Despite its destructive tendencies (and by that I mean it stops working for countless reasons), technology has allowed us to preserve small and curious time capsules. Previously we've seen the experience of ordering a Starbucks coffee in 1993 and today we return to that same year to explore New York City, in an HD demo developed for the old D-VHS format from JVC…
History tells us that D-VHS was a digital tape recording format developed and marketed by JVC in December 1997. D-VHS emerged as a "final optimization" or "definitive version" of VHS, to such an extent that its standard recording mode (14.1 Mbit/s) offered superior quality to the average DVD. D-VHS reached Western territories, and in the United States it was known as D-Theater, but it never had the flexibility of the original VHS due to its copy protection.
In other words, D-Theater movies could not be played on uncertified equipment (not to mention details like audio compatibility), and JVC's D-Theater-compatible solutions cost between $1,500 and $2,000 (prices from 2002). If you want to know more about the D-VHS and D-Theater formats, Techmoan published an excellent video in April 2016 but what brings us here today is one of the official D-VHS demos he shared on YouTube, "New York City in 1993".
New York, 1993… in High Definition
Basically, distributors in the United States needed a demo to showcase the HD virtues of D-VHS/D-Theater to the public, and JVC decided to reuse material intended for the Hi-Vision / MUSE television system. The video description explains that it is 1993 thanks to details like the presence of the play Paper Moon in theaters (available information indicates between September and October 1993), and the promotion of the CD Levi’s Radio 501 Volume One on the JVC logo (obviously).
As for the rest... the hairstyles, the shoulder pads, the Twin Towers, the yellow taxis. No cell phones, no WiFi, no Uber. I imagine YouTube compression doesn't do justice to the recording, but I still recommend setting it to 1080p60 and enjoying it in full screen. Of course, we must thank JVC, who decided not to bomb this copy on YouTube with the fury of a thousand suns.
