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[GrotesqueBeauty]

Ok, I'm the only person on GAF that likes watching pulp movies lo-fi. Apparently this makes me a "trendy hipster" and grants every snarky douche that doesn't agree a license to be dismissive (not in an original way of course- regurgitating tired one-liners will do) and avoid the common courtesy of addressing me directly to explain the reasoning behind their own point of view.

Bah humbug to the lot of ya.

 

[wenis]

Ok, I'm the only person on GAF that likes watching pulp movies lo-fi. Apparently this makes me a "trendy hipster" and grants every snarky douche that doesn't agree a license to be dismissive (not in an original way of course- regurgitating tired one-liners will do) and avoid the common courtesy of addressing me directly to explain the reasoning behind their own point of view.

Bah humbug to the lot of ya.

I didnt call you a trendy hipster you ass. I think I've had this conversation with you before about comparing watching VHS tapes to listening to a good vinyl record. It's just not the same at all.

 

[ultim8p00]

Finally!

 

[relaxor]

Well, there she goes.
Thank you VHS, I came home from school many times excited to know that the instant I was done with my homework (or killed enough time in my room...) I could pop in the Cool Runnings tape and be on my way to a good time. Thus began my life of instant gratification.
The media I want, when I want it.
The internet has now made it whenever I want and also free.
Damn.
Bon Voyage VHS, I managed to make it through your time without ever buying one of those tape cleaning machines.

 

[faceless007]

What's all that about?

I just picked up my first Blu-ray drive when I built my new computer early last week and I have been watching movies on the format ever since. I haven't had any problems with load times or anything else. I just put in the disc and go like a normal DVD. I'll be getting a PS3 early next year and after that I will probably never rent / purchase another DVD again unless it isn't available on Blu-ray.

OK maybe the computer drives don't suffer from those problems, but most people obviously aren't going to invest in Blu-Ray to watch movies on a 20" monitor with cheap computer speakers (I say this as a devoted PC gamer). Home-theater Blu-ray players notoriously have all the problems I listed.

Let me clarify, I eagerly await the HD revolution as well, I just wish it were with a format that was more consumer-friendly.

 

[neight]

OK maybe the computer drives don't suffer from those problems, but most people obviously aren't going to invest in Blu-Ray to watch movies on a 20" monitor with cheap computer speakers (I say this as a devoted PC gamer). Home-theater Blu-ray players notoriously have all the problems I listed.

Let me clarify, I eagerly await the HD revolution as well, I just wish it were with a format that was more consumer-friendly.

The most popular BD player doesn't have the long loading problem.

DVD players had problems at first too. Many players had compatibility problems and they would exhibit a noticeable pause at layer breaks before players started using bigger buffers to prevent that.

 

[GrotesqueBeauty]

I didnt call you a trendy hipster you ass. I think I've had this conversation with you before about comparing watching VHS tapes to listening to a good vinyl record. It's just not the same at all.

Read your first and second post sequentially before calling me an ass. When your first post is about trendy hipsters and VHS and your next directly quotes me talking about VHS followed only by "AND IT BEGINS" I don't think it's that wild to draw the conclusion that the two are directly related, "ass".

I don't recall this conversation you're talking about, but I agree listening to a record and watching a VHS are not the same. Records are good largely because of their dynamic range, and VHS is basically interesting for the opposite reason (the limitations of the format give it an inherent quality). All I'm saying is that there's room for VHS love, and that in some situations a dirty analog transfer is better than cleaned up digital HD. It depends entirely on what's being watched imo. The thing that gets under my craw is the notion that enjoying a format for it's particular qualities retroactively is somehow trendy yet diehard adherence to the newest tech isn't, or if it is you sure as hell don't hear people bitching about it. I think there are valid reasons to embrace newer or older media, but there are also an equal amount of people on either side of the fence that are simply following trends.

 

[camineet]

Super VHS FTW

 

[The Elite]

Ok, I'm the only person on GAF that likes watching pulp movies lo-fi. Apparently this makes me a "trendy hipster" and grants every snarky douche that doesn't agree a license to be dismissive (not in an original way of course- regurgitating tired one-liners will do) and avoid the common courtesy of addressing me directly to explain the reasoning behind their own point of view.

Bah humbug to the lot of ya.

I'm with you. I love my blu-rays, but there is a certain charm to watching classy b-movie flicks on a VHS tape in lo-fi. I have a stack of tapes sitting around here that I still have to go through, most of this stuff hasn't been released on DVD and will never ever touch blu-ray.

 

[twinturbo2]

VHS? The DVD era is also over as far as I'm concerned.

Only Blu-Ray and digital downloads in my house.

I'll be honest, the only Blu-ray disc I have is the one that came with the Metal Gear Solid 4 special edition. Everything else is in DVD- yes, even the copy of The Dark Knight I gave my dad for his birthday a few weeks ago. Yes, it's a bitch buying him a gift for his birthday and Christmas in such close proximity- and I have the same issue with my sister, too. >_<

 

[ZeoVGM]

Oh, and fuck digital downloads, by the way. I still like owning physical copies, always will.

 

[xabre]

Ah VHS. I remember taping movies off the tv and getting the commercials out. Could get four movies on a single tape with LP. This was much preferred to Beta, I could only get two movies on a Beta tape.

 

[Koshiba]

Oh, and fuck digital downloads, by the way. I still like owning physical copies, always will.

I agree with this.. I really hope digital downloads don't become the main anytime in the near future at all. :/ Because then I don't think I could see myself supporting companies anymore.. I really appreciate nice packaging and something to look at on my shelves.

 

[Phoenix]

I agree with this.. I really hope digital downloads don't become the main anytime in the near future at all. :/ Because then I don't think I could see myself supporting companies anymore.. I really appreciate nice packaging and something to look at on my shelves.

It won't. The best adoption of digital copies of movies comes from people buying physical copies and getting the digital ones "for free" with the purchase. The folks who believe that digital downloads are here are about 5 years too early. Digital Downloads is very very early adopter. Digital Rentals (i.e. I am just watching it tonight) is going to become more real in the next 36 months.

 

[jenov4]

What an interesting article. Good read!

 

[Deleted member 17706]

lol at the DVD fanboy! VHS ain't goin' nowhere, son. It looks just as good on my TV!
I would never use my PS2 as a DVD player because that is not what the machine is intended for.

If they didn't intend for the machine to play DVDs then they wouldn't have included it as a function... or widely advertised it... or sold a seperate "media remote" for the thing.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

OK maybe the computer drives don't suffer from those problems, but most people obviously aren't going to invest in Blu-Ray to watch movies on a 20" monitor with cheap computer speakers (I say this as a devoted PC gamer). Home-theater Blu-ray players notoriously have all the problems I listed.

Let me clarify, I eagerly await the HD revolution as well, I just wish it were with a format that was more consumer-friendly.

I watch them on a 24" widescreen LCD in 1920x1200 resolution and they look quite amazing. I am guilty of the cheap computer speakers, but they work just as well as the default speakers of any television which is what myself and most of my friends use when they are viewing movies at home.

I don't really know anything about "home-theater Blu-ray players", but in my limited experience with the format (playing them from my computer at home and playing them on a PS3 and a 40" plasma at a friend's house) I haven't experienced any problems to speak of. The process has been the same as watching any DVD. Just insert the movie and play.

I'm not going to say there were never any problems with Blu-ray, but I just don't know about them and haven't really heard about them until now. Everyone from my small circle of friends who has used the format seems more than satisfied so I don't really know how much more consumer-friendly it needs to be.

 

[lunarworks]

I haven't personally used VHS since the remote control of my VHS deck died several years ago. (The deck was pretty much useless without the remote, like most modern devices.)

We still use my girlfriends, since VHS movies can be picked up at thrift stores for either 50¢ or $1. Cheaper than renting.

 

[rpmurphy]

I hope they will still keep making players that play multiple formats, because I don't think I will ever replace anything in my collection with new format versions unless they stop working. If Blu-ray is the future, then someone should start making Blu-ray/DVD/VCD/VHS player stat! :lol

 

[Gozan]

Beta > VHS
Video Disc > VHS
DVD > Video Disc
DVD > VHS
HD-DVD > DVD
Blu-Ray > DVD


See what I did!

...No?

 

[Diablos]

Wow, there's a place that still distributes them? :lol

Crazy.

VHS needs to die once and for all, and this seems to confirm it. I loved it back in the day, but c'mon now, it's all but dead.

 

[Alex Anderson]

Fun article. I wish I had an H.E. Butts where I lived. HE-BUTTS!

My MMA, boxing, and wrestling PPVs will go on VHS foreverrrrrr

 

[chase]

*sniff* bye bye VHS you served us well.

 

[ZealousD]

He took a loss on 50,000 copies of "Yo-Yo Man," a Smothers Brothers instructional video for the stringed toy. ("I'm not sure what I was thinking on that one," Kugler said.)

Holy shit I have that tape! :lol

 

[The Chosen One]

DVD on its way down? :lol

Blu Ray is the next Laser Disc.

Okay not quite but it just doesn't provide a big enough leap over DVD to force people to adopt in droves in the near future. For starters, Blu-Ray requires a HD-TV to get the most out of it. People who own HD capable TVs are still in the small minority.

The advantages DVD had over VHS were:
- Substantial improved picture quality even on average TV sets
- The ability to move quickly to different parts of the movie
- A huge variety of special features
- Sleeker look, takes less space on the shelve.

The advantages Blu-Ray has over DVD is what?
- Noticeable improved picture quality on HD TV sets
- More disc space (but do people really care about this?)


Until 80% of the public has a 32-42" HD flat-screen in their living room, Blu-Ray is going to adopt at a slow rate if it ever truly takes over. My bet is on some future optical format that shows up in the next 7-10 years that provides a larger leap over DVD. VHS went strong for about 20-25 years or so. I don't see DVD getting unseated after only 10-15 years considering how widespread it is.

 

[avaya]

My bet is on some future optical format that shows up in the next 7-10 years that provides a larger leap over DVD.

:lol

 

[Stinkles]

:lol

...oh, he's serious :O

Maybe everyone will have an iPhone, too.

This sage advice from the man who tried to make a business selling VHS tapes in 2008.

 

[Doubledex]

:lol

DVD isn't going anywhere.

Says who? You? :lol

 

[Arozay]

People are just waiting on the day you can walk into a video store and walk out with rentals and a cheap spindle of blank blu-rays.

I haven't made the switch since I don't see the point of burning money at the moment just to see a hi-def pube.

 

[Defuser]

DVD won't die off easily. VCD/CD is still thriving.

 

[Mac the KNife]

DVDs are too cheap and easy to die out quickly. Blu-ray prices are :lol

 

[Xeke]

I bought a movie on VHS last week. Still alive and well for me.

 

[Tobor]

We didn't get a VCR until I was 9 or 10. Before that, you watched whatever was on tv at that moment or just went without. You miss an episode of your favorite show? Someone at school or work would have to tell you what you missed. Other than that, tough. You missed a hit movie? The second run theater might be playing it, or if it's a classic, there might be a showing at the art house. Other than that, tough.

It was a sea change in the way we watch media that was immediate and fantastic. VHS -> DVD was indeed a jump, but it doesn't even come close to going to VHS from nothing.

For the record, Netflix style online streaming is going to be the next big change. Once the baby fat is trimmed and the content is worked out, it's going to be massive. Convenience always trumps quality to the mass market, and you can't get anymore convenient than having almost all the content ever made available immediately.

 

[demon]

I agree that streaming HD movies are the next big thing. It won't happen though until it's a service available to almost everyone through their TV (not just computer), and the movie selection equals that of a Blockbuster.

 

[Vinzer Deling]

i remember watching a film on Blu-ray and seeing the HD image of the aged face of the one lead actress...

whatever chance Blu-ray had has gone up in smokes along with the economy.

I'm not re-buying my DVDs on Blu-ray.