Love it!

midicollector wrote on 2023-10-27, 22:40:

Love it!

Thank you for your reply! ^^

Personally, I sometimes miss the experience to go a video rental store* like in the old days.

It's one of these moments you realize how far the 20th century is away from now.

(* aka Videothek in my country. It's a play on bibliothèque/discothèque I believe.)

Yeah. It made watching a film more of an event, you had to go out and forage for something.

The films I watched back then are often more memorable than much of what I watch today, and had a lasting influence on me - and finding obscure videos and DVDs in shops was more mind-expanding than on-line activity now.

Though there's lots at play there, the foraging aspect should not be under-rated.

I suspect that not needing to forage breeds a nation of needy and entitled couch potatoes.

We've come a long way.

A long time ago, my sister brought home a large trash bag (the big ones you'd use for raking leaves) full of Blockbuster VHS tapes that the store didn't want anymore. They were moving to DVDs.
Over time I think all those tapes disappeared, got thrown out, etc.
Nowadays it might be cool to have a collection like that.

In my country it was Sony Betamax that won the format war, but yes, videotapes bring back a lot of sweet memories.

Jo22 wrote on 2023-10-27, 21:09:

Hi everyone, […]
Show full quote

Hi everyone,

Maybe it's old news now, but I just remembered an interesting video I watched months ago.
It's about a replica of an 80s era video store in the basement.

It's been done with a lot of dedication, the guy really put its heart into it.

Very fascinating to watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K12MaaCn5PU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvL1CoIjEnQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg62TIifINk

Source (pic) : Reddit

Have fun. ^^

Best wishes,
Jo22

PS: There are others who have done something similar. Kudos to them, too!

I am jealous but I dont see the point in it though. It would be exciting at first but then i'd get bored with it and move on to something else. I used to watch the angry video game nerd and how he retrofitted his basement to look like a movie/game store from the 80s/90s but maybe its just hubris. I went to a video store like this near me that closed up when i was a mere kid. It was neon green and had nickelodeon titles.

Very long ago but why cant I feel like that again, if I replicate everything I should feel like a kid again. I guess its similar to recreating my first pc I got as a kid. It utterly useless for anything but legacy gaming and most/all of it can be emulated/virtualized. Reminds me of the fricken mall where I used to hang out with friends but i guess its too dissimilar now. im 31 and im an old dinosaur in tech years. for every 1 year I age 10 years passes in technology in my opinion.

That's really awesome.

I want to do this, but create a late 80's/early 90's Radio Shack.

ratfink wrote on 2023-10-29, 08:00:

Yeah. It made watching a film more of an event, you had to go out and forage for something. […]
Show full quote

Yeah. It made watching a film more of an event, you had to go out and forage for something.

The films I watched back then are often more memorable than much of what I watch today, and had a lasting influence on me - and finding obscure videos and DVDs in shops was more mind-expanding than on-line activity now.

Though there's lots at play there, the foraging aspect should not be under-rated.

I suspect that not needing to forage breeds a nation of needy and entitled couch potatoes.

We've come a long way.

I think this is true, there is something about the process that is more engaging as a choice, especially if there is also a cost to it - both in money and in travel. Choosing something that takes an effort is a commitment of sorts to watching it, a decision to get as much out of a film as you reasonably can

when films are so easily available and can be paused and watched in parts over days its too easy to view casually and without much focus. I see some now 'watching' netflix and really its just in background, the watcher also going through their phone and looking up now and then, reading some subtitles and then disengaging again.

the same can be said for games, compare getting 100's of downloads of games for very little money to going to store and deciding where spend the money

however there are still movie fans and games fans just as intense and excited about the scene as ever, so clearly its not universal

twiz11 wrote on 2023-10-29, 16:26:

I am jealous but I dont see the point in it though. It would be exciting at first but then i'd get bored with it and move on to something else. I used to watch the angry video game nerd and how he retrofitted his basement to look like a movie/game store from the 80s/90s but maybe its just hubris. I went to a video store like this near me that closed up when i was a mere kid. It was neon green and had nickelodeon titles.

Very long ago but why cant I feel like that again, if I replicate everything I should feel like a kid again. I guess its similar to recreating my first pc I got as a kid. It utterly useless for anything but legacy gaming and most/all of it can be emulated/virtualized. Reminds me of the fricken mall where I used to hang out with friends but i guess its too dissimilar now. im 31 and im an old dinosaur in tech years. for every 1 year I age 10 years passes in technology in my opinion.

i understand that, its probably not to try and recreate the experience of before but simply to make a comfortable and enjoyable environment to be in 'now'

I'm waiting for the virtual video rental store where your plex library shows up on the shelves. EmuVR already does a decent job of emulating a 1990's video game experience.

Perhaps in a VR generation or to we'll be able to hit Blockbuster Video again as a social network/video sharing interface. That would be hugely entertaining.

Then they could say "Wow! What a difference" after leaving the virtual rental store.

I've seen similar projects in the past and wished I could do a tenth of that. Sadly my basement is much too small so I had to pass up on the ex Blockbuster display shelves I saw on eBay once. Consequently I can't go fully nuts indulging my nostalgia. Compared to 500 DVDs and Blu-rays, this is restrained...

Big Pink wrote on 2023-11-02, 21:42:

I've seen similar projects in the past and wished I could do a tenth of that. Sadly my basement is much too small so I had to pass up on the ex Blockbuster display shelves I saw on eBay once. Consequently I can't go fully nuts indulging my nostalgia. Compared to 500 DVDs and Blu-rays, this is restrained...

are those vhs or betamax tapes i see and a small ps2?

Thank you everyone for the replies so far! 😃

IMHO I think it's fascinating to experience such a location at least once IRL.

There's something to it to "feel" things in person.
I makes things seem so much more real.

If I had the chance, I'd build up a small library of things.
I used to think that, for example, book shelves are more than collecting, too.

Jo22 wrote on 2023-11-30, 15:00:

Thank you everyone for the replies so far! 😃 […]
Show full quote

Thank you everyone for the replies so far! 😃

IMHO I think it's fascinating to experience such a location at least once IRL.

There's something to it to "feel" things in person.
I makes things seem so much more real.

If I had the chance, I'd build up a small library of things.
I used to think that, for example, book shelves are more than collecting, too.

i thought you were the one who built the 80s vhs store until i checked the link. was curious what was in both rooms, and that movie chair looks comfy. the room is dark but is complemented by the neon lights. the first vhs store i went to was near me. they were partnered with nickelodeon so the whole room was painted green and the rugrats movie just came out to tape (1998 i think).

I would only put Disney movies in the Adults Only section 😁

Carrera wrote on 2023-12-01, 12:03:

I would only put Disney movies in the Adults Only section 😁

Oww, that's cruel! 😱

That reminds me of that one episode of the Addams Family, btw. 😂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOdUZcpjQLU

That's awesome. Though traveling to the last blockbuster in Bend, Oregon might have been somewhat less effort...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJc3X6wzW1A

Thank you for the link! 🙂👍
I think there even was a short documentary in linear TV about it, on one of the TV channels here.
It was aired at night, I think.

Speaking of VHS, there's something to it that often is overlooked, maybe.
The cheesy/overacting cover art.

VHS cover art of the 80s/90s somewhat had an sensationalism to them.
Everything was being exaggerated, at least when it comes to horror movies and thrillers.
Sometimes the cover included catchy phrases or nonsensical stuff (Critters IV: In Space, they love to hear you scream.)

The same art made for VHS was also re-used for other media, I think. Laserdisc, Video CD, DVD.. MovieCD, too, maybe.

I think that's what I kind of miss these days.

While I love HD and Blu Ray, too, I sometimes feel that its cover art is too serious, too "epic".
Laserdisc was intended for cinema lovers, too, but managed to be more balanced here, maybe.

https://mutantreviewersmovies.com/2022/05/21/ … -vhs-cover-art/

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015 … ver-art-revival