As silver platters steadily muscle out videotape, mid-valley film enthusiasts are the real winners

In a "next big thing" home video industry of high-definition picture and Dolby Digital sound, most retailers seem to be dramatically updating their stock or biting the digital dust.

But not die-hard VHS retailer Bill Huff.

As owner of Central Linn Video in Brownsville - home of tens of thousands of VHS titles - Huff said he is having a "banner year" despite the rise in DVD dominance.

With a growing clientele of loyal VHS viewers from around the state, Huff, who has been collecting VHS titles since 1980, said business just keeps getting better.

"People travel from all over to rent here," the 51-year-old said with pride. "Then they can just UPS or mail them back."

With a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling inventory, the former film reviewer said he is up for a selection challenge, boasting of the most unusual titles in the state.

"I've got about 20,000 more at home," Huff said casually. "And five to six thousand of those have never been released to the public."

With an anti-DVD attitude, Huff is an exception to the retailer trend, as the DVD format has gained unparalleled popularity at the rental counter and the sales rack. While most consumers opt for a clearer picture, a sharper sound and efficient chapter selection, Andrew Mun, manager of public affairs for the Video Software Dealers Association, said the DVD player is steadily becoming "a home appliance" for most American households.

"VHS still has a significant part of the market, but it's definitely not a dominant one," said Mun, a representative for small video retailers such as Central Linn Video.

While some smaller retailers appeal to loyal VHS fans, large video retail chains are constantly shifting their VHS/DVD ratio depending on demand.

The media department of rental chain Hollywood Video did not respond to several messages over the past few weeks, but Blockbuster Inc. spokesman Blake Lugash shared chain-wide trends, adding that he could not disclose numbers for individual stores.

With about 5,500 locations nationwide, Blockbuster's revenue average is 75 percent DVD rentals and 25 percent VHS - a slight change from the 70/30 ratio reported in spring.

"We're just following the customer demand," Lugash said.

Decline in VHS

Besides Hollywood and Blockbuster, mid-valley residents can observe a decline in VHS selection at large, non-rental retailers as well, including Fred Meyer, Target and Wal-Mart stores.

Video Business, one of two main trade publications for video rental retailers, releases market percentages for both formats every month to monitor the decline of VHS and the rise of DVD. Out of $10.7 billion overall VHS and DVD spending estimated in July, only $1.7 billion came from rental and purchases of video cassettes.

"In just a year, the market for VHS has cut in half," said Video Business editor-in-chief Scott Hettrick. "But it's still being produced and will continue to be produced until VHS spending reaches close to zero."

After covering the video industry for 15 years, Hettrick said he has noticed only a slight decline in VHS production.

"Most studios still have a strong investment in the VHS business," he added.

The DVD push

According to the U.S. Census, about 108.4 million of 109 million households in the United States owned televisions as of last winter. While 90 percent of television households own VHS players, about 60 percent own DVD players instead or as well, according to the Digital Entertainment Group.

And the number is rising.

"The technology companies creating all these new formats are in it to make money," Hettrick said. "The only way they can stay in business is to create better products that are enticing enough to make you want the next best thing."

Hettrick said money-driven studios are constantly selling the same films in new formats, such as special editions and high-definition versions.

While some consumers feel that the DVD conversion rate is slow-moving, Hettrick assured that DVDs are coming out at an incredibly high rate, causing some versions to be bland and lacking in bonus features.

"(Studios) are just throwing stuff out on DVD as fast as they can," he added.

DVD stumbling blocks

Despite studio and production company efforts to profit from the DVD craze, a number of companies are avoiding the restoration and reproduction of dated or politically sensitive materials that may be controversial.

One such company is Disney.

Although the Disneyland water ride "Splash Mountain" is based on the characters of Brer Bear and Brer Rabbit, their most memorable cartoon, titled "Song of the South," will not be released in DVD format due to the stereotype of "tar babies," Hettrick said.

Besides dated materials, independently produced films can hit a "copyright quagmire" when converted to DVD due to licensing issues, Hettrick said. While finding less popular titles on DVD is a challenge for retailers, some are trying their hardest to find rare films in the format.

Since opening DVD World in Corvallis - one of the first DVD-only retailers in the nation - Tony Arlyn has made it a mission to beef up his 10,000-plus title selection with hard-to-find favorites. Two titles he has yet to access are the basketball film "Hoop Dreams" and the Gene Hackman/Al Pacino film "Scarecrow," both of which have faced licensing concerns, he said.

But Arlyn believes such limitations will soon be a thing of the past.

"Eventually everything will come out on DVD; it just makes sense," said Arlyn, who has been in the video business since 1978.

Arlyn also owns the Video Circle store in Philomath. He said the VHS to DVD ratio there is 50/50 and is shifting in favor of digital. "DVD is here to stay," he said with enthusiasm.

Cheaper and cheaper

For fear that video cassettes will witness a sudden fallout similar to that of the eight-track tape, most mid-valley retailers are making VHS as cheap as possible to avoid being stuck with the stock.

At Ace Buyers, an Albany second-hand retailer and consignment store, the VHS format is cheaper than ever as local consumers are literally dumping their old collections in order to make room for the sharper, smaller video format. Manager Troy Standard said the store has been selling used DVDs and disc players like hot cakes during the past year, while his five VHS tapes for $10 deal - the cheapest used VHS price in town - has made little difference in sales.

"What's scary is I'm buying them faster than I'm selling them," he said. "Those prices will continue to get lower and lower."

In order to compete with DVD prices at neighboring retailer Fred Meyer, Standard has also been selling his DVDs in bulk for as cheap as eight discs for $40 to appeal to those who are "looking for the deal." In his opinion, the video market is strongly divided.

"At this point, people are either DVD watchers or VHS watchers," he added.

Central Linn Video owner Huff agreed.

Although he started carrying DVDs 19 months ago - the stock remains less than 1 percent of his inventory - Huff said his heart will always be in VHS format.

"Most people who rent DVDs could care less about classic and rare VHS," he said.