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While we were all busy winding our video tapes back and forward, trying to find that elusive Simpsons episode from the four on the tape (or 24 if you ever taped them, ahem!) a new format appeared on the horizon, shining it's circular light with the promise of instant access and digital quality.
Yes, DVD came out and we all knew about it. Little by little the format has taken over, all that stands in the way now is the ability for the general public to afford a DVD recorder and the video is history. But is the first stage of this process already taking place?
With digital television viewers can get many films in similar quality to the DVD, series are repeated often and there is always a chance to catch the old stuff every day. When ITV Digital went down the drain, people didn't lose hope in digital TV, but simply went and got Sky instead. Why? Well, they were used to having more channels in much higher quality than the standard analogue signal, so they opted for the only other option.
With Sky's high userbase and the growing number of DVD players entering even the homes of the older generation, is there any need for the pre-recorded video market any more? Well, I think not. Ok, so there are still those who won't buy a DVD player until the recorders come out, but those numbers are dropping by the day as DVD players become cheap enough to own until the next thing arrives. Video recorders will still have their place in the home for now, recording digital television programmes so you can watch them later, but the quality decreases as you record the digital clear signal to tape and it becomes noticable after watching the shiny, clear tv picture for so long.
One day everyone who owns a video will have a DVD recorder instead and will be able to skip to their next Eastenders episode after coming back from their two week holiday, or be able to watch their recordings in the same quality in which they were recorded. The death of the video recorder begins with the shrinking number of videos available on the shop shelves.
Who will benefit? Well, in the short term, those who are happy buying videos for now will see a huge decrease in the price of videos, this is already happening in fact, and they will be able to buy all the classics for a fraction of the cost they are now. In the long term everyone who joins the digital revolution will see a marked improvement in the quality and options available in their recordings.
An offshoot of this is that digital television is now giving us more options and interactive services. This will one day stretch to films and producers of DVD titles will have to take note. Their once flashy trailers and odd bits and pieces will seem little more than a token gesture of extras (as they are to some of us now). The DVD people will have to come up with more 'making of' sections, more interviews and much more interactivity than before to keep the audience satisfied and willing to shell out for the DVD. Good news for us consumers, then, as we may soon see all our DVD films and series suddenly grow in the quality and quantity of extras.
All this means, though, that the video has finally had its day and it's only a matter of time before it becomes a relic, to which our grandchildren will point at and say 'grandad, what was that old thing?'
Yes, DVD came out and we all knew about it. Little by little the format has taken over, all that stands in the way now is the ability for the general public to afford a DVD recorder and the video is history. But is the first stage of this process already taking place?
With digital television viewers can get many films in similar quality to the DVD, series are repeated often and there is always a chance to catch the old stuff every day. When ITV Digital went down the drain, people didn't lose hope in digital TV, but simply went and got Sky instead. Why? Well, they were used to having more channels in much higher quality than the standard analogue signal, so they opted for the only other option.
With Sky's high userbase and the growing number of DVD players entering even the homes of the older generation, is there any need for the pre-recorded video market any more? Well, I think not. Ok, so there are still those who won't buy a DVD player until the recorders come out, but those numbers are dropping by the day as DVD players become cheap enough to own until the next thing arrives. Video recorders will still have their place in the home for now, recording digital television programmes so you can watch them later, but the quality decreases as you record the digital clear signal to tape and it becomes noticable after watching the shiny, clear tv picture for so long.
One day everyone who owns a video will have a DVD recorder instead and will be able to skip to their next Eastenders episode after coming back from their two week holiday, or be able to watch their recordings in the same quality in which they were recorded. The death of the video recorder begins with the shrinking number of videos available on the shop shelves.
Who will benefit? Well, in the short term, those who are happy buying videos for now will see a huge decrease in the price of videos, this is already happening in fact, and they will be able to buy all the classics for a fraction of the cost they are now. In the long term everyone who joins the digital revolution will see a marked improvement in the quality and options available in their recordings.
An offshoot of this is that digital television is now giving us more options and interactive services. This will one day stretch to films and producers of DVD titles will have to take note. Their once flashy trailers and odd bits and pieces will seem little more than a token gesture of extras (as they are to some of us now). The DVD people will have to come up with more 'making of' sections, more interviews and much more interactivity than before to keep the audience satisfied and willing to shell out for the DVD. Good news for us consumers, then, as we may soon see all our DVD films and series suddenly grow in the quality and quantity of extras.
All this means, though, that the video has finally had its day and it's only a matter of time before it becomes a relic, to which our grandchildren will point at and say 'grandad, what was that old thing?'
While we were all busy winding our video tapes back and forward, trying to find that elusive Simpsons episode from the four on the tape (or 24 if you ever taped them, ahem!) a new format appeared on the horizon, shining it's circular light with the promise of instant access and digital quality.
Yes, DVD came out and we all knew about it. Little by little the format has taken over, all that stands in the way now is the ability for the general public to afford a DVD recorder and the video is history. But is the first stage of this process already taking place?
With digital television viewers can get many films in similar quality to the DVD, series are repeated often and there is always a chance to catch the old stuff every day. When ITV Digital went down the drain, people didn't lose hope in digital TV, but simply went and got Sky instead. Why? Well, they were used to having more channels in much higher quality than the standard analogue signal, so they opted for the only other option.
With Sky's high userbase and the growing number of DVD players entering even the homes of the older generation, is there any need for the pre-recorded video market any more? Well, I think not. Ok, so there are still those who won't buy a DVD player until the recorders come out, but those numbers are dropping by the day as DVD players become cheap enough to own until the next thing arrives. Video recorders will still have their place in the home for now, recording digital television programmes so you can watch them later, but the quality decreases as you record the digital clear signal to tape and it becomes noticable after watching the shiny, clear tv picture for so long.
One day everyone who owns a video will have a DVD recorder instead and will be able to skip to their next Eastenders episode after coming back from their two week holiday, or be able to watch their recordings in the same quality in which they were recorded. The death of the video recorder begins with the shrinking number of videos available on the shop shelves.
Who will benefit? Well, in the short term, those who are happy buying videos for now will see a huge decrease in the price of videos, this is already happening in fact, and they will be able to buy all the classics for a fraction of the cost they are now. In the long term everyone who joins the digital revolution will see a marked improvement in the quality and options available in their recordings.
An offshoot of this is that digital television is now giving us more options and interactive services. This will one day stretch to films and producers of DVD titles will have to take note. Their once flashy trailers and odd bits and pieces will seem little more than a token gesture of extras (as they are to some of us now). The DVD people will have to come up with more 'making of' sections, more interviews and much more interactivity than before to keep the audience satisfied and willing to shell out for the DVD. Good news for us consumers, then, as we may soon see all our DVD films and series suddenly grow in the quality and quantity of extras.
All this means, though, that the video has finally had its day and it's only a matter of time before it becomes a relic, to which our grandchildren will point at and say 'grandad, what was that old thing?'
Yes, DVD came out and we all knew about it. Little by little the format has taken over, all that stands in the way now is the ability for the general public to afford a DVD recorder and the video is history. But is the first stage of this process already taking place?
With digital television viewers can get many films in similar quality to the DVD, series are repeated often and there is always a chance to catch the old stuff every day. When ITV Digital went down the drain, people didn't lose hope in digital TV, but simply went and got Sky instead. Why? Well, they were used to having more channels in much higher quality than the standard analogue signal, so they opted for the only other option.
With Sky's high userbase and the growing number of DVD players entering even the homes of the older generation, is there any need for the pre-recorded video market any more? Well, I think not. Ok, so there are still those who won't buy a DVD player until the recorders come out, but those numbers are dropping by the day as DVD players become cheap enough to own until the next thing arrives. Video recorders will still have their place in the home for now, recording digital television programmes so you can watch them later, but the quality decreases as you record the digital clear signal to tape and it becomes noticable after watching the shiny, clear tv picture for so long.
One day everyone who owns a video will have a DVD recorder instead and will be able to skip to their next Eastenders episode after coming back from their two week holiday, or be able to watch their recordings in the same quality in which they were recorded. The death of the video recorder begins with the shrinking number of videos available on the shop shelves.
Who will benefit? Well, in the short term, those who are happy buying videos for now will see a huge decrease in the price of videos, this is already happening in fact, and they will be able to buy all the classics for a fraction of the cost they are now. In the long term everyone who joins the digital revolution will see a marked improvement in the quality and options available in their recordings.
An offshoot of this is that digital television is now giving us more options and interactive services. This will one day stretch to films and producers of DVD titles will have to take note. Their once flashy trailers and odd bits and pieces will seem little more than a token gesture of extras (as they are to some of us now). The DVD people will have to come up with more 'making of' sections, more interviews and much more interactivity than before to keep the audience satisfied and willing to shell out for the DVD. Good news for us consumers, then, as we may soon see all our DVD films and series suddenly grow in the quality and quantity of extras.
All this means, though, that the video has finally had its day and it's only a matter of time before it becomes a relic, to which our grandchildren will point at and say 'grandad, what was that old thing?'
Good post...I can see videos going completely once the DVD recorders come out (though for the moment they are milking the standalone DVD players for all they are worth). To be honest I was surprised at just how much DVD has caught on, remember BetaMax?
Another thing. While I was revising the other day, I had the TV on Channel 5 and, ahem, the Wright Stuff. Supposedly with these recordable box sets that you mentioned that pre-recorded programs, the birth of 'junk TV' has arisen. Similar to Junk mail, the BBC has forced everyones set top to automatically record certain programmes, much to the annoyance of the user. Technology, eh?
Another thing. While I was revising the other day, I had the TV on Channel 5 and, ahem, the Wright Stuff. Supposedly with these recordable box sets that you mentioned that pre-recorded programs, the birth of 'junk TV' has arisen. Similar to Junk mail, the BBC has forced everyones set top to automatically record certain programmes, much to the annoyance of the user. Technology, eh?
It's interesting reading that again after DVDs have firmly taken over.
Although i feel like calling you a moron for digging this up. It is amazing how widely used they've become, and how cheap they are now.
its true, on Sr yo can get a multi region dvd player for a mere 38 quid. At the moment I am using my xbox as a dvd player but I want Multi region. So as soon as I get some money Im off to buy that bargain piece of kit.
I can't believe someone dug this up!
Just shows how right I can be ;-)
Just shows how right I can be ;-)
It was I.
Praise me.
Praise me.
Wakka wrote:
> It was I.
>
> Praise me.
HALLEJUAH!!
Can Wakka get an Amen?
> It was I.
>
> Praise me.
HALLEJUAH!!
Can Wakka get an Amen?