as you watched it. Then, you binned the tape and sent in the review or rating and would be sent another. I think we only did that for a few months before we got tired of it and quit the program...

[@Ice_Karma]

3:46 Mat: "Play." JVC DVHS deck: "No."

[@Paul_Wetor]

It looks like the kind of tape Mr. Phelps would get his instructions on if _Mission: Impossible_ had VCRs in the 1960s.

[@ZGryphon]

There was a 1980s revival of _Mission: Impossible,_ but I haven't seen any of it in decades, so I can't remember how the updated mission briefing scenes worked.

[@lafcursiax]

I do remember getting one or two promo videos in the mail, but they were standard VHS tapes. Never heard of this! (And the way you said "That's something I'll never watch again" was perfect!)

[@vinto34]

Always interesting gear you find electronics wise...keep these going.

[@gbeaudette]

I got one of these tapes as promo for the college I ended up going to in 2000. I don't regret never opening it.

[@TrondBørgeKrokli]

Thank you for another peak back into the history I know from personal experience (VHS, not the V-lite format). Enjoyable episode. Nice to see how the V-lite tape cassette was built.

[@DJStKittz]

LOL Always love Techmoans Hip-Hop references. Gonna have to listen to "Act A Fool" now.

[@reeffeeder]

Very interesting, I had no idea these existed. I often wonder about all the plastic used in the manufacture of VHS and it's a bit sad to think the vast majority of it's in landfill.

[@stevenclarke5606]

You can’t even give them away to charity shops .

[@reeffeeder]

@@stevenclarke5606 Ah it's sad, but it's one of many similar stories of obsolete media. At least there is TechMoan documenting them all!

[@NetworkXIII]

Future generations will be mining landfills for raw materials.

[@13donstalos]

The British guy inside my head: "Bit sad innit?"

[@SteveBrandon]

I grew up in the Montreal area and I only ever remember receiving one promo VHS tape in the Saturday Montreal Gazette newspaper, a tape promoting the fall 2001 lineup of mostly American TV shows on Global TV (a Canadian TV network) with an extra special emphasis on the doomed-to-fail sitcom Inside Schwartz, a high concept show where some "normal" wacky sitcom guy's "ordinary" life was being covered by sports announcers like it was an NFL game. It could've been a V-Lite tape but I don't remember having to remove the bit in front of the tape.

[@markhesse2928]

Inside Schwartz sounds like a funny idea-for a 5-minute comedy sketch. Anything more than that would soon get annoying.

[@lyledal]

That's the "Dude, you're getting a Dell" guy. Isn't it?

[@PixelPipes]

Yeah I think so!

[@EuropeYear1917]

I’m American, I grew up in the 1990’s. As a kid, I heard of lightweight mailable VHS’s, but I’d never actually seen one. Now I have thanks to this video.

[@ChadMasonFilms]

I bought one of these at a Suede gig in the late nineties. Very short programme as I remember. I think it had a music video and some in-studio video footage. I only watched it twice so can’t bear witness to its longevity! Great vid as ever chief!

[@marsilies]

It looks like that might've been SUEDE - GIVE ME HEAD 1999 PROMO FILM, a 4 minute V-Lite in PAL. There's an eBay listing for it now, although it calls it a "V-Light" in the description.

[@jawjuk]

The disassembly was above & beyond! Fascinating.

[@PeterFalconII]

I had loads of light weight 15 minute VHS tapes sent to me from readers digest and other marketing companies. I used to re record them with school clips and copy from my old memorex mtx 512 computer dubbed with songs for valentine's day and birthdays. Sometimes I used to put photos on and have them set up on loop mode in school for presentation days. Like parents evenings etc.

[@yyunko7764]

Love to hear how data was shared and that kind of thing created back then! Cool story!

[@neshbro]

Thankyou! Answered my one big question! Could you record over them! And you say yes!! Appreciate your comment!

[@JohnSmith-ef8nr]

I remember the disposable dvd format flexplay that would delete after 48 hours, didn't know it was done with vhs as well.

[@BobBell808]

This video is the V-Lite equivalent of Techmoan: Short but sweet. The main difference is V-Lite was never meant to be watched more than once, and I always go back and re-watch Techmoan. ;) You're more like a syndicated run of your favorite series... at least to me. But this points out one of the biggest losses we, as a society, have: Lack of ownership of our culture's media. I remember wanting to watch a movie and going to my cabinet of VHS Tapes, looking them over, and selecting one to watch. Now, I have the equivalent of hundreds of cabinets worth of movies/videos/ect., to watch, but they're not mine. I have to 'stream' them and hope the Wi-Fi doesn't go down. (Don't get me started on music).

[@williamharris8367]

What happened to your VHS collection? I _still_ have several hundred DVDs that I can watch anytime I want with no issues whatsoever. A significant number are still in shrink-wrap.

[@needamuffin]

I remember getting CD-ROMs in cereal boxes as a kid that had games on them. I also remember them being in the actual cereal bag, not like toys now that are just in the box outside the bag with the actual food in it.

[@greggv8]

Years ago my parents got a video tape to watch then do a phone survey about. The instructions said to not rewind the tape and to throw it away after the video was watched and the survey completed. After it was done I opened up the tape and found a slot cut into part of the shell and a small but pretty strong bar magnet glued in. I removed the magnet, rewound the tape and found the video to be pretty sparkly with dropouts but still watchable. One segment was either a short pilot for a TV comedy series, or a fake short pilot made for the survey. The title of it was "Morning Glory" and I'm pretty certain it had Richard Masur and Sandra Dickinson (still looking like she did as Trillian in the BBC TV Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) in it. How long ago? Early 1990's. It'd be fun to send the tape to someone who could digitize and de-noise it, and identify the cast of that segment. Another part I remember was a storyboard with voiceover for some over the counter medicine.

[@stephenbeyer4315]

Interesting video. What video capture set up do you have (or is there already a video you've put out I've missed)? I've got some old personal videos I'd like to digitise, and that copy you showed was pretty good quality

[@crappyatlife]

20 dollar shitty ebay capture card has worked pretty well for me

[@davidcyrilbrown]

I recall getting these on the front of film and TV magazines,

[@Golbez1991]

Wow, I would never dare to play this in my own VCR.

[@skarzs6754]

bro i still have hundreds of video tapes (VHS) and i still watch them

[@6581punk]

The name V-lite sounds like some sort of disposable vaping device.

[@perpetualcollapse]

Fr lol 😂

[@PeteJohnson1471]

🚭

[@mysticmarble94]

Getting high on that V-Lite 👽

[@gilbertharding5041]

A similarly environmentally unsound product.

[@MaxW-er1hm]

Wow. Really REALLY thought I'd seen all the media formats by now. Another new one, neat. Thanks Mat.

[@Lobo-ih3bh]

Having worked in video rental shops in the 1990’s this brings back great memories of pulling apart and repairing the cassettes after they were damaged by careless arseholes…I mean valued customers…..

[@Fifury161]

11:38 - I recall sending off for a Hamlet cigar classic advert collection VHS & a Red Dwarf "cat" special tape back in the day. I also have quite a few "promo" tapes featuring Griff Rhys Jones! Perhaps I should get them uploaded on here as I haven't seen them being shared!

[@cfredrics]

Mat needs to set up a Patreon tier where he sends you a physical copy of each video on VHS

[@dgeoffri]

Raise your hand if you’re guilty of having archived Technoan episodes to VHS for safe keeping

[@cfredrics]

@@dgeoffri I used to, but I recently moved to a smaller apartment and I had to put them all on Hi-8.

[@bigsarge2085]

You always find such obscure tech!

[@bradchervel5202]

4:35 Dude!! You're gettin a Dell!!!

[@wifigod]

I was hoping to see this comment! 🤣

[@JaredConnell]

Dude, you're getting a call back!

[@bradchervel5202]

@@wifigod I am glad someone still remembers

[@user-74652]

So now I'm aware of two video formats that are specifically designed to be landfill: V-Lite and Flexplay. It's a good thing they both failed.

[@pHD77]

Loving those Panasonic decks. They have great playback quality.

[@R.C19668]

Hats off! A rarity from the vault of analogue formats "which I never heard of".

[@DefNotAiko]

The floating VLite gag made me giggle a bit

[@8bitwiz_]

I seem to have missed that bit. But if you put it in water, I'm sure it would float. That actually would have been a fun thing to do.

[@cadman10000]

The USPS still has Priority Mail boxes available that are designed to fit VHS tapes.

[@thelegalsystem]

QR codes printed on physical media are the closest equivalent I can think for "general purpose mass physical media" because most people in the US have a smart phone. I see them on mailers, signs, advertisements, etc. Maybe one day NFC will be more ubiquitous and people can send me data chits made out of rare earth metals that my phone can scan to get coupons or something.

[@jendorei]

USB sticks. I think most people in the developed world have a computer.

[@katrinabryce]

I don't think NFC will replace QR codes for that sort of thing, because it is more expensive, and the benefits it has over QR aren't relevant to that sort of application.

[@Techmoan]

The day I start sticking USB sticks in my computer that arrive unsolicited though the post - is the day they need to take that (now infected) computer off me.

[@jendorei]

@@Techmoan Wait, they sent those tapes unsolicited? Wouldn't it be too expensive?

[@geraldmellon740]

One of my go to channels and love the longer videos and the in-depth approach so please ignore the detractors you often mention. Keep up the great work!

[@Alexander_l322]

That PlayStation promo vhs looks cool! What’s on it? I guess something about the ps1 but it would be cool to see

[@lap456]

I only has one V-Lite tape ever. Wean an Campo Sotre opened where I lived at the time an V-Lite tape came in the mail but not like we saw in the video. They did ask that you return it on your 1st visit to the store for recycling and get an free T-120 VHS tape.

[@r.dsvintagetuberadiotvsand3140]

they sure cut a lot of corners making those video cassettes

[@RichardCraig]

4:35 - Holy shit! Dude, you're getting a Dell!!

[@hunterdavis3003]

Let my.weekend begin