During the intervening twenty-three years, a total of more than seven hundred million VHS decks have been sold, along with almost thirty billion cassettes. Recent years have seen home products become more colorful and fashion-oriented, prompting JVC to study technologies for bringing color and transparency to VHS cassette housings. There were two reasons why color and transparent VHS cassettes were not possible in the past. The VHS system uses a photo sensor to detect the end of a video tape. A brightly colored cassette can cause reflections and other extraneous light, leading the deck to misjudge the end of the tape and prematurely halt recording and playback.
Industrial tape dubbing equipment uses photo sensors to identify and detect cassettes.
Brightly colored cassettes can cause this equipment to malfunction. JVC successfully developed technology to prevent hardware malfunctions by adding original light shades to the body of VHS cassette. The ability for musicians and artists to add their own original colors and distinctive, fashionable designs to their cassettes. The ability for cassette manufacturers to add value by developing new colors and designs for their cassettes. The ability for deck manufacturers to develop products that allow uniquely-designed VHS cassettes to be seen from the outside.