DVD- Here To Stay? Or Another Sony Beta?
Aug 03 '00 (Updated Aug 05 '00)
If the other reviews on this subject didn't convince you by now to at least investigate DVD as a possible format to view movies, then I hope this one may help push you over the edge and onto the cutting edge.
I will try not to spew out too many boring facts on things like video resolution and audio/ video compression because who cares?
In The Beginning
When I first purchased my first DVD player, people like myself were considered "early adopters" to this new format we know as DVD, Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc, whichever you prefer. No one knew for sure if this "hyper" CD would be the mainstay overtaking VHS, CD-ROM, and Laser Disc. VideoCD was never real competition because of poor quality.
The only way, in my opinion, for DVD to jump great strides was to make it into the PC market. Some studios refused to release their movies for fear of PC users churning out copies on DVD. I don't know how this was remotely possible since DVD recorders weren't even around yet. I think it was an excuse to wait for the next section in my review.
But the software industry went forward with plans to release some products on DVD. Game Software developers drooled at the though of fitting all the wares on one disk instead of ten.
DVD would have to conquer many hurdles if it wanted to become widely accepted. First it would have to learn from the mistakes of its older brother, Laser Disc, a format that wasn't very compact with overly expensive machines, hard to rent movies, and way too expensive discs.
But wait! A new obstacle is forming.
The Wolf In Sheep's Clothing
Formed by Circuit City with the co-operation of major motion pictures studios, this joint venture decided to make a DVD player but with a twist. Without getting into it too much, it was a pay-per-view scheme where you buy the disc for $3.99 at your corner drug, grocery or video store, bring it home and view it, and then toss it in the trash! No need to return it to the video store. You own it! You may renew the disc for another viewing or simply buy it. Good idea? Well the player needed to be hooked up to a phone line so it can "Call Home" and bill your account via its built-in modem. Not only that but they can easily keep track of your viewing habits. Sound familiar?
Thankfully this format died a quick death and has led to DVD's ever-growing popularity. With the passing, DVD has seen great sales in the Christmas Shopping Season of 1999 with no end in site.
DIVX was bad idea from the word go and never flew much further than its initial debut.
Only after it was obvious that DIVX would fail, did Disney, FOX and other big studios decide to release DVD's in the US. Warner Brothers on the other hand released hundreds of titles prior to this and was verbally against the whole DIVX fiasco from day one. Keep this in mind when shopping for DVD's. ;)
What DVD Means To Me
· Outstanding video and audio quality. Before I actually saw a movie on DVD, I asked, "How good can it be"?
Needless to say I was convinced before it got past the intro to the movie.
· It means never having to rewind a tape or fast forward/ rewind to my favorite scene. On most discs, the scenes are indexed for easy retrieval.
· Hours of video can fit on a single disc. On RSDL (reverse-spiral dual layer) discs, you'll notice a slight hesitation when the disc reverses its spin. No big deal though as it beats getting off the sofa to flip the disc or pop in another tape.
· The discs simply won't wear out from playing (at least they're not supposed to). But can be damaged just like a CD by scratching, heat, or my kids. ;) Treat it like a CD and it'll be fine.
· I can rebuild my video collection from old worn VHS to DVD's without spending a fortune. Most movies cost between $10 and $25.
· The ability to make my neighbors hate me even more by cranking up the Dolby Receiver and playing a DVD of The Stones, Queen, Earth Wind and Fire, or any of the hundreds of artists who have released either concerts or collections of videos.
· Compatibility with Audio CD's. Although I rarely use it for this purpose.
· With over 6000 titles available, it'll be easy to add movies to your collection without the worry of your investment becoming obsolete. Remember Sony's BETA. I do, all too well!
· The ability to view movies on my computer. At first I thought this was a really dumb idea. Why would anyone sit for two or more hours in front of his or her monitor to watch a movie? Well, with all the great DVD player software available it has become a great pleasure to watch and listen to a concert while surfing the web or writing an Epinion. I just reduce the size to a thumbnail.
Pretty lazy huh?
· Not only do you get the movie but also in many cases you get added features not possible with VHS.
For example:
The movie Saving Private Ryan, LA Confidential and others can contain added footage, documentaries or an additional audio tracks with commentary by the actor, actress, director, producer or whomever. So in effect you can watch the same movie but with the added voice over by the guests. Or
Interactive trivia games, Karaoke or just plain silliness found on the Austin Powers DVD.
What Are They Waiting For?
· One of the features I eagerly anticipated was the ability to view multiple angles. In theory, on discs encoded with this feature, you can choose from nine different angles.
The only movies I have seen this featured on were movies that really don't interest me and XXX films! Not to say these movies interest me of course!
Now that would be interesting! But I bet my wife won't go for it! Well maybe, just maybe, if I tell her it would be for the good of the Epinions community if I can review one multiple angle XXX movie? Nahhh! She won't fall for it!
· Parental lock- Many of the movies I own could be considered for adults with an R or NC-17 rating. The problem is they aren't encoded to be adult movies so you can't block them out from young eyes! Go figure! On the discs that are setup for this feature it does work too well as I found out when I couldn't watch a "R" movie and couldn't remember the pass code to unlock it.
· I haven't seen a great influx of games in the DVD format. I thought by now just about everything that came on more than one disc would be available on DVD. In due time I guess.
Overall
I am convinced that DVD is here to stay for the near future but I feel that it will never replace VHS.
VHS will be the choice to record movies, sports and favorite shows. Another factor is what do we do with all of these VHS-C videotapes if this format bites the dust?
For this reason I don't see DVD killing VHS anytime soon. The two can and will survive side by side until something better comes along. It's not a matter of if. It's when!
One drawback is the need for a home theater system to fully enjoy its sound and video qualities. If you plan on watching DVD on a 19" TV with mono speakers, forget it. Some movies are only released in wide screen format that will give you a tiny picture only about 8" high.
Don't get me wrong! The picture quality will be just as good, if not better on the smaller screen, but you may have to get on top of it to see it. ;)
Some great places to start on the web would be a few of my favorite stops, dvdresource.com and dvdinformation.com .
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.