Out Of Touch

[Gilbey]

I must be really out of touch with today's consumer electronics. I went out shopping for a new VCR since my old VCR lost its picture. I figure out it's cheaper to buy a new one than have this one fixed since they're getting cheaper now (due to the popularity of DVDs). I went to Best Buy and Ultimate Electronics only to find out to my surprise that these VCRs are now obsolete!!! They told me that nobody sells VCRs anymore and I could only get a used one in pawn shops (people are now into DVDs and/or DVRs). Bummer! I still have a few videos I keep around for me and my kids. I guess it's time to get rid of them and transition to totally DVDs. I am just in awe that the VCR only lasted for 2 decades, while the turntables lasted for 9 decades (of which I am still using now). Is being out of touch being old fashioned? I don't have a cell phone, ipod, MP3 gadgets, or GPS navigation systems. I just don't feel the necessity of them. I love the simple life. I guess that's why I am here at the Fedora Lounge. Hey, but at least I have a computer (Pentium II/ Windows 98).

 

[Amy Jeanne]

Earlier this year I bought a VCR/DVD recorder combo off newegg.com. Like you (and a lot of other people), I have VHS tapes that I cherish and I AT LEAST wanted to be able to copy them to DVD while I could.

But then I wonder...how much longer do we have for DVDs?

 

[ScionPI2005]

But then I wonder...how much longer do we have for DVDs?

Supposedly, regular DVD's are going to start being transitioned out in the next couple of years, replaced solely by either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD's.

I say...just when you think you've caught up with technology...

 

[Gilbey]

Supposedly, regular DVD's are going to start being transitioned out in the next couple of years, replaced solely by either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD's.

Enlighten me about Blu-Ray or HD-DVDs. Aren't regular DVDs already considered as high definition especially on players with progressive scan and high resolution component video outputs?

 

[pretty faythe]

Ble Rays are suppused to be like watching the movie at the movies, clear crisp pictures, even if you dont have a great tv.

 

[Cobden]

I think blu-ray and HDDVD is basically just going to be new sort of Betamax/VHS situation.

My theory is that HDDVD will win out, as history shews that, since the mid 80's only media devices that are named as initials are popular (VHS, DVD, mp3, CD - all popular. Betamax, laserdisk, minidisk - none were) [huh]

 

[Josephine]

I wouldn't bet on either Blu Ray or HDDVD yet. They both have their issues. Stick with DVDs until the dust settles and either Blu or HD are standing.

 

[Ecuador Jim]

Only your pet bird can tell the difference...

Enlighten me about Blu-Ray or HD-DVDs. Aren't regular DVDs already considered as high definition especially on players with progressive scan and high resolution component video outputs?

Blu-Ray and HDDVD's have lasers that can read a DVD with greater precision. Blu-Ray uses a blue laser, hence the name. More detail is rendered.

Combined with HDTV at 1080 (progressive or interleaved) you can see a notable difference in the quality of a given DVD. Comibine that with the millions of colors HDTV can express and....yada, yada, yada.

We're rapidly approaching the level of quality that will overtake what we can see.

A similar phenomenon happened in audio decades ago. I recall when our Commanding Officer cautioned us as we left Vietnam for R&R; "Don't buy a stereo that is so expensive that only your dog can tell the difference"

 

[Lady Day]

Also with Blu Ray or the HD DVDs its not just the disk that you need to get the 'optomal experience'. Most people's home entertainment set ups are not compatible with the disks (can display said high rez), so people will need to buy all new equipment in order to see resolutions/hear definitions their eye/ear wont be able to decipher lol

Gotta love that! :rage:

I switched to DVD because it was a digital format. I can rip the files to my computer, then as new computers come along with newer formats, I can just re-encode blah blah in order to at least save the files from equiptment that will become obsolete.

LD

 

[Vintage Betty]

And some of us have geeky husbands who will not let us buy standard DVDs anymore, and will only buy HD-DVDs. (Oops! Did I just say that out loud!)

 

[carebear]

And some of us have geeky husbands who will not let us buy standard DVDs anymore, and will only buy HD-DVDs. (Oops! Did I just say that out loud!)

You just left out the "tech-savvy, loving," part between the "geeky" and the "husbands".

 

[Nashoba]

*sigh* more reasons to spend more money...I need to start copying over all our old vhs tapes...we don't even have a vcr anymore and if I can't get a new one...all the shows I was in that we recorded will be lost forever...

 

[carebear]

What shows were you in? Actual broadcast or tapes of plays and such?

 

[Nashoba]

What shows were you in? Actual broadcast or tapes of plays and such?

Musical Theater and Theater.
Not everything I've ever been in was recorded, but some of them were. Guess it's time to get them copied over..

 

[BegintheBeguine]

Maybe it's from being around an Army guy but the pawn shops I've been in were much more reputable than I'd imagined, say from watching The Lost Weekend several times. There are some good bargains on little-used stuff that other electronic geeks buy and then realize they can't afford. Maybe worth a try? VHS is my preferred route as I can repair the tape or shell if need be; I hate getting stuck on a frozen DVD scene, not knowing how I Saw What You Did and I Know Who You Are! ends until I return the bum DVD and acquire the VHS.

 

[Flivver]

VCR/DVD combinations are available at all the major chains for about $70 for the ones that include a 4-head stereo VCR.

Also, many people are dumping perfectly good VHS machines as they switch to only DVDs. I've bought several perfect stereo VCRs at the flea market for $5 ea. I'm kind of laying in a "supply" of good working VCRs since I have hundreds of VHS tapes of classic movies.

And the best part is that many folks are now dumping their VHS movie collections at the flea markets for $1 or less per tape. My collection of classic movies is growing rapidly...and at minimal cost!

I'm now looking for a good used 36" CRT TV so I can enjoy my old fashioned 4:3 movies on a semi-large screen. If that makes me a luddite, so be it!

 

[LizzieMaine]

I don't own, nor do I intend to buy, an HDTV -- I don't need one, given how little television I watch, and I'm perfectly happy to keep watching my movies on the same old little 19-inch screen I've been watching them on for years. So I resent being blackjacked into abandoning formats that have worked fine for my purposes just because it's the hot new trend. I finally gave in to the DVD movement a couple years ago, but that's as far as I intend to go -- planned obsolescence is a sucker game.

 

[Twitch]

Gilbey- also checkout a place I get catalogs for all the time- Heartland.com. They have VCR/DVD recorders so you can migrate your tapes to disc. Machines cost about $150, probably what you and I paid for our last VCR

 

[Paisley]

Just yesterday, I just saw a DVD/VCR for sale in the paper at Ultimate Electronics or some such store. [huh]

 

[Miss Brill]

I have a fear of my TV/VCR combo tearing up & then I can't watch the tapes I've bought & tapes I've taped. It is like a nightmare. I have a spare VCR, but it isn't the same, you have to hook the cable up, then the DVD up, then the VCR up & there aren't enough places for all of it to go.