TheBigFatJ on 04 January 2009
It looks like 2001 was the first year (in the US) that DVD sales outpaced VHS sales. Again, the numbers are in terms of revenue:
http://www.videobusiness.com/info/CA626810.html
DVD: 4.53 billion
VHS: 3.98 billion
I don't know what the cost of VHS tapes was back then, but VHS continued to be the most rented format until 2003.
