I am from India and VCRs came into my life in the mid to late 80s. Initially, VCRs were so damn expensive (because they were all imported) and you would rent them for a weekend and a few films. The whole family, friends and neighbors would gather for a 'weekend binge watch' before binge watching even became a thing. It wasn't uncommon to rent 8 to 10 films and watch them back to back.
When I got to high school, we had domestic electronics companies manufacturing VCRs in India and we bought one at our home. A video rental store in our neighborhood had an excellent collection of English language films and a rental would cost Rs. 10 ($1 US ~ Rs. 13 to Rs. 16 those years). I would spend hours going through their collection and reading the synopsis on the jacket/sleeve before picking a couple of films to watch.
DVD/Blu-ray/Streaming today is better but the VCR/VHS nostalgia is a lot more than just the tech due to the lived experience of that era.
When I got to high school, we had domestic electronics companies manufacturing VCRs in India and we bought one at our home. A video rental store in our neighborhood had an excellent collection of English language films and a rental would cost Rs. 10 ($1 US ~ Rs. 13 to Rs. 16 those years). I would spend hours going through their collection and reading the synopsis on the jacket/sleeve before picking a couple of films to watch.
DVD/Blu-ray/Streaming today is better but the VCR/VHS nostalgia is a lot more than just the tech due to the lived experience of that era.