Customer profile
What was the name of your video store?
City Video
Where was the store located?
Fresno, California (United States)
When did you start shopping at this store?
1982
Describe your video store - what did it look like? What were its distinguishing
features?
It started as an Eletronic repair store, it was and still is owned by two Japanese Americans. They started primarly with Betamax as it was the highest format for the time. VHS was considered a sub-standard product. The original set-up was like a "V" where each side had videos Family on one side and all others on the other. There were adult titles but they were in brown plastic cases. Pretty much had to judge the movie by the title. Once Beta started dying they were carrying Laserdisc only. This was the divinitive format for the next 15 years. I don't believe their customer base was very large, it was mostly audiophiles left over from the 70s. Once other video stores started chains City Video just went back to their roots and did repairs exclusively.
What were the employees and/or owners like, and what kinds of interactions
did you have with them? What particularly memorable exchanges or events
do you remember?
Memories and experiences are pretty vague. I remember being excited when Firefox starring Clint Eastwood came out, the cover looked great. Unfortunatly I was about 7 or 8 and thought the movie was boring until last 30 minutes.
What other services/products did the store offer besides the rental or sale
of videos? Did this change over time?
As I said they were electronic repair with video on the side. They never felt that the video rental business will make profit. So after 20 years they stopped renting.
What video formats did the store offer (i.e. VHS, Beta, Laserdisc)? Where were
different formats kept in the store?
Beta and Laserdisc Laser was in record like bins and the tapes where on shelves behind a counter
In addition to mainstream Hollywood movies, what other kinds of videotapes
(for example children's, exercise, or X-rated) did the store rent/sell? Where were these
videos found in the store, and how often did you rent or purchase them?
They rented everything that was coming out for Beta and Laserdisc. I remember when Jane Fonda's workout came out and they started renting VCRs so people can dub it.
Did you tend to rent or buy videos? Why?
They never sold videos so we can only rent.
During the period that you shopped at this store, what changes did you see?
The store moved to a different location and made the rental section smaller.
Is this store still open? If not, when did it close?
Yes it does electronics repair only.
In your own words, tell the story of your first VCR/video player. Where
and when did you buy it, and why did you decide to make the purchase?
It was a Sony Betamax that my Dad brought home. It had a wired remote control and the eject was top load. it also had buttons on the right hand side for channel selection. You had to select the feed then manually tune in the channel with a slide toggle. My dad actually made the purchase because of chinese programming that could be shown to my mother who is chinese.
Did you ever rent a VCR or other hardware (a camera, for instance)? If so,
how often and why?
We rented a VCR once to transfer a Vhs copy of Star Wars to our betamax.