(Video Home System) The most popular consumer VCR format. Using half-inch (analog) tape cartridges, JVC introduced VHS in 1976 to compete with Sony's Betamax, introduced a year earlier. The two-hour capacity of the cartridge held an entire movie and helped VHS supersede Betamax as the video rental market was taking off. By 1980, VHS had 70% of the video recording market and became the standard for consumer entertainment as well as for industry training and product promotions.
S-VHS (Super VHS) was a subsequent format that increased resolution from 240 to 400 lines, but was not widely used by consumers. In 2002, sales of VHS players were superseded by DVD players for the first time. See Betamax, Cartrivision, helical scan, D-VHS and VTR.
The VHS videocassette has been the most widely used tape cassette with billions in use worldwide. However, after the turn of the century, VHS began to give up the ghost in favor of the DVD.
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