Even before I became cynical about the new technology coming out, I thought DVDs were over rated and over priced.
The only downside to VHS tapes (or Betamax if you were so inclined) was that the quality gradually reduced over time and use. The absolute worst case scenario would be that the VCR chewed up the tape, but that was rare.
However, DVDs go wrong an awful lot in my experience - and when they go wrong they really go wrong. I can cope with a bit of fuzz from tape wear but I tear my hair out when the film I'm watching stutters, skips, plays the audio out of sync, or just insists there's some kind of disc read error and won't let me watch it. I'd rather watch a slightly diminished quality picture than no picture at all.
Then there's the awful digital fastforward and rewind that makes it hard to see where you are because it just skips a load of frames instead of actually running them faster. Oh, and with a tape you could stop it, take it out, watch another video, and then put the first one back in and resume exactly where you left off. The DVD chapter select nowhere near makes up for this.
Also, I can tape television programmes with my VCR; I can't with my DVD player.
And DVDs have painful menus that force you to watch their boring animations whenever you select anything instead of just getting on with it.
And then there's the rubbish you have to sit through just for putting the DVD in: adverts (one DVD was even trying to sell me Malteasers!) and unskippable copyright warnings and logos.