@DBL (Strv 103D)  
Oh, so I see.

@TheThunderPony  
They remained popular in South-east Asia along with VCDs until DVDs, simply because they coped with the conditions better than tapes (but mold was still a problem, we still keep finding DVDs and CDs that are unplayable from mold damage in Indonesia)

@DBL (Strv 103D)  
 
I’m too young to remember LaserDisc, but that auto player sounds like it was the bomb though.

@TheThunderPony  
Of course they last longer if you keep them in a constant temperature and stuff like that, but the average expected lifespan is 10-15 years. I’m not sure if it’s different between store bought and home recorded ones (DVD-RWs do last less time than DVDs for example, the dye that darkens from the laser when writing can die from age, use and rewriting).
 
I also remember when Laserdisc was a thing, our player was especially fancy, it auto flipped. I think it had two lasers, because it would stop for a few seconds, showing a random frame from the A side (amusing if it stopped on a smear frame) then start playing the other side without having to remove it and turn it over.

@redweasel  
Oh, that too. I didn’t know that.

@TheThunderPony
 
well, that and magnetic tape has a rather short shelf life, while unused vinyl records can last basically forever.

@Machiavellian Mythos
 
@DBL (Strv 103D)  
I still have all of the VHS tapes with recorded anime on them (mostly DRAGONBALL and one FLCL), from when I was around 12 or so, in a drawer in my closet. Not sure if my player works though; haven’t used it in ages.

@Background Pony #60C3  
Probably because VHS went out of style (for almost everybody), while Vynil is still popular with certain crowds.

There’s a couple of VHSes still at my home, including one of a The The concert which I don’t think was put on DVD… which is said, the video player died about 8 years ago.

I still have and actively know the location of at least two VHS tapes. There may be a third but I’m not sure if I know where it is.
 
Incidentally, they are all cartoons.

VHS tapes with no cartoons or anime on them? What’s the point in that? :O
 
(just kidding, I read this comic up until now)

@Bonberjean
 
and yet everyone still knows what vinyl records are…

Showing her Watamoe might create a paradox of some sort.

@Bexar Bandito  
just because there are exceptions, doesn’t make it untrue

@Bonberjean  
not necessarily. it’s not unheard of nowadays for gen x parents who grew up on videotapes to keep some of the tapes from their childhood to show to their kids.

the sad part is that kids today would react the same way than this pony