This addition is Google's promotional character in honor of 57th anniversary of the issuance of the first commercial video tape recorder (VTR) by Ampex company. Ampex recorder was presented bac in 1956, and due to it's high price it was available to TV broadcasters, while the JVC's VHS format in the 70-ies brought this technology closer to home users.

Google VHS effect gives YouTube video clips recognizable distortion quality and various artifacts that will surely be familiar to all who have grown up in a time before DVDs and digital video. It is not known whether Google intends to leave this effect as a standard feature for users who want a vintage atmosphere in viewing YouTube content or will it stay just for the certain period of time, but I'm certain that there are many nostalgic users that would like to see a video in VHS quality for the good old times.

Will you be using the VHS filter on YouTube? Tell is in our Forum