diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 26b85b5..d9df355 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ my_vcr = vcr.VCR(
     serializer = 'json',
     cassette_library_dir = 'fixtures/cassettes',
     record_mode = 'once',
-    match_on = ['url', 'method'],
+    match_on = ['uri', 'method'],
 )
 
 with my_vcr.use_cassette('test.json'):
@@ -92,20 +92,26 @@ Note: Per-cassette overrides take precedence over the global config.
 ## Request matching
 
 Request matching is configurable and allows you to change which requests VCR
-considers identical.  The default behavior is `['url', method']` which means
-that requests with both the same URL and method (ie POST or GET) are considered
+considers identical.  The default behavior is 
+`['method', 'scheme', 'host', 'port', 'path', 'query']` which means that
+requests with both the same URL and method (ie POST or GET) are considered
 identical.
 
 This can be configured by changing the `match_on` setting.
 
 The following options are available :
 
-  * method (for example, POST or GET)
-  * url (the full URL, including the protocol)
-  * host (the hostname of the server receiving the request)
-  * path (excluding the hostname)
-  * body (the entire request body)
-  * headers (the headers of the request)
+   * method (for example, POST or GET)
+   * uri (the full URI.)
+   * host (the hostname of the server receiving the request)
+   * port (the port of the server receiving the request)
+   * path (the path of the request)
+   * query (the query string of the request)
+   * body (the entire request body)
+   * headers (the headers of the request)
+   
+    Backwards compatible matchers:
+   * url (the `uri` alias)
 
 If these options don't work for you, you can also register your own request
 matcher.  This is described in the Advanced section of this README.
@@ -163,8 +169,8 @@ with vcr.use_cassette('fixtures/vcr_cassettes/synopsis.yaml') as cass:
     response = urllib2.urlopen('http://www.zombo.com/').read()
     # cass should have 1 request inside it
     assert len(cass) == 1 
-    # the request url should have been http://www.zombo.com/
-    assert cass.requests[0].url == 'http://www.zombo.com/'
+    # the request uri should have been http://www.zombo.com/
+    assert cass.requests[0].uri == 'http://www.zombo.com/'
 ```
 
 The `Cassette` object exposes the following properties which I consider part of
@@ -177,17 +183,23 @@ the API.  The fields are as follows:
     back
   * `responses_of(request)`: Access the responses that match a given request
 
-The `Request` object has the following properties
+The `Request` object has the following properties:
 
-  * `url`: The full url of the request, including the protocol.  Example:
-    "http://www.google.com/"
-  * `path`: The path of the request.  For example "/" or "/home.html"
+  * `uri`: The full uri of the request.  Example: "https://google.com/?q=vcrpy"
+  * `scheme`: The scheme used to make the request (http or https)
   * `host`: The host of the request, for example "www.google.com"
   * `port`: The port the request was made on
+  * `path`: The path of the request.  For example "/" or "/home.html"
+  * `query`: The parsed query string of the request. Sorted list of name, value pairs.
   * `method` : The method used to make the request, for example "GET" or "POST"
-  * `protocol`: The protocol used to make the request (http or https)
   * `body`: The body of the request, usually empty except for POST / PUT / etc
 
+  Backwards compatible properties:
+
+  * `url`: The `uri` alias
+  * `protocol`: The `scheme` alias
+
+
 ## Register your own serializer
 
 Don't like JSON or YAML?  That's OK, VCR.py can serialize to any format you
@@ -239,7 +251,7 @@ Finally, register your method with VCR to use your new request matcher.
 import vcr
 
 def jurassic_matcher(r1, r2):
-    return r1.url == r2.url and 'JURASSIC PARK' in r1.body
+    return r1.uri == r2.uri and 'JURASSIC PARK' in r1.body
 
 my_vcr = vcr.VCR()
 my_vcr.register_matcher('jurassic', jurassic_matcher)
@@ -364,6 +376,25 @@ If you set the loglevel to DEBUG, you will also get information about which
 matchers didn't match. This can help you with debugging custom matchers.
 
 
+## Upgrade
+
+### New Cassette Format
+The cassette format has changed in _VCR.py 1.x_, the _VCR.py 0.x_ cassettes cannot be
+used with _VCR.py 1.x_.
+The easiest way to upgrade is to simply delete your cassettes and re-record all of them
+VCR.py also provides migration script that attempts to upgrade your 0.x cassettes to the
+new 1.x format. To use it, run the following command:
+
+```
+python -m vcr.migration PATH
+```
+
+The PATH can be path to the directory with cassettes or cassette itself.
+
+*Note*: Backup your cassettes files before migration.
+The migration runs successfully and upgrades the file content only for the old formatted
+cassettes.
+
 ## Changelog
   * 1.0.0 (in development) - Add support for filtering sensitive data from
     requests, bump supported Python3 version to 3.4, fix some bugs with Boto
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index d9c195a..6fef312 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -13,42 +13,46 @@ class PyTest(TestCommand):
         self.test_suite = True
 
     def run_tests(self):
-        #import here, cause outside the eggs aren't loaded
+        # import here, cause outside the eggs aren't loaded
         import pytest
         errno = pytest.main(self.test_args)
         sys.exit(errno)
 
-setup(name='vcrpy',
-      version='0.7.0',
-      description="Automatically mock your HTTP interactions to simplify and speed up testing",
-      author='Kevin McCarthy',
-      author_email='me@kevinmccarthy.org',
-      url='https://github.com/kevin1024/vcrpy',
-      packages = [
+setup(
+    name='vcrpy',
+    version='0.7.0',
+    description=(
+        "Automatically mock your HTTP interactions to simplify and "
+        "speed up testing"
+    ),
+    author='Kevin McCarthy',
+    author_email='me@kevinmccarthy.org',
+    url='https://github.com/kevin1024/vcrpy',
+    packages=[
         'vcr',
         'vcr.stubs',
         'vcr.compat',
         'vcr.persisters',
         'vcr.serializers',
-      ],
-      package_dir={
+        ],
+    package_dir={
         'vcr': 'vcr',
         'vcr.stubs': 'vcr/stubs',
         'vcr.compat': 'vcr/compat',
         'vcr.persisters': 'vcr/persisters',
-      },
-      install_requires=['PyYAML','contextdecorator','six'],
-      license='MIT',
-      tests_require=['pytest','mock'],
-      cmdclass={'test': PyTest},
-      classifiers=[
-          'Development Status :: 4 - Beta',
-          'Environment :: Console',
-          'Intended Audience :: Developers',
-          'Programming Language :: Python',
-	  'Programming Language :: Python :: 3',
-          'Topic :: Software Development :: Testing',
-          'Topic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTP',
-          'License :: OSI Approved :: MIT License',
-      ],
+        },
+    install_requires=['PyYAML', 'contextdecorator', 'six'],
+    license='MIT',
+    tests_require=['pytest', 'mock'],
+    cmdclass={'test': PyTest},
+    classifiers=[
+        'Development Status :: 4 - Beta',
+        'Environment :: Console',
+        'Intended Audience :: Developers',
+        'Programming Language :: Python',
+        'Programming Language :: Python :: 3',
+        'Topic :: Software Development :: Testing',
+        'Topic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTP',
+        'License :: OSI Approved :: MIT License',
+        ],
 )
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/migration/new_cassette.json b/tests/fixtures/migration/new_cassette.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..acf1267
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/fixtures/migration/new_cassette.json
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+[
+    {
+        "request": {
+            "body": null,
+            "headers": {
+                "Accept": ["*/*"],
+                "Accept-Encoding": ["gzip, deflate, compress"],
+                "User-Agent": ["python-requests/2.2.1 CPython/2.6.1 Darwin/10.8.0"]
+            },
+            "method": "GET",
+            "uri": "http://httpbin.org/ip"
+        },
+        "response": {
+            "status": {
+                "message": "OK", 
+                "code": 200
+            }, 
+            "headers": [
+                "Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *\r\n", 
+                "Content-Type: application/json\r\n", 
+                "Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2014 23:13:40 GMT\r\n", 
+                "Server: gunicorn/0.17.4\r\n", 
+                "Content-Length: 32\r\n", 
+                "Connection: keep-alive\r\n"
+            ], 
+            "body": {
+                "string": "{\n  \"origin\": \"217.122.164.194\"\n}"
+            }
+        }
+    }
+]
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/migration/new_cassette.yaml b/tests/fixtures/migration/new_cassette.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..58d19ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/fixtures/migration/new_cassette.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+- request:
+    body: null
+    headers: 
+      Accept: ['*/*']
+      Accept-Encoding: ['gzip, deflate, compress']
+      User-Agent: ['python-requests/2.2.1 CPython/2.6.1 Darwin/10.8.0']
+    method: GET
+    uri: http://httpbin.org/ip
+  response:
+    body: {string: !!python/unicode "{\n  \"origin\": \"217.122.164.194\"\n}"}
+    headers: [!!python/unicode "Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *\r\n", !!python/unicode "Content-Type:
+        application/json\r\n", !!python/unicode "Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2014 23:06:09 GMT\r\n",
+      !!python/unicode "Server: gunicorn/0.17.4\r\n", !!python/unicode "Content-Length:
+        32\r\n", !!python/unicode "Connection: keep-alive\r\n"]
+    status: {code: 200, message: OK}
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/migration/not_cassette.txt b/tests/fixtures/migration/not_cassette.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e1d9fc4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/fixtures/migration/not_cassette.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+This is not a cassette
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/migration/old_cassette.json b/tests/fixtures/migration/old_cassette.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..22fd9cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/fixtures/migration/old_cassette.json
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+[
+    {
+        "request": {
+            "body": null, 
+            "protocol": "http", 
+            "method": "GET", 
+            "headers": {
+                "Accept-Encoding": "gzip, deflate, compress", 
+                "Accept": "*/*", 
+                "User-Agent": "python-requests/2.2.1 CPython/2.6.1 Darwin/10.8.0"
+            }, 
+            "host": "httpbin.org", 
+            "path": "/ip", 
+            "port": 80
+        }, 
+        "response": {
+            "status": {
+                "message": "OK", 
+                "code": 200
+            }, 
+            "headers": [
+                "Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *\r\n", 
+                "Content-Type: application/json\r\n", 
+                "Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2014 23:13:40 GMT\r\n", 
+                "Server: gunicorn/0.17.4\r\n", 
+                "Content-Length: 32\r\n", 
+                "Connection: keep-alive\r\n"
+            ], 
+            "body": {
+                "string": "{\n  \"origin\": \"217.122.164.194\"\n}"
+            }
+        }
+    }
+]
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/migration/old_cassette.yaml b/tests/fixtures/migration/old_cassette.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..970823d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/fixtures/migration/old_cassette.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+- request: !!python/object:vcr.request.Request
+    body: null
+    headers: !!python/object/apply:__builtin__.frozenset
+    - - !!python/tuple [Accept-Encoding, 'gzip, deflate, compress']
+      - !!python/tuple [User-Agent, python-requests/2.2.1 CPython/2.6.1 Darwin/10.8.0]
+      - !!python/tuple [Accept, '*/*']
+    host: httpbin.org
+    method: GET
+    path: /ip
+    port: 80
+    protocol: http
+  response:
+    body: {string: !!python/unicode "{\n  \"origin\": \"217.122.164.194\"\n}"}
+    headers: [!!python/unicode "Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *\r\n", !!python/unicode "Content-Type:
+        application/json\r\n", !!python/unicode "Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2014 23:06:09 GMT\r\n",
+      !!python/unicode "Server: gunicorn/0.17.4\r\n", !!python/unicode "Content-Length:
+        32\r\n", !!python/unicode "Connection: keep-alive\r\n"]
+    status: {code: 200, message: OK}
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/wild/domain_redirect.yaml b/tests/fixtures/wild/domain_redirect.yaml
index 2b8af68..e7d4224 100644
--- a/tests/fixtures/wild/domain_redirect.yaml
+++ b/tests/fixtures/wild/domain_redirect.yaml
@@ -1,30 +1,24 @@
-- request: !!python/object:vcr.request.Request
+- request:
     body: null
-    headers: !!python/object/apply:__builtin__.frozenset
-    - - !!python/tuple [Accept-Encoding, 'gzip, deflate, compress']
-      - !!python/tuple [User-Agent, vcrpy-test]
-      - !!python/tuple [Accept, '*/*']
-    host: seomoz.org
+    headers:
+      Accept: ['*/*']
+      Accept-Encoding: ['gzip, deflate, compress']
+      User-Agent: ['vcrpy-test']
     method: GET
-    path: /
-    port: 80
-    protocol: http
+    uri: http://seomoz.org/
   response:
     body: {string: ''}
     headers: ["Location: http://moz.com/\r\n", "Server: BigIP\r\n", "Connection: Keep-Alive\r\n",
       "Content-Length: 0\r\n"]
     status: {code: 301, message: Moved Permanently}
-- request: !!python/object:vcr.request.Request
+- request:
     body: null
-    headers: !!python/object/apply:__builtin__.frozenset
-    - - !!python/tuple [Accept-Encoding, 'gzip, deflate, compress']
-      - !!python/tuple [User-Agent, vcrpy-test]
-      - !!python/tuple [Accept, '*/*']
-    host: moz.com
+    headers:
+      Accept: ['*/*']
+      Accept-Encoding: ['gzip, deflate, compress']
+      User-Agent: ['vcrpy-test']
     method: GET
-    path: /
-    port: 80
-    protocol: http
+    uri: http://moz.com/
   response:
     body:
       string: !!binary |
diff --git a/tests/integration/test_filter.py b/tests/integration/test_filter.py
index d1bad9c..11dea94 100644
--- a/tests/integration/test_filter.py
+++ b/tests/integration/test_filter.py
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ def _request_with_auth(url, username, password):
 
 def _find_header(cassette, header):
     for request in cassette.requests:
-        for k, v in request.headers:
+        for k in request.headers:
             if header.lower() == k.lower():
                 return True
     return False
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ def _find_header(cassette, header):
 def test_filter_basic_auth(tmpdir):
     url = 'http://httpbin.org/basic-auth/user/passwd'
     cass_file = str(tmpdir.join('basic_auth_filter.yaml'))
-    my_vcr = vcr.VCR(match_on = ['url', 'method', 'headers'])
+    my_vcr = vcr.VCR(match_on=['uri', 'method', 'headers'])
     # 2 requests, one with auth failure and one with auth success
     with my_vcr.use_cassette(cass_file, filter_headers=['authorization']):
         with pytest.raises(HTTPError):
diff --git a/tests/integration/test_matchers.py b/tests/integration/test_matchers.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5ead41f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/integration/test_matchers.py
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+import vcr
+import pytest
+from six.moves.urllib.request import urlopen
+
+
+DEFAULT_URI = 'http://httpbin.org/get?p1=q1&p2=q2'  # base uri for testing
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def cassette(tmpdir):
+    """
+    Helper fixture used to prepare the cassete
+    returns path to the recorded cassette
+    """
+    cassette_path = str(tmpdir.join('test.yml'))
+    with vcr.use_cassette(cassette_path, record_mode='all'):
+        urlopen(DEFAULT_URI)
+    return cassette_path
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("matcher, matching_uri, not_matching_uri", [
+    ('uri',
+     'http://httpbin.org/get?p1=q1&p2=q2',
+     'http://httpbin.org/get?p2=q2&p1=q1'),
+    ('scheme',
+     'http://google.com/post?a=b',
+     'https://httpbin.org/get?p1=q1&p2=q2'),
+    ('host',
+     'https://httpbin.org/post?a=b',
+     'http://google.com/get?p1=q1&p2=q2'),
+    ('port',
+     'https://google.com:80/post?a=b',
+     'http://httpbin.org:5000/get?p1=q1&p2=q2'),
+    ('path',
+     'https://google.com/get?a=b',
+     'http://httpbin.org/post?p1=q1&p2=q2'),
+    ('query',
+     'https://google.com/get?p2=q2&p1=q1',
+     'http://httpbin.org/get?p1=q1&a=b')
+    ])
+def test_matchers(cassette, matcher, matching_uri, not_matching_uri):
+    # play cassette with default uri
+    with vcr.use_cassette(cassette, match_on=[matcher]) as cass:
+        urlopen(DEFAULT_URI)
+        assert cass.play_count == 1
+
+    # play cassette with matching on uri
+    with vcr.use_cassette(cassette, match_on=[matcher]) as cass:
+        urlopen(matching_uri)
+        assert cass.play_count == 1
+
+    # play cassette with not matching on uri, it should fail
+    with pytest.raises(vcr.errors.CannotOverwriteExistingCassetteException):
+        with vcr.use_cassette(cassette, match_on=[matcher]) as cass:
+            urlopen(not_matching_uri)
+
+
+def test_method_matcher(cassette):
+    # play cassette with matching on method
+    with vcr.use_cassette(cassette, match_on=['method']) as cass:
+        urlopen('https://google.com/get?a=b')
+        assert cass.play_count == 1
+
+    # should fail if method does not match
+    with pytest.raises(vcr.errors.CannotOverwriteExistingCassetteException):
+        with vcr.use_cassette(cassette, match_on=['method']) as cass:
+            # is a POST request
+            urlopen(DEFAULT_URI, data=b'')
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("uri", [
+    DEFAULT_URI,
+    'http://httpbin.org/get?p2=q2&p1=q1',
+    'http://httpbin.org/get?p2=q2&p1=q1',
+])
+def test_default_matcher_matches(cassette, uri):
+    with vcr.use_cassette(cassette) as cass:
+        urlopen(uri)
+        assert cass.play_count == 1
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("uri", [
+    'https://httpbin.org/get?p1=q1&p2=q2',
+    'http://google.com/get?p1=q1&p2=q2',
+    'http://httpbin.org:5000/get?p1=q1&p2=q2',
+    'http://httpbin.org/post?p1=q1&p2=q2',
+    'http://httpbin.org/get?p1=q1&a=b'
+])
+def test_default_matcher_does_not_match(cassette, uri):
+    with pytest.raises(vcr.errors.CannotOverwriteExistingCassetteException):
+        with vcr.use_cassette(cassette):
+            urlopen(uri)
+
+
+def test_default_matcher_does_not_match_on_method(cassette):
+    with pytest.raises(vcr.errors.CannotOverwriteExistingCassetteException):
+        with vcr.use_cassette(cassette):
+            # is a POST request
+            urlopen(DEFAULT_URI, data=b'')
diff --git a/tests/integration/test_register_matcher.py b/tests/integration/test_register_matcher.py
index 9e542be..ad1da1c 100644
--- a/tests/integration/test_register_matcher.py
+++ b/tests/integration/test_register_matcher.py
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ def false_matcher(r1, r2):
     return False
 
 
-def test_registered_serializer_true_matcher(tmpdir):
+def test_registered_true_matcher(tmpdir):
     my_vcr = vcr.VCR()
     my_vcr.register_matcher('true', true_matcher)
     testfile = str(tmpdir.join('test.yml'))
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ def test_registered_serializer_true_matcher(tmpdir):
         urlopen('https://httpbin.org/get')
 
 
-def test_registered_serializer_false_matcher(tmpdir):
+def test_registered_false_matcher(tmpdir):
     my_vcr = vcr.VCR()
     my_vcr.register_matcher('false', false_matcher)
     testfile = str(tmpdir.join('test.yml'))
diff --git a/tests/integration/test_request.py b/tests/integration/test_request.py
index 829c6eb..0e01674 100644
--- a/tests/integration/test_request.py
+++ b/tests/integration/test_request.py
@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@ import vcr
 from six.moves.urllib.request import urlopen
 
 
-def test_recorded_request_url_with_redirected_request(tmpdir):
+def test_recorded_request_uri_with_redirected_request(tmpdir):
     with vcr.use_cassette(str(tmpdir.join('test.yml'))) as cass:
         assert len(cass) == 0
         urlopen('http://httpbin.org/redirect/3')
-        assert cass.requests[0].url == 'http://httpbin.org/redirect/3'
-        assert cass.requests[3].url == 'http://httpbin.org/get'
+        assert cass.requests[0].uri == 'http://httpbin.org/redirect/3'
+        assert cass.requests[3].uri == 'http://httpbin.org/get'
         assert len(cass) == 4
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_cassettes.py b/tests/unit/test_cassettes.py
index d351ab0..1c5b84c 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_cassettes.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_cassettes.py
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@ from vcr.errors import UnhandledHTTPRequestError
 def test_cassette_load(tmpdir):
     a_file = tmpdir.join('test_cassette.yml')
     a_file.write(yaml.dump([
-        {'request': 'foo', 'response': 'bar'}
+        {'request': {'body': '', 'uri': 'foo', 'method': 'GET', 'headers': {}},
+         'response': 'bar'}
     ]))
     a_cassette = Cassette.load(str(a_file))
     assert len(a_cassette) == 1
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_filters.py b/tests/unit/test_filters.py
index 5d6ac5f..f274279 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_filters.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_filters.py
@@ -1,28 +1,37 @@
-import mock
 from vcr.filters import _remove_headers, _remove_query_parameters
 from vcr.request import Request
 
 
 def test_remove_headers():
-    request = mock.Mock(headers=[('hello','goodbye'),('secret','header')])
-    assert _remove_headers(request, ['secret']).headers == frozenset([('hello','goodbye')])
+    headers = {'hello': ['goodbye'], 'secret': ['header']}
+    request = Request('GET', 'http://google.com', '', headers)
+    _remove_headers(request, ['secret'])
+    assert request.headers == {'hello': ['goodbye']}
 
 
 def test_remove_headers_empty():
-    request = mock.Mock(headers=[('hello','goodbye'),('secret','header')])
-    assert _remove_headers(request, []).headers == frozenset([('hello','goodbye'),('secret','header')])
+    headers = {'hello': ['goodbye'], 'secret': ['header']}
+    request = Request('GET', 'http://google.com', '', headers)
+    _remove_headers(request, [])
+    assert request.headers == headers
 
 
 def test_remove_query_parameters():
-    request = mock.Mock(url='http://g.com/?q=cowboys&w=1')
-    assert _remove_query_parameters(request, ['w']).path == '/?q=cowboys'
+    uri = 'http://g.com/?q=cowboys&w=1'
+    request = Request('GET', uri, '', {})
+    _remove_query_parameters(request, ['w'])
+    assert request.uri == 'http://g.com/?q=cowboys'
 
 
 def test_remove_all_query_parameters():
-    request = mock.Mock(url='http://g.com/?q=cowboys&w=1')
-    assert _remove_query_parameters(request, ['w','q']).path == '/'
+    uri = 'http://g.com/?q=cowboys&w=1'
+    request = Request('GET', uri, '', {})
+    _remove_query_parameters(request, ['w', 'q'])
+    assert request.uri == 'http://g.com/'
 
 
 def test_remove_nonexistent_query_parameters():
-    request = mock.Mock(url='http://g.com/')
-    assert _remove_query_parameters(request, ['w','q']).path == '/'
+    uri = 'http://g.com/'
+    request = Request('GET', uri, '', {})
+    _remove_query_parameters(request, ['w', 'q'])
+    assert request.uri == 'http://g.com/'
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_json_serializer.py b/tests/unit/test_json_serializer.py
index fe043c2..3bf927a 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_json_serializer.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_json_serializer.py
@@ -4,8 +4,13 @@ from vcr.request import Request
 
 
 def test_serialize_binary():
-    request = Request('http','localhost',80,'GET','/',{},{})
-    cassette = {'requests': [request], 'responses': [{'body':b'\x8c'}]}
+    request = Request(
+        method='GET',
+        uri='http://localhost/',
+        body='',
+        headers={},
+    )
+    cassette = {'requests': [request], 'responses': [{'body': b'\x8c'}]}
 
     with pytest.raises(Exception) as e:
         serialize(cassette)
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_matchers.py b/tests/unit/test_matchers.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f942bd2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/test_matchers.py
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+import itertools
+
+from vcr import matchers
+from vcr import request
+
+# the dict contains requests with corresponding to its key difference
+# with 'base' request.
+REQUESTS = {
+    'base': request.Request('GET', 'http://host.com/p?a=b', '', {}),
+    'method': request.Request('POST', 'http://host.com/p?a=b', '', {}),
+    'scheme': request.Request('GET', 'https://host.com:80/p?a=b', '', {}),
+    'host': request.Request('GET', 'http://another-host.com/p?a=b', '', {}),
+    'port': request.Request('GET', 'http://host.com:90/p?a=b', '', {}),
+    'path': request.Request('GET', 'http://host.com/x?a=b', '', {}),
+    'query': request.Request('GET', 'http://host.com/p?c=d', '', {}),
+}
+
+
+def assert_matcher(matcher_name):
+    matcher = getattr(matchers, matcher_name)
+    for k1, k2 in itertools.permutations(REQUESTS, 2):
+        matched = matcher(REQUESTS[k1], REQUESTS[k2])
+        if matcher_name in set((k1, k2)):
+            assert not matched
+        else:
+            assert matched
+
+
+def test_uri_matcher():
+    for k1, k2 in itertools.permutations(REQUESTS, 2):
+        matched = matchers.uri(REQUESTS[k1], REQUESTS[k2])
+        if set((k1, k2)) != set(('base', 'method')):
+            assert not matched
+        else:
+            assert matched
+
+
+def test_query_matcher():
+    req1 = request.Request('GET', 'http://host.com/?a=b&c=d', '', {})
+    req2 = request.Request('GET', 'http://host.com/?c=d&a=b', '', {})
+    assert matchers.query(req1, req2)
+
+    req1 = request.Request('GET', 'http://host.com/?a=b&a=b&c=d', '', {})
+    req2 = request.Request('GET', 'http://host.com/?a=b&c=d&a=b', '', {})
+    req3 = request.Request('GET', 'http://host.com/?c=d&a=b&a=b', '', {})
+    assert matchers.query(req1, req2)
+    assert matchers.query(req1, req3)
+
+
+def test_metchers():
+    assert_matcher('method')
+    assert_matcher('scheme')
+    assert_matcher('host')
+    assert_matcher('port')
+    assert_matcher('path')
+    assert_matcher('query')
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_migration.py b/tests/unit/test_migration.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5f2472c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/test_migration.py
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+import filecmp
+import json
+import shutil
+import yaml
+
+import vcr.migration
+
+
+def test_try_migrate_with_json(tmpdir):
+    cassette = tmpdir.join('cassette').strpath
+    shutil.copy('tests/fixtures/migration/old_cassette.json', cassette)
+    assert vcr.migration.try_migrate(cassette)
+    with open('tests/fixtures/migration/new_cassette.json', 'r') as f:
+        expected_json = json.load(f)
+    with open(cassette, 'r') as f:
+        actual_json = json.load(f)
+    assert actual_json == expected_json
+
+
+def test_try_migrate_with_yaml(tmpdir):
+    cassette = tmpdir.join('cassette').strpath
+    shutil.copy('tests/fixtures/migration/old_cassette.yaml', cassette)
+    assert vcr.migration.try_migrate(cassette)
+    with open('tests/fixtures/migration/new_cassette.yaml', 'r') as f:
+        expected_yaml = yaml.load(f)
+    with open(cassette, 'r') as f:
+        actual_yaml = yaml.load(f)
+    assert actual_yaml == expected_yaml
+
+
+def test_try_migrate_with_invalid_or_new_cassettes(tmpdir):
+    cassette = tmpdir.join('cassette').strpath
+    files = [
+        'tests/fixtures/migration/not_cassette.txt',
+        'tests/fixtures/migration/new_cassette.yaml',
+        'tests/fixtures/migration/new_cassette.json',
+    ]
+    for file_path in files:
+        shutil.copy(file_path, cassette)
+        assert not vcr.migration.try_migrate(cassette)
+        assert filecmp.cmp(cassette, file_path)  # shold not change file
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_persist.py b/tests/unit/test_persist.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e9b30be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/test_persist.py
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+import pytest
+
+import vcr.persist
+from vcr.serializers import jsonserializer, yamlserializer
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("cassette_path, serializer", [
+    ('tests/fixtures/migration/old_cassette.json', jsonserializer),
+    ('tests/fixtures/migration/old_cassette.yaml', yamlserializer),
+])
+def test_load_cassette_with_old_cassettes(cassette_path, serializer):
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError) as excinfo:
+        vcr.persist.load_cassette(cassette_path, serializer)
+    assert "run the migration script" in excinfo.exconly()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("cassette_path, serializer", [
+    ('tests/fixtures/migration/not_cassette.txt', jsonserializer),
+    ('tests/fixtures/migration/not_cassette.txt', yamlserializer),
+])
+def test_load_cassette_with_invalid_cassettes(cassette_path, serializer):
+    with pytest.raises(Exception) as excinfo:
+        vcr.persist.load_cassette(cassette_path, serializer)
+    assert "run the migration script" not in excinfo.exconly()
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_request.py b/tests/unit/test_request.py
index 304522a..ae0685e 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_request.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_request.py
@@ -1,11 +1,44 @@
+import pytest
+
 from vcr.request import Request
 
 
-def test_url():
-    req = Request('http', 'www.google.com', 80, 'GET', '/', '', {})
-    assert req.url == 'http://www.google.com/'
-
-
 def test_str():
-    req = Request('http', 'www.google.com', 80, 'GET', '/', '', {})
-    str(req) == '<Request (GET) http://www.google.com>'
+    req = Request('GET', 'http://www.google.com/', '', {})
+    str(req) == '<Request (GET) http://www.google.com/>'
+
+
+def test_headers():
+    headers = {'X-Header1': ['h1'], 'X-Header2': 'h2'}
+    req = Request('GET', 'http://go.com/', '', headers)
+    assert req.headers == {'X-Header1': ['h1'], 'X-Header2': ['h2']}
+
+    req.add_header('X-Header1', 'h11')
+    assert req.headers == {'X-Header1': ['h1', 'h11'], 'X-Header2': ['h2']}
+
+
+def test_flat_headers_dict():
+    headers = {'X-Header1': ['h1', 'h11'], 'X-Header2': ['h2']}
+    req = Request('GET', 'http://go.com/', '', headers)
+    assert req.flat_headers_dict() == {'X-Header1': 'h1', 'X-Header2': 'h2'}
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("uri, expected_port", [
+    ('http://go.com/', 80),
+    ('http://go.com:80/', 80),
+    ('http://go.com:3000/', 3000),
+    ('https://go.com/', 433),
+    ('https://go.com:433/', 433),
+    ('https://go.com:3000/', 3000),
+    ])
+def test_port(uri, expected_port):
+    req = Request('GET', uri,  '', {})
+    assert req.port == expected_port
+
+
+def test_uri():
+    req = Request('GET', 'http://go.com/', '', {})
+    assert req.uri == 'http://go.com/'
+
+    req = Request('GET', 'http://go.com:80/', '', {})
+    assert req.uri == 'http://go.com:80/'
diff --git a/vcr/cassette.py b/vcr/cassette.py
index df6a64b..4053c25 100644
--- a/vcr/cassette.py
+++ b/vcr/cassette.py
@@ -1,10 +1,9 @@
 '''The container for recorded requests and responses'''
 
 try:
-    from collections import Counter, OrderedDict
+    from collections import Counter
 except ImportError:
     from .compat.counter import Counter
-    from .compat.ordereddict import OrderedDict
 
 from contextdecorator import ContextDecorator
 
@@ -13,7 +12,7 @@ from .patch import install, reset
 from .persist import load_cassette, save_cassette
 from .filters import filter_request
 from .serializers import yamlserializer
-from .matchers import requests_match, url, method
+from .matchers import requests_match, uri, method
 from .errors import UnhandledHTTPRequestError
 
 
@@ -31,7 +30,7 @@ class Cassette(ContextDecorator):
                  path,
                  serializer=yamlserializer,
                  record_mode='once',
-                 match_on=[url, method],
+                 match_on=[uri, method],
                  filter_headers=[],
                  filter_query_parameters=[],
                  before_record=None,
@@ -70,10 +69,10 @@ class Cassette(ContextDecorator):
     def append(self, request, response):
         '''Add a request, response pair to this cassette'''
         request = filter_request(
-            request = request,
-            filter_headers = self._filter_headers,
-            filter_query_parameters = self._filter_query_parameters,
-            before_record = self._before_record
+            request=request,
+            filter_headers=self._filter_headers,
+            filter_query_parameters=self._filter_query_parameters,
+            before_record=self._before_record
         )
         if not request:
             return
@@ -86,10 +85,10 @@ class Cassette(ContextDecorator):
         the request.
         """
         request = filter_request(
-            request = request,
-            filter_headers = self._filter_headers,
-            filter_query_parameters = self._filter_query_parameters,
-            before_record = self._before_record
+            request=request,
+            filter_headers=self._filter_headers,
+            filter_query_parameters=self._filter_query_parameters,
+            before_record=self._before_record
         )
         if not request:
             return
diff --git a/vcr/config.py b/vcr/config.py
index 4cc335f..9789583 100644
--- a/vcr/config.py
+++ b/vcr/config.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import os
 from .cassette import Cassette
 from .serializers import yamlserializer, jsonserializer
-from .matchers import method, url, host, path, headers, body
+from . import matchers
 
 
 class VCR(object):
@@ -9,10 +9,17 @@ class VCR(object):
                  serializer='yaml',
                  cassette_library_dir=None,
                  record_mode="once",
-                 match_on=['url', 'method'],
                  filter_headers=[],
                  filter_query_parameters=[],
                  before_record=None,
+                 match_on=[
+                     'method',
+                     'scheme',
+                     'host',
+                     'port',
+                     'path',
+                     'query',
+                 ],
                  ):
         self.serializer = serializer
         self.match_on = match_on
@@ -22,12 +29,16 @@ class VCR(object):
             'json': jsonserializer,
         }
         self.matchers = {
-            'method': method,
-            'url': url,
-            'host': host,
-            'path': path,
-            'headers': headers,
-            'body': body,
+            'method': matchers.method,
+            'uri': matchers.uri,
+            'url': matchers.uri,  # matcher for backwards compatibility
+            'scheme': matchers.scheme,
+            'host': matchers.host,
+            'port': matchers.port,
+            'path': matchers.path,
+            'query': matchers.query,
+            'headers': matchers.headers,
+            'body': matchers.body,
         }
         self.record_mode = record_mode
         self.filter_headers = filter_headers
diff --git a/vcr/filters.py b/vcr/filters.py
index 06838d6..318d651 100644
--- a/vcr/filters.py
+++ b/vcr/filters.py
@@ -1,26 +1,26 @@
-from six.moves.urllib.parse import urlparse, parse_qsl, urlunparse, urlencode
+from six.moves.urllib.parse import urlparse, urlencode, urlunparse
 import copy
 
 
 def _remove_headers(request, headers_to_remove):
-    out = []
-    for k, v in request.headers:
-        if k.lower() not in [h.lower() for h in headers_to_remove]:
-            out.append((k, v))
-    request.headers = frozenset(out)
+    headers = copy.copy(request.headers)
+    headers_to_remove = [h.lower() for h in headers_to_remove]
+    keys = [k for k in headers if k.lower() in headers_to_remove]
+    if keys:
+        for k in keys:
+            headers.pop(k)
+        request.headers = headers
     return request
 
 
 def _remove_query_parameters(request, query_parameters_to_remove):
-    if not hasattr(request, 'path' or not query_parameters_to_remote):
-        return request
-    url = urlparse(request.url)
-    q = parse_qsl(url.query)
-    q = [(k, v) for k, v in q if k not in query_parameters_to_remove]
-    if q:
-        request.path = url.path + '?' + urlencode(q)
-    else:
-        request.path = url.path
+    query = request.query
+    new_query = [(k, v) for (k, v) in query
+                 if k not in query_parameters_to_remove]
+    if len(new_query) != len(query):
+        uri_parts = list(urlparse(request.uri))
+        uri_parts[4] = urlencode(new_query)
+        request.uri = urlunparse(uri_parts)
     return request
 
 
diff --git a/vcr/matchers.py b/vcr/matchers.py
index 0adf3a8..4964b9f 100644
--- a/vcr/matchers.py
+++ b/vcr/matchers.py
@@ -1,22 +1,35 @@
 import logging
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
+
 def method(r1, r2):
     return r1.method == r2.method
 
 
-def url(r1, r2):
-    return r1.url == r2.url
+def uri(r1, r2):
+    return r1.uri == r2.uri
 
 
 def host(r1, r2):
     return r1.host == r2.host
 
 
+def scheme(r1, r2):
+    return r1.scheme == r2.scheme
+
+
+def port(r1, r2):
+    return r1.port == r2.port
+
+
 def path(r1, r2):
     return r1.path == r2.path
 
 
+def query(r1, r2):
+    return r1.query == r2.query
+
+
 def body(r1, r2):
     return r1.body == r2.body
 
@@ -28,7 +41,11 @@ def headers(r1, r2):
 def _log_matches(matches):
     differences = [m for m in matches if not m[0]]
     if differences:
-        log.debug('Requests differ according to the following matchers: {0}'.format(differences))
+        log.debug(
+            'Requests differ according to the following matchers: ' +
+            str(differences)
+        )
+
 
 def requests_match(r1, r2, matchers):
     matches = [(m(r1, r2), m) for m in matchers]
diff --git a/vcr/migration.py b/vcr/migration.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..edb3b91
--- /dev/null
+++ b/vcr/migration.py
@@ -0,0 +1,153 @@
+"""
+Migration script for old 'yaml' and 'json' cassettes
+
+.. warning:: Backup your cassettes files before migration.
+
+It merges and deletes the request obsolete keys (protocol, host, port, path)
+into new 'uri' key.
+Usage::
+
+    python -m vcr.migration PATH
+
+The PATH can be path to the directory with cassettes or cassette itself
+"""
+
+import json
+import os
+import shutil
+import sys
+import tempfile
+import yaml
+
+from .serializers import compat, yamlserializer
+from . import request
+
+# Use the libYAML versions if possible
+try:
+    from yaml import CLoader as Loader
+except ImportError:
+    from yaml import Loader
+
+
+PARTS = [
+    'protocol',
+    'host',
+    'port',
+    'path',
+]
+
+
+def build_uri(**parts):
+    port = parts['port']
+    scheme = parts['protocol']
+    default_port = {'https': 433, 'http': 80}[scheme]
+    parts['port'] = ':{0}'.format(port) if port != default_port else ''
+    return "{protocol}://{host}{port}{path}".format(**parts)
+
+
+def migrate_json(in_fp, out_fp):
+    data = json.load(in_fp)
+    for item in data:
+        req = item['request']
+        uri = dict((k, req.pop(k)) for k in PARTS)
+        req['uri'] = build_uri(**uri)
+        # convert headers to dict of lists
+        headers = req['headers']
+        for k in headers:
+            headers[k] = [headers[k]]
+    json.dump(data, out_fp, indent=4)
+
+
+def _restore_frozenset():
+    """
+    Restore __builtin__.frozenset for cassettes serialized in python2 but
+    deserialized in python3 and builtins.frozenset for cassettes serialized
+    in python3 and deserialized in python2
+    """
+
+    if '__builtin__' not in sys.modules:
+        import builtins
+        sys.modules['__builtin__'] = builtins
+
+    if 'builtins' not in sys.modules:
+        sys.modules['builtins'] = sys.modules['__builtin__']
+
+
+def _old_deserialize(cassette_string):
+    _restore_frozenset()
+    data = yaml.load(cassette_string, Loader=Loader)
+    requests = [r['request'] for r in data]
+    responses = [r['response'] for r in data]
+    responses = [compat.convert_to_bytes(r['response']) for r in data]
+    return requests, responses
+
+
+def migrate_yml(in_fp, out_fp):
+    (requests, responses) = _old_deserialize(in_fp.read())
+    for req in requests:
+        if not isinstance(req, request.Request):
+            raise Exception("already migrated")
+        else:
+            req.uri = build_uri(
+                protocol=req.__dict__['protocol'],
+                host=req.__dict__['host'],
+                port=req.__dict__['port'],
+                path=req.__dict__['path'],
+            )
+
+            # convert headers to dict of lists
+            headers = req.headers
+            req.headers = {}
+            for key, value in headers:
+                req.add_header(key, value)
+
+    data = yamlserializer.serialize({
+        "requests": requests,
+        "responses": responses,
+    })
+    out_fp.write(data)
+
+
+def migrate(file_path, migration_fn):
+    # because we assume that original files can be reverted
+    # we will try to copy the content. (os.rename not needed)
+    with tempfile.TemporaryFile(mode='w+') as out_fp:
+        with open(file_path, 'r') as in_fp:
+            migration_fn(in_fp, out_fp)
+        with open(file_path, 'w') as in_fp:
+            out_fp.seek(0)
+            shutil.copyfileobj(out_fp, in_fp)
+
+
+def try_migrate(path):
+    try:  # try to migrate as json
+        migrate(path, migrate_json)
+    except Exception:  # probably the file is not a json
+        try:  # let's try to migrate as yaml
+            migrate(path, migrate_yml)
+        except Exception:  # oops probably the file is not a cassette
+            return False
+    return True
+
+
+def main():
+    if len(sys.argv) != 2:
+        raise SystemExit("Please provide path to cassettes directory or file. "
+                         "Usage: python -m vcr.migration PATH")
+
+    path = sys.argv[1]
+    if not os.path.isabs(path):
+        path = os.path.abspath(path)
+    files = [path]
+    if os.path.isdir(path):
+        files = (os.path.join(root, name)
+                 for (root, dirs, files) in os.walk(path)
+                 for name in files)
+    for file_path in files:
+            migrated = try_migrate(file_path)
+            status = 'OK' if migrated else 'FAIL'
+            sys.stderr.write("[{0}] {1}\n".format(status, file_path))
+    sys.stderr.write("Done.\n")
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    main()
diff --git a/vcr/persist.py b/vcr/persist.py
index 1f270d8..8c00b32 100644
--- a/vcr/persist.py
+++ b/vcr/persist.py
@@ -1,9 +1,31 @@
+import tempfile
+
 from .persisters.filesystem import FilesystemPersister
+from . import migration
+
+
+def _check_for_old_cassette(cassette_content):
+    # crate tmp with cassete content and try to migrate it
+    with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(mode='w+') as f:
+        f.write(cassette_content)
+        f.seek(0)
+        if migration.try_migrate(f.name):
+            raise ValueError(
+                "Your cassette files were generated in an older version "
+                "of VCR. Delete your cassettes or run the migration script."
+                "See http://git.io/mHhLBg for more details."
+            )
 
 
 def load_cassette(cassette_path, serializer):
     with open(cassette_path) as f:
-        return serializer.deserialize(f.read())
+        cassette_content = f.read()
+        try:
+            cassette = serializer.deserialize(cassette_content)
+        except TypeError:
+            _check_for_old_cassette(cassette_content)
+            raise
+        return cassette
 
 
 def save_cassette(cassette_path, cassette_dict, serializer):
diff --git a/vcr/request.py b/vcr/request.py
index bbe950b..417c40c 100644
--- a/vcr/request.py
+++ b/vcr/request.py
@@ -1,53 +1,68 @@
+from six.moves.urllib.parse import urlparse, parse_qsl
+
+
 class Request(object):
 
-    def __init__(self, protocol, host, port, method, path, body, headers):
-        self.protocol = protocol
-        self.host = host
-        self.port = port
+    def __init__(self, method, uri, body, headers):
         self.method = method
-        self.path = path
+        self.uri = uri
         self.body = body
-        # make headers a frozenset so it will be hashable
-        self.headers = frozenset(headers.items())
+        self.headers = {}
+        for key in headers:
+            self.add_header(key, headers[key])
 
     def add_header(self, key, value):
-        tmp = dict(self.headers)
-        tmp[key] = value
-        self.headers = frozenset(tmp.iteritems())
+        value = list(value) if isinstance(value, (tuple, list)) else [value]
+        self.headers.setdefault(key, []).extend(value)
+
+    def flat_headers_dict(self):
+        return dict((key, self.headers[key][0]) for key in self.headers)
 
+    @property
+    def scheme(self):
+        return urlparse(self.uri).scheme
+
+    @property
+    def host(self):
+        return urlparse(self.uri).hostname
+
+    @property
+    def port(self):
+        parse_uri = urlparse(self.uri)
+        port = parse_uri.port
+        if port is None:
+            port = {'https': 433, 'http': 80}[parse_uri.scheme]
+        return port
+
+    @property
+    def path(self):
+        return urlparse(self.uri).path
+
+    @property
+    def query(self):
+        q = urlparse(self.uri).query
+        return sorted(parse_qsl(q))
+
+    # alias for backwards compatibility
     @property
     def url(self):
-        return "{0}://{1}{2}".format(self.protocol, self.host, self.path)
+        return self.uri
 
-    def __key(self):
-        return (
-            self.host,
-            self.port,
-            self.method,
-            self.path,
-            self.body,
-            self.headers
-        )
-
-    def __hash__(self):
-        return hash(self.__key())
-
-    def __eq__(self, other):
-        return hash(self) == hash(other)
+    # alias for backwards compatibility
+    @property
+    def protocol(self):
+        return self.scheme
 
     def __str__(self):
-        return "<Request ({0}) {1}>".format(self.method, self.url)
+        return "<Request ({0}) {1}>".format(self.method, self.uri)
 
     def __repr__(self):
         return self.__str__()
 
     def _to_dict(self):
         return {
-            'protocol': self.protocol,
-            'host': self.host,
-            'port': self.port,
             'method': self.method,
-            'path': self.path,
+            'uri': self.uri,
             'body': self.body,
             'headers': self.headers,
         }
diff --git a/vcr/serializers/jsonserializer.py b/vcr/serializers/jsonserializer.py
index eeaa91b..2dcfa09 100644
--- a/vcr/serializers/jsonserializer.py
+++ b/vcr/serializers/jsonserializer.py
@@ -6,12 +6,6 @@ except ImportError:
     import json
 
 
-def _json_default(obj):
-    if isinstance(obj, frozenset):
-        return dict(obj)
-    return obj
-
-
 def deserialize(cassette_string):
     data = json.loads(cassette_string)
     requests = [Request._from_dict(r['request']) for r in data]
@@ -28,8 +22,8 @@ def serialize(cassette_dict):
         cassette_dict['responses']
     )])
     try:
-        return json.dumps(data, indent=4, default=_json_default)
-    except UnicodeDecodeError as e:
+        return json.dumps(data, indent=4)
+    except UnicodeDecodeError:
         raise UnicodeDecodeError(
             "Error serializing cassette to JSON. ",
             "Does this HTTP interaction contain binary data? ",
diff --git a/vcr/serializers/yamlserializer.py b/vcr/serializers/yamlserializer.py
index 76128b2..df42d9c 100644
--- a/vcr/serializers/yamlserializer.py
+++ b/vcr/serializers/yamlserializer.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
-import sys
 import yaml
+
+from vcr.request import Request
 from . import compat
 
 # Use the libYAML versions if possible
@@ -21,25 +22,9 @@ Deserializing: string (yaml converts from utf-8) -> bytestring
 """
 
 
-def _restore_frozenset():
-    """
-    Restore __builtin__.frozenset for cassettes serialized in python2 but
-    deserialized in python3 and builtins.frozenset for cassettes serialized
-    in python3 and deserialized in python2
-    """
-
-    if '__builtin__' not in sys.modules:
-        import builtins
-        sys.modules['__builtin__'] = builtins
-
-    if 'builtins' not in sys.modules:
-        sys.modules['builtins'] = sys.modules['__builtin__']
-
-
 def deserialize(cassette_string):
-    _restore_frozenset()
     data = yaml.load(cassette_string, Loader=Loader)
-    requests = [r['request'] for r in data]
+    requests = [Request._from_dict(r['request']) for r in data]
     responses = [r['response'] for r in data]
     responses = [compat.convert_to_bytes(r['response']) for r in data]
     return requests, responses
@@ -47,7 +32,7 @@ def deserialize(cassette_string):
 
 def serialize(cassette_dict):
     data = ([{
-        'request': request,
+        'request': request._to_dict(),
         'response': response,
     } for request, response in zip(
         cassette_dict['requests'],
diff --git a/vcr/stubs/__init__.py b/vcr/stubs/__init__.py
index 04c0f79..2218786 100644
--- a/vcr/stubs/__init__.py
+++ b/vcr/stubs/__init__.py
@@ -119,14 +119,38 @@ class VCRConnection:
     # A reference to the cassette that's currently being patched in
     cassette = None
 
+    def _port_postfix(self):
+        """
+        Returns empty string for the default port and ':port' otherwise
+        """
+        port = self.real_connection.port
+        default_port = {'https': 433, 'http': 80}[self._protocol]
+        return ':{0}'.format(port) if port != default_port else ''
+
+    def _uri(self, url):
+        """Returns request absolute URI"""
+        uri = "{0}://{1}{2}{3}".format(
+            self._protocol,
+            self.real_connection.host,
+            self._port_postfix(),
+            url,
+        )
+        return uri
+
+    def _url(self, uri):
+        """Returns request selector url from absolute URI"""
+        prefix = "{0}://{1}{2}".format(
+            self._protocol,
+            self.real_connection.host,
+            self._port_postfix(),
+        )
+        return uri.replace(prefix, '', 1)
+
     def request(self, method, url, body=None, headers=None):
         '''Persist the request metadata in self._vcr_request'''
         self._vcr_request = Request(
-            protocol=self._protocol,
-            host=self.real_connection.host,
-            port=self.real_connection.port,
             method=method,
-            path=url,
+            uri=self._uri(url),
             body=body,
             headers=headers or {}
         )
@@ -144,11 +168,8 @@ class VCRConnection:
         of putheader() calls.
         """
         self._vcr_request = Request(
-            protocol=self._protocol,
-            host=self.real_connection.host,
-            port=self.real_connection.port,
             method=method,
-            path=url,
+            uri=self._uri(url),
             body="",
             headers={}
         )
@@ -211,9 +232,9 @@ class VCRConnection:
             )
             self.real_connection.request(
                 method=self._vcr_request.method,
-                url=self._vcr_request.path,
+                url=self._url(self._vcr_request.uri),
                 body=self._vcr_request.body,
-                headers=dict(self._vcr_request.headers or {})
+                headers=self._vcr_request.flat_headers_dict(),
             )
 
             # get the response