MOVING UP TO DVDS FROM VHS:Like going from 8-track music to MP3s
Apr 16 '01
The Bottom Line DVDs are the best image producers of their type on the market today.
Oh, the entertainment revolutions of the last 50 years.
Way back when some of us all had vinyl phonograph records, a revolution happened. It was called 8-track tapes. You could take your favorite music and play it in your car or pickup or 18-wheeler with an 8-track "box." Good sounds. Good stuff. Then along came cassette tapes. Now you could have even better sounds on a smaller medium and take them with you. Then came Compact Disks. Even better (MUCH better) sounds on a cool little disk. Now we have MP3 music. Great high-quality sounds in a very small package. (a)Records-to-(b)8-tracks-to-(c)cassette-tapes-to-(d)CDs-to-(e)MP3s. A revolution in 5 stages. In audio and video combined, that 5-stage revolution has now been cut in a similar way to two stages: (a)VHS tapes to (b)DVD disks.
There are four very good reasons why you should make the move from VHS to DVD. And one reason why VHS is still better than DVD.
First of all, the picture on a DVD is about three times better than that on a VHS tape reproduction. It is absolutely amazing how sharp the picture is on a good TV. I just have a standard TV and I can only imagine what it will look like when you hook up a High-Definition TV to a DVD some day. But the images you can get now are like going from a cheap instamatic camera shot to a high-quality 35mm slide. Your eyes will love you for moving up to DVD.
Second, You get lots of extra features on a DVD disk you never had on a VHS tape. The first thing I noticed was the freeze-frame is REALLY a stop-action crystal-clear shot instead of a blur or a shaky blur. But far more important (to me, anyway, movie buff that I am) are the other nice features you often get with them. I especially like it when in addition to having the "standard" movie, you get another "edition" of the same movie with the director or the writers or the actors commenting in voiceovers on why a certain shot was done this way or that way. I'd LOVE to hear Orson Welles commenting on why he did CITIZEN KANE in certain ways or hear George Lucas talking about making the original STAR WARS movie. It is way cool to go into the heads of the people who made the movie and it deepens your appreciation. There are lots of other "extras" DVDs offer too, like subtitles in different languages and trailers and other stuff-- all of it is great. The James Bond movies even have a "The making of this Bond movie" with them and that is fun. All in all these extras are really great for those of us who want to know the stories BEHIND the films as much as the films themselves.
Third, while the expected life of a VHS tape is maybe 10-15 years at the outside, a well-cared for DVD disk should last about a century or so. Sorry, folks, but VHS tapes have a limited life span. That thin plastic demolecularizes with chemical changes in the plastic backing, temperature variations, radiation, demagnetism, etc. DVDs are pretty stable in those departments. They DO scratch easy, but take care of them and you'll be just fine.
That's why I want to transfer my family home VHS tapes of my kids growing up to DVDs. If I don't get to do that one of these years, those cherished images are gonna be toast. But DVD images will last for years and years. The medium is just a lot more durable.
Fourth, storage. My VHS collection is big, extensive, and heavy. The same number of DVD movies can be fitted into CASE LOGIC 40-disk DVD notebooks and carried around very easily taking up maybe 1/25th the same space.
But ah, the drawback: Why is VHS still better in some ways than DVD? Because you can RECORD onto a VHS tape and you can't RECORD onto a DVD disk (cheaply, anyway, yet.) I dearly WISH they would market a reasonably priced VHS-to- DVD burner unit, but they don't yet. I hope they do before all my family VHS tapes fall completely apart.
DVDs cost a little more but they make up for it with all their benefits and they are starting to drop in price just like VHS tapes did. Once VHS tapes actually cost $75.00 a piece; today you can get them for $7.50 in some places. The same thing will probably happen to DVDs in time.
There is some resistance to the whole DVD concept. I notice that some of my favorite movie makers have refused to release their masterpieces on DVD. Everyone has their reasons, I guess, but the wave of technology eventually sweeps us all up in it as it goes. You can't hang on to your heirloom telegraph forever; some day you'll have to break down and get a cell phone. Cut 'em loose and let's see them in all their digital glory, guys. You've got gazillions to spare so it's not like you're gonna go broke if you put them on the market, you know. Ok, ok, maybe you're still wheeling and dealing with the distributors, I just hope they get out on the shelf before I'm too old to remember what how a wookie differs from an ewok.
And, too, there is probably some little pointy-brain out executive there in DVD marketing saying: "NO! NO! NO! Don't let them have such a device. Remember NAPSTER? They'll all be making their own movies for FREE." Of course, that's a load of horse floocy. But as long as people believe that it will be a while before we get a good VHS-to-DVD burner. Who ever is the first to market one is gonna get richer than Midas though.
So hang on to your VHS recorder for a while. Just hook it through your DVD to your TV set like I do, and you can have your cake and (sort of) eat it to.
Anyway, why not join the revolution and get a DVD player? Money, you say? Hey, you bought the VHS player didn't you? DVDs now cost less than when VHS players first came out. Take the plunge. You'll get a much better movie, and you'll be glad you did.
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Ed.Williamson
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Member: Ed Williamson
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Fight 'em till Hell freezes over, then fight 'em on the ice!
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