Home video

Some home video users have a collection of prerecorded media, such as movies, on DVDs. DVDs are only one of a number of ways of viewing home video.

Home video is recorded media sold or rented for home viewing.[1] The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD and Blu-ray. In a different usage, "home video" refers to amateur video recordings, also known as home movies.[2] Another format LaserDisc is also a home video format released in 1978 which never caught on market due to high cost of the players and their inability to record TV programs unlike the VHS but it gained interests from movie collectors.

The home-video business distributes films, television series, telefilms and other audiovisual media in the form of videos in various formats to the public. These are either bought or rented, and then watched privately in purchasers' homes. Most theatrically released films are now[when?] released on digital media, both optical and download-based, replacing the largely obsolete videotape medium. As of 2006 the Video CD format remained popular in Asia.[needs update] DVDs are gradually losing popularity since the late 2010s and early 2020s, when streaming media became mainstream among its audiences, since most of them have Internet access.

  1. ^ "home video". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved Apr 29, 2020.
  2. ^ "home video". Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved Apr 29, 2020.