Jump On The Bandwagon NOW!
Aug 08 '00
You've heard of DVD, if you haven't then its possible that you were one of the members of the S.S. Minnow, though I imagine that the S.S. Minnow will find its way to DVD sometime soon as well, but do you know why you should convert to DVD?
I've been watching the DVD scene from pretty much the beginning, when dvd players where going for $1200 and that was the low end players. I knew back then that it had a very good edge to win over the market, but needed some refining, especially the format of the discs themselves. So I gave it some time to refine itself, get more support from the movie companies, and have the players come down to a reasonable price.
This last Christmas I decided the timing was right. I had already been buying DVD movies for a short bit before I purchased the stand alone player and just used my computer to play the movies. You'll need a dvd drive, decoding software or hardware, and a fairly fast pc with decent memory to play the movies on your pc. Majority of new computers today will handle the load quite well. If you decide to watch dvd's on your computer, I'd recommend Powerdvd or WinDVD software for best playback and best compatibility.
Okay, now the reasons why you should jump on the bandwagon...
1. Current marketing is pushing the format and thereby giving special pricing (I got the general's daughter DVD for $16.99), early releases (Sixth Sense was released to DVD before VHS), & special purchasing deals (buy a dvd player get 5 free movies or movie rentals or buy 4 dvd discs in a certain amount of time and get a free dvd).
2. The players are now extremely reasonable, low end players going for
less then a high end VHS. The only real difference between the low end and high end players is features. Although make sure any player you get is at least Dolby Digital Compatible. Most players start at $150 and go up from there.
3. What some people don't realize is that DVD players can have a firmware update done to bring it up to new standards and add features. While some players require you to take it in or send it in to the manufacturer, some of the recent players have been adding the firmware update feature where you can do it yourself.
4. The Digital Versatile Discs, DVD, offer many features that you won't find on a VHS. You'll find theatrical trailers, making of's , music videos, audio commentary, alternate endings, cut footage, and more.
Each disc could possibly offer these features or even others. All discs offer scene selection which is a wonderful feature where you can jump straight to a certain part of a movie instantly, my wife particularly loves this feature. Also via one of the features called Cast Bios, I learned that Nicolas Cage's real name was Nicolas Coppola, which I then
researched and found out that he is the nephew of Francis Ford Coppola.
5. Picture & Sound Quality are remarkable. Picture quality is twice that of VHS, I was able to see a fly buzz past a person on one of my movies, and the still frame is exceptional. You can also zoom in on a picture for a closer look, such as my "Temet Nosce" on my profile page came from me zooming in on the sign that the oracle points to on "The Matrix". Sound Quality is superb. If you have surround sound or Dolby Digital 5.1 you'll be astounded, but even without these sound features you'll still be amazed at the crisp and clear quality of sound you'll get.
6. You won't have to worry about worn out, broken, or distorted tapes.
On VHS, I have had to repurchase some tapes due to my children over watching them and thereby the tape deteriorated so much that it was no longer watchable even with messing with tracking. I now don't worry about that, I buy the Disney DVD which isn't much more then the VHS version and I won't have to worry about overplaying wearing it out.
7. No heads to clean. One thing about VHS is that given that the magnetic material of tapes slowly wears off on the heads, you have to clean the heads periodically to keep picture quality up. DVD players just as cd players don't need cleaning. Okay well they sell DVD and CD player cleaners, but these can actually scratch the lens. If you use one of these products make sure its a high end version.I've never used these in my players and my one cd player is over 8 years old and still plays fine.
Now just some pointers.
1. If you still aren't sure many of the rental places offer DVD players for rent. The players might be older models, but you'll get to try
out DVD for a nominal cost.
2. I'd buy new release movies first, so you get many of the features that
DVD has to offer and the best quality. Also be aware that some of the older DVD titles may not have optimum picture and sound quality due to converting old movies from film to digital nor will many of the old titles
have many features. Check the back of the DVD title and see what features are offered.
3. Many of the titles are in widescreen, but you'll have to check the back of the cover and down at the bottom on many of the DVD covers to find out what format it is.
4. I'd recommend getting a quality dvd disc cleaner. The cost is worth it and it makes it simple to keep the DVD discs clear of fingerprints and debris.
5. There are 4 formats of DVD they are: Single Layer Single Sided, Holds about 2hours of movie time. Double Layer Single Sided, Holds 4 hours of movie time. Single Layer Double Sided, holds 2 hours of movie on each side of the disc. and Double Layer Double Sided, Holds 4 hours of movie on each side of the disc. On the Double Sided Discs, Some DVD discs will put features on one side and the movie on the other such as: Lethal Weapon 4 and Quest For Camelot, while others put widescreen on one side and pan-scan on the other such as: Mission Impossible and Top Gun. You'll only be able to play one side at a time and to watch the other side you'll have to flip the disc.
Also you might want to check out, http://www.fightdivx.com/ , for some
decent deals.
Have a great day and thank you for your time.
I apologize for the length, but I hope it was informational.
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roarhowl
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Location: saint louis, missouri
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