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I was in a video store the other day and the owner
said to a guy, "Don't buy DVDs because you will
only have to replace them with the much superior
HD DVDs coming." Then he points out a story
in "Videobusiness" about it.

It's starting again, isn't it?
First I dump $2000 in VHS tapes because I get into
laserdisc, then when DVDs come along, I dump
$6000 worth of laserdiscs to buy into DVDs.
Now, $12,000 worth of DVDs.....

This may sound obvious, but if nobody bought DVD's now, there may not be a
HD-DVD. It seems altruistic people would invest in current DVD technology so
the future will exist while selfish people will just wait. If everyone waited,
would DVD's fail and would there be an HD-DVD? DVD players started out at $300
dollars or more and now you can get them for $30 bucks, but if everyone waited
they would never drop in price, or maybe the market for them would crash and
people would snap them up as soon as they hit 30 dollars. Technology can
become almost like a religion. It's amazing . . .

HTH
-DVDfanatico

Also >From: rander3127
>Date: 10/2/2004 11:10 PM Pacific Standard Time
>Message-id: <>
>
>I was in a video store the other day and the owner
>said to a guy, "Don't buy DVDs because you will
>only have to replace them with the much superior
>HD DVDs coming." Then he points out a story
>in "Videobusiness" about it.
>
>It's starting again, isn't it?
>First I dump $2000 in VHS tapes because I get into
>laserdisc, then when DVDs come along, I dump
>$6000 worth of laserdiscs to buy into DVDs.
>Now, $12,000 worth of DVDs.....

>It's starting again, isn't it?
>First I dump $2000 in VHS tapes because I get into
>laserdisc, then when DVDs come along, I dump
>$6000 worth of laserdiscs to buy into DVDs.
>Now, $12,000 worth of DVDs.....

A suggestion: Don't dump your collections. No one's requiring you to buy the
same movie in multiple formats.

('Course, then again, it was all the early LD-dumping that allowed me to buy
titles for under a buck, including releases not yet on DVD. So... thanks!
Keep up the good work!)

rander3127 wrote:

> I was in a video store the other day and the owner
> said to a guy, "Don't buy DVDs because you will
> only have to replace them with the much superior
> HD DVDs coming." Then he points out a story
> in "Videobusiness" about it.

And it must be true...A VIDEO STORE GUY SAID IT!!

Derek Janssen (well, there *is* a certain hierarchy of intelligence, I
guess)

rander3127 <> wrote in
news::

> I was in a video store the other day and the owner
> said to a guy, "Don't buy DVDs because you will
> only have to replace them with the much superior
> HD DVDs coming." Then he points out a story
> in "Videobusiness" about it.
>
> It's starting again, isn't it?

*shrug* There's always something better. Enjoy the
grass you have, instead of doing a spectral analysis.



--

Aaron J. Bossig

http://www.GodsLabRat.com
http://www.dvdverdict.com

"rander3127" <> wrote in message
news:...
>I was in a video store the other day and the owner
> said to a guy, "Don't buy DVDs because you will
> only have to replace them with the much superior
> HD DVDs coming." Then he points out a story
> in "Videobusiness" about it.
>
> It's starting again, isn't it?
> First I dump $2000 in VHS tapes because I get into
> laserdisc, then when DVDs come along, I dump
> $6000 worth of laserdiscs to buy into DVDs.
> Now, $12,000 worth of DVDs.....
>
>

Better dump them now!! Let me know where you dump them by the way.

rander3127 wrote:
> I was in a video store the other day and the owner
> said to a guy, "Don't buy DVDs because you will
> only have to replace them with the much superior
> HD DVDs coming." Then he points out a story
> in "Videobusiness" about it.
>
> It's starting again, isn't it?
> First I dump $2000 in VHS tapes because I get into
> laserdisc, then when DVDs come along, I dump
> $6000 worth of laserdiscs to buy into DVDs.
> Now, $12,000 worth of DVDs.....

First, HD DVD or Blu Ray BDs are probably not coming out until the
later part of 2005. Second, you need to have a HD TV to see the higher
definition picture. While HD TV sales are taking off (plasma TV sales in
the 2nd Qtr of 2004 were up 119% compared to 2nd Qtr 2003 for example),
high def disks represents a double upgrade - new $$ player and $$ TV.
The adoption of high def DVDs/BD will be slower than DVD.

Finally, HD DVD or BD will be the same size as DVD and CDs. Unlike the
switch from VHS or laserdiscs, the HD DVD/BD players will be backwardly
compatible - they will play the DVD disks. The 12 cm disks are likely to
be with us for quite a while longer.

But, $6000 on Laserdisc and $12000 on DVDs? Rich, you know that could
have brought some very nice telescopes which don't depreciate in value...

Alan Figgatt

"rander3127" <> wrote in message
news:...
> I was in a video store the other day and the owner
> said to a guy, "Don't buy DVDs because you will
> only have to replace them with the much superior
> HD DVDs coming." Then he points out a story
> in "Videobusiness" about it.


Don't throw your DVDs into the garbage just yet. The long range success
of any video format depends upon MASS consumer acceptance. While
LaserDiscs made a decent contribution to the advance of home video, they
had three major problems which kept them from replacing VHS:

LaserDisc players were expensive.

LaserDiscs were expensive and fragile, with limited availability and
virtually no rental outlets.

LaserDiscs were large, had clumsy scene and chapter access and they
needed to be turned over in order to play a complete movie.

LaserDiscs rotted.

DVD, on the other hand, solved all of the price, durability, scene
access, rental availability and size problems inherent in LaserDiscs
PLUS DVD added DTS, anamorphic video, seamless branching, angle viewing,
multiple subtitles, multiple soundtracks and more. DVDs are so small and
lightweight (under 1 ounce) that they can be rented by mail. I rent DVDs
from Netflix all the time and I haven't set foot in a video rental store
for nearly two years.

While the general public could see the advantages of LaserDiscs, very
few people were willing to invest in the format. DVD on the other hand
represented a HUGE advance over VHS and LaserDisc and nearly everyone
wanted to have DVD from the day it came out. Once prices of DVD players
and discs dropped significantly, DVD literally took over.

To the general public, the audio and video improvement offered by DVD
was as vast as the Grand Canyon. However, to the general public, the
audio and video improvement offered by HD DVDs will seem more like
crossing the street. Besides, DVD required only an investment in a
player, which was backward compatible with standard TV. In order to
fully appreciate the advances of HD DVD, people will need to invest in
expensive HD TVs and expensive HD players. Besides, isn't there an HD
DVD format war going on? With exception of the brief appearance of DIVX,
DVD had no format war.

The acceptance of HD DVD will be very slow, compared to the acceptance
of DVD. The success of HD DVD will depend upon its acceptance by Joe and
Jane Six-pack, who are still buying and renting VHS. How can HD DVD ever
take off when DVD is still catering to millions and millions of these
people:

Those who buy DVD/VHS combo players (complete with an RF jack!)

Those who buy narrow screen versions of widescreen movies, such as
Star Wars.

Those who purchase conventional TVs without a 16:9 mode.

Those who buy RF converters so that they can hook up their $29
Wal-Mart DVD player to their conventional TV.

These are the same people who are buying DVDs by the millions -- as long
as most of them are priced well under $20. Will HD DVDs be expensive?
High HD DVD prices will certainly put a damper on sales. On the other
hand, hundreds of DVD titles, which were once priced between $25 and
$35, are readily available in the $8 to $12 range, with many titles
showing up in Wal-Mart's $5.50 bargain bins.

Unfortunately, the average home video buyer is nowhere near ready to
embrace HD DVD. As a result, the new HD DVD format will be hit driven
and lesser titles will be available only on conventional DVD. And of
course, there will be titles which will never come out on HD DVD, just
as there are VHS titles which will never come out on conventional DVD.
After all, how long did it take to get Star Wars on DVD?

My prediction is that HD DVD will be nothing more than a niche market
for many years.

>Don't throw your DVDs into the garbage just yet. The long range success
>of any video format depends upon MASS consumer acceptance. While
>LaserDiscs made a decent contribution to the advance of home video, they
>had three major problems which kept them from replacing VHS:
>
> LaserDisc players were expensive.

DVD players were expensive to begin with also; mass acceptance brought
the price down, just as it would have brought the price down of LD
players.
>
> LaserDiscs were expensive and fragile, with limited availability and
> virtually no rental outlets.
>
> LaserDiscs were large, had clumsy scene and chapter access and they
> needed to be turned over in order to play a complete movie.
>
> LaserDiscs rotted.

No argument there. I think a psychological factor may have been that they
looked too much like LP records, which even in the early days of LD were
on their way out.
>
>DVD, on the other hand, solved all of the price, durability, scene
>access, rental availability and size problems inherent in LaserDiscs
>PLUS DVD added DTS, anamorphic video, seamless branching, angle viewing,
>multiple subtitles, multiple soundtracks and more. DVDs are so small and
>lightweight (under 1 ounce) that they can be rented by mail. I rent DVDs
>from Netflix all the time and I haven't set foot in a video rental store
>for nearly two years.

I think the convenience aspect sold DVDs more than the quality. Remember
you're dealing with a mass of consumers who record movies off-air using
EP speed on their VCRs.

Does anyone know when or if HDTVs are going to be somewhat affordable.
Usually electronics go down in price when they've been out a while, but
the going rate for a 42" widescreen CRT projection set was about $1,000 a
year ago. I checked yesterday and it still is. Seems most developement is
going into making sets bigger, not smaller sets cheaper...

Or when or if we'll see an affordable full HDTV resolution LCD or three
panel DLP front projector...
--
Monte Castleman, <<Spamfilter in Use>>
Bloomington, MN <<to email, remove the "q" from address>>

>LaserDiscs made a decent contribution to the advance of home video, they
>had three major problems which kept them from replacing VHS:

> LaserDiscs were expensive and fragile, with limited availability and
> virtually no rental outlets.

Prerecorded VHS was expensive as well, especially new releases. $99.95 was a
common price for VHS, until studios finally figured out sellthrough made more
sense. (And it seems like sell-through VHS prices took decades to drop from
$30-40 to under $20 as well.)

For movies where VHS MSRP was set at a sell-through point, I usually was able
to pick up the LD release for perhaps $5 more. The cost wasn't that big a
deal.

> LaserDiscs were large, had clumsy scene and chapter access and they
> needed to be turned over in order to play a complete movie.

Granted on the size (though the public at large accepted vinyl LPs of the same
size, with the same storage hassles, for decades) and flipping... but clumsy
scene and chapter access? Most LDs had chapter stops, like a CD- push a button
and you're at your desired scene. It was also possible to start playing at a
specific frame/time. They sure beat the living hell out of VHS scene
searching, and quite often beats the slow and quirky menu designs DVD authors
often do for "fun."

>LaserDiscs rotted.

And VHS cassettes flaked apart, degraded with each viewing, got crumpled in bad
players, tapes snapped, etc.

Did you ever own a LD player, Scot?