At this point it's hard to even think about what it was like before we had home video. The only way to see a movie was to go to the theater! In the grand scheme it wasn't all that long ago that VHS hit the market and changed everything, but that chapter is now at its end. Only a few months ago, JVC stopped producing stand-alone video cassette players, and it had been the last holdout. Collectors who still have VHS players they bought ages ago are going to have to start letting go too, because the last major distributor of VHS tapes has abandoned the format.

Distribution Video Audio is the name of the company, and it has for two decades supplied retailers all over the United States with VHS tapes to sell. In October, though, it sent its last shipment to the few mom and pop stores still interested in selling the stuff. DVD quickly overtook VHS early in this decade, and while the latter is still a viable format developing nations, interest in the developed world is next to zilch as even DVD (slowly) cedes to digital downloads, streaming video, and Blu-ray.

There's a very readable article on this event at the LA Times; it's good for nostalgia. Home video transformed culture in many ways, bringing family and friends together and creating previously unimaginable opportunities for stay-at-home film buffs.

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