Cassette’s New App Turns Your Videos Into Retro, Vhs-like Home Movies

Longing for nan nostalgia of watching location movies, for illustration successful nan VHS days, but stuck pinch each your individual videos saved connected an iPhone? Sure, you tin AirPlay them to nan TV, but nan acquisition is not nan same. This struggle inspired developer Devin Davies to create Cassette, a caller iOS app that plays backmost videos successful a format akin to VHS, making your iPhone videos consciousness much for illustration aged location recordings.

To usage nan app, you virtually “load” 1 of nan tapes laid retired crossed nan surface by selecting nan year’s videos you want to view. The videos are branded pinch what look for illustration handwritten stickers pinch nan twelvemonth attached to nan VHS tape’s screen sleeve.

You tin past watch your life unfold connected nan surface pinch nary further relationship required connected your part.

Image Credits:Cassette

This lean-back acquisition introduces a caller measurement to devour nan media you person saved connected your device, which is often near unviewed aft nan first recording.

The thought for Cassette was prompted by Davies’ friend and chap app developer Charlie Chapman, who is besides a elder advocator astatine RevenueCat, a level that helps mobile app developers negociate in-app purchases and subscriptions. Chapman complained successful a group chat astir really watching location movies arsenic a family coming conscionable wasn’t nan aforesaid arsenic it utilized to beryllium erstwhile watching aged family videotapes.

He said he wished location was a measurement to AirPlay videos to nan TV and past person them instantly play 1 aft nan other.

Davies, champion known for his award-winning look app Crouton, jumped connected nan idea, hacking together Cassette from a civilization slideshow app he had made for Apple TV. He later shared a trial build pinch nan group chat.

Image Credits:Cassette

“I kid you not, nan full group chat had this profound acquisition pinch our partners wherever we stayed up each nighttime watching our kids turn up earlier our eyes,” Chapman told TechCrunch. “I’ve ne'er knowledgeable ‘product marketplace fit,’ aliases immoderate you want to telephone it, for illustration this before,” he said.

The app itself offers a clever and elemental design, wherever you’re presented pinch rows of VHS tapes, successful each their retro splendor. You pat connected 1 to virtually “load” it into nan TV icon astatine nan apical of nan iPhone’s surface to commencement playing nan video. With AirPlay, you tin besides reflector your instrumentality to a TV to watch nan afloat acquisition play retired connected nan large screen.

The videos themselves see a location, date, and timestamp displayed successful a retro pixel font that looks for illustration nan aged surface fonts utilized connected VHS tapes. (Even if you’re excessively young to retrieve VHS tapes, seeing aged videos successful this format pulls connected nan heartstrings. That could beryllium because aged location movies are still regularly referenced successful modern movies and TV shows during sentimental moments and scenes.)

In practice, location were immoderate challenges that nan app still needs to overcome.

If you person a wont of downloading online videos, for illustration TikToks aliases Reels, these will show up among your “home movies.” However, Davies tells TechCrunch that nan app is already filtering retired surface recordings, and he’s now looking to spot if TikTok videos could beryllium filtered out, too.

To support its development, Cassette offers an optional premium subscription (dubbed “ColorPlus”) that allows users to manually prime a VHS portion alternatively of having nan app play a video astatine random. This costs either $0.99 per period aliases $5.99 per year. There’s besides an affordable Lifetime unlock for $7.99, which tin spell a agelong measurement toward supporting indie projects for illustration this.

The app is simply a free download for iPhone and iPad.