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So the big question, when DVD (write-able) become popular, do you think it will replace VHS?
I`m not so sure, if the players/writers become sub £200 in a few years time (like current DVD players), then i think they could become the majority, but i don`t think they`ll totally replace VHS.
Will there be a totally new fangled format to come anyway? a smaller version of DVD maybe?
And when DVD writers do come ready available and cheap, i wonder what the quality will be like? will it be worth getting one, as a owner of a DVD player i`d be very tempted to get a DVD writer if it as good quality recording as it does playing.
What do you guys & girls think?
I`m not so sure, if the players/writers become sub £200 in a few years time (like current DVD players), then i think they could become the majority, but i don`t think they`ll totally replace VHS.
Will there be a totally new fangled format to come anyway? a smaller version of DVD maybe?
And when DVD writers do come ready available and cheap, i wonder what the quality will be like? will it be worth getting one, as a owner of a DVD player i`d be very tempted to get a DVD writer if it as good quality recording as it does playing.
What do you guys & girls think?
There is a hard drive TV recorder on the market called something like Tivo. It's rubbish.
Arrrrgh chewed up tapes!, i think everyone has had that at one time. That FMD that SmokedKipper mentioned sounds good, let`s hope it takes off and becomes available. Does anyone remember that device that could record live tv, i can`t remember what it was called, but is was a disaster from what i heard, basically a hard drive to record things, but lots of problems with it, anyone enlighten me with it`s name?
Yes but even with a Digital VHS tape your not going to be able to randomly access anywhere on the Tape like DVD. I appreciate DVD has its flaws, but being able to sKip to your favourite scene and avoid watching all those trailers is invaluable. Besides which how many people have chewed up their fave movies in a VHS machine, it doesnt happen with DVD, although Scratching is a problem (They should have had a protective outer case).
I don't think it's a case of will DVD replace VHS but WHEN will DVD replace VHS. Each year DVD sales make up an increasingly large chunk of the market. VHS, in it's current form, will not outlive DVD (at least not in it's current incarnation).
If it was up to me I wouldn't have chosen DVD for films at all. Unfortunately it wasn't so I've had to put up with it's flaws and shell out my cash.
DVD has shown it's weaknesses since day 1 - that being the fact the films have to be compressed to fit on a disc at all (unless you want the film divided up into 1 disc for every 40 minutes or so). The impatience of various parties has, once again, given us an inferior product to one which is just around the corner. One which is cheaper for both discs and drives and can store more than 100 times what a DVD can (and, more precisely, store film data in its original state). These are called Fluorescent Multilayer Discs (FMD). If you never hear of them again then you have the DVD bandwagon to thank for that.
As far as DVD-RW goes I very much doubt that will take off at all. Partly because by the time the technology becomes as affordable as VHS recording DVD will have, for some time, been pushed to it's limit as a recording media and partly because there is no need for it (apart from maybe data storage).
There is nothing wrong with current VHS tapes for the moment and, for the increasing number who would benefit from digital quality, there are already D-VHS decks (Digital-VHS) beginning to seep through nito the market. Admittedly these are very new and very expensive but no more so than DVD-RW drives and blanks are much cheaper. I think the mass market public would be more inclined to adopt a digital version of an existing format (like digital TV and radio) than experiment with, what is to them, a new format altogether.
If it was up to me I wouldn't have chosen DVD for films at all. Unfortunately it wasn't so I've had to put up with it's flaws and shell out my cash.
DVD has shown it's weaknesses since day 1 - that being the fact the films have to be compressed to fit on a disc at all (unless you want the film divided up into 1 disc for every 40 minutes or so). The impatience of various parties has, once again, given us an inferior product to one which is just around the corner. One which is cheaper for both discs and drives and can store more than 100 times what a DVD can (and, more precisely, store film data in its original state). These are called Fluorescent Multilayer Discs (FMD). If you never hear of them again then you have the DVD bandwagon to thank for that.
As far as DVD-RW goes I very much doubt that will take off at all. Partly because by the time the technology becomes as affordable as VHS recording DVD will have, for some time, been pushed to it's limit as a recording media and partly because there is no need for it (apart from maybe data storage).
There is nothing wrong with current VHS tapes for the moment and, for the increasing number who would benefit from digital quality, there are already D-VHS decks (Digital-VHS) beginning to seep through nito the market. Admittedly these are very new and very expensive but no more so than DVD-RW drives and blanks are much cheaper. I think the mass market public would be more inclined to adopt a digital version of an existing format (like digital TV and radio) than experiment with, what is to them, a new format altogether.
All those people worried about a new format overtaking DVD shouldn't be too worried. It takes a lot of time, effort and backing from big companies to create a successful new medium. Even with DVD it was touch and go for a while whether it would end up like CDI or laserdisc (which admittedly is still going strong in some countries)
DVD is here to stay, in one form or another, and as long as the re-writable version becomes compatible with the older players then it shouldn't be a problem. Anyway, by the time that it becomes affordable in the high street, most people will have upgraded their players, but will still have video recorders that need replacing. Perhaps having a compined video player and dvd recorder might be the answer for those people not wanting to risk their large video collections?
DVD is here to stay, in one form or another, and as long as the re-writable version becomes compatible with the older players then it shouldn't be a problem. Anyway, by the time that it becomes affordable in the high street, most people will have upgraded their players, but will still have video recorders that need replacing. Perhaps having a compined video player and dvd recorder might be the answer for those people not wanting to risk their large video collections?
DVDRW will only become standard when as you say the players/writers drop below £200. The cost of RW media will also have to drop aswell, The biggest problem at the moment is that the companies need to agree on suitable a suitable DVDRW format, some companies always try and make their own format to get more cash. The Matrix didnt play on all DVD players, because the format was not standard and not all types of DVD players could read the disc.
So the big question, when DVD (write-able) become popular, do you think it will replace VHS?
I`m not so sure, if the players/writers become sub £200 in a few years time (like current DVD players), then i think they could become the majority, but i don`t think they`ll totally replace VHS.
Will there be a totally new fangled format to come anyway? a smaller version of DVD maybe?
And when DVD writers do come ready available and cheap, i wonder what the quality will be like? will it be worth getting one, as a owner of a DVD player i`d be very tempted to get a DVD writer if it as good quality recording as it does playing.
What do you guys & girls think?
I`m not so sure, if the players/writers become sub £200 in a few years time (like current DVD players), then i think they could become the majority, but i don`t think they`ll totally replace VHS.
Will there be a totally new fangled format to come anyway? a smaller version of DVD maybe?
And when DVD writers do come ready available and cheap, i wonder what the quality will be like? will it be worth getting one, as a owner of a DVD player i`d be very tempted to get a DVD writer if it as good quality recording as it does playing.
What do you guys & girls think?