Intelligent Discussion - Buying DVD - Will It Make it Mainstream? I'm not sure ..
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On Mon, 21 Jul 1997 02:50:42 GMT, l...@hotmail.com (Lon Seidman) wrote:
:This week I'm going to be purchasing my Mitsubishi DVD player and a few films.
: I already have an AC3 surround sound system with an LD, but the lower cost of
:the DVD movies has attracted me. Quite frankly, I'm a bit curious about the
:new format :).
From what I've read, the Mitsubishi model isn't the highest quality
built.
:Anyway, I've been giving a great deal of thought to the format, and trying to
:determine if my local Blockbuster will ever carry the discs to rent. I
:emailed blockbuster a few weeks ago and was told they are test marketing
:the discs in a few cities but no immediate plans for chainwide
:implementation. I've came to the conclusion that DVD is not going to catch on
:before the format is recordable.
I don't think Blockbuster will jump on the DVD bandwagon until there
are at least 1 million DVD units out in the consumer world within a
year. There's just too many VHS owners out there with no motivation
to "upgrade" to a DVD player.
:Let's face it : As previously discussed on the group, the average consumer is
:not interested in the picture or sound quality. Just about
:everyone owns a VCR and a plain vanilla television set to go
:with it. Quite frankly, they won't see (or care) about the
:better sound, and the dinky speaker in the television set is
:not going to make much of a difference.
The only reason so many people own VHS machines is because they've
been around for over a decade, and all the electronics manufacturers
make them. So what do consumers see when they walk into Circuit City?
A department full of various VHS machines that are almost identical.
The only way the masses will upgrade is when VHS machines die out by
the manufacturers not producing them anymore, like Intel does with
their chips. Quality for the masses is whatever the manufacturers
decide they should give away for cheap.
:Without a recordable format, and with very little change to the quality coming
:over their screens, the average consumer is not going to jump all over DVD.
:They're hearing "digital, digital digital!" but lack the equipment to
:really take advantage of it. Further, the fact that only a few blockbusters
:and scattered video stores carry the discs for rental, buying a film is about
:the only choice.
See above.
:My feelings as of right now is that the DVD's are going to join laserdisc as a
:movie and audio buff's toy. DVD will flourish in the computer industry where
:the storage space will really make a difference. But until the DVD-RAMs hit
:the market, the average consumer is going to avoid DVD.
If the manufacturers force the consumers to buy DVD by dropping
support for VHS, then DVD will succeed. If they decide to support
both formats, DVD will become a niche product to replace LD. My
belief is that the manufacturers will drop VHS product lines as DVD
drives become recordable and cheaper to manufacture. I mean, if
low-end CD players can be sold for $50 each, which is about as cheap
as a low-end VHS player, then they should be able to produce low-end
DVD players for about $70, and sell for the same as a good VHS player,
but with better quality, etc.
But this is all speculation. As I said above, the manufacturers will
determine the fate of DVD, NOT the consumers. The "masses" are just
sheep following the shephards (manufacturers). They eat what's given
to them. The black sheeps are sheep also, no matter how hard they try
to disassociate themselves with the masses by eating the best. But
again, the shepards have a way of dealing with them also (sell them
similar products with "higher quality" for a higher price).
Everyone talks about "grass roots" movement to boycott inferior
products and not buy this or that. But how can you make someone not
buy something they want when the same item, but lower in quality, is
so much cheaper, and espcially if the better product is beyond their
affordability range or justification for the high price? Given a
choice between price and feature, the black sheeps will pay for
features, while the rest will take whatever they can afford. That's
why there are more poor people than rich people by an ungodly number
(especially in 3rd world countries).
-Simon
gip...@earthlink.net
There are two blockbuster video stores near my house (arlington, tx)
that are carrying DVD's for sale and rent.
Robert Durham
I currently have LD player and 100+ moives but I have been watching this
newsgroup for awhile...preparing to make a decision. I have a fair home
theatre, nothing great but all adequate to enjoy my movies.
When I bought my LD I knew it would never be mainstream, but that should
not be the goal. The goal is to create the best overall home-theatre
experience. There will always be room in any industry for those that
demand the absolute best. So I feel the comments about the average
consumer should be left out.
To me the look and sound of the DVD has not convinced me to to spend
upwards of $5000 on changing the system. To all the DVD enthusiasts...
Why do we need this technology? Granted when HDTV exists, then a new
format is needed, but nothing has advanced in the audio/visual industry
to demand this. The sound is still DolbyDigital, the video is still
limited by the TV and format still doesn't allow recordings.
Therefore the only people that possibly would want this are super
audiophiles and those whimpy people that can't lift 12" discs.
On the computer side, DVD should make a difference, since DVD can store
more and delivery is better. That area has new technology that demands
new hardware, the video-audio side doesn't have that need.
-Bob
Lon Seidman wrote:
>
> Hello!
>
> I'm opening an intelligent (meaning no flames) discussion about the DVD.
>
> This week I'm going to be purchasing my Mitsubishi DVD player and a few films.
> I already have an AC3 surround sound system with an LD, but the lower cost of
> the DVD movies has attracted me. Quite frankly, I'm a bit curious about the
> new format :).
>
> Anyway, I've been giving a great deal of thought to the format, and trying to
> determine if my local Blockbuster will ever carry the discs to rent. I
> emailed blockbuster a few weeks ago and was told they are test marketing
> the discs in a few cities but no immediate plans for chainwide
> implementation. I've came to the conclusion that DVD is not going to catch on
> before the format is recordable.
>
> Let's face it : As previously discussed on the group, the average consumer is
> not interested in the picture or sound quality. Just about
> everyone owns a VCR and a plain vanilla television set to go
> with it. Quite frankly, they won't see (or care) about the
> better sound, and the dinky speaker in the television set is
> not going to make much of a difference.
>
> Without a recordable format, and with very little change to the quality coming
> over their screens, the average consumer is not going to jump all over DVD.
> They're hearing "digital, digital digital!" but lack the equipment to
> really take advantage of it. Further, the fact that only a few blockbusters
> and scattered video stores carry the discs for rental, buying a film is about
> the only choice.
>
> My feelings as of right now is that the DVD's are going to join laserdisc as a
> movie and audio buff's toy. DVD will flourish in the computer industry where
> the storage space will really make a difference. But until the DVD-RAMs hit
> the market, the average consumer is going to avoid DVD.
>
> I'd be interested in hearing everyone's thoughts about this.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------
> Lon J. Seidman
> West Hartford and Westbrook, Connecticut
> University of Hartford Student Body President
> http://www.pcnet.com/~lon
> l...@hotmail.com
> -------------------------------------------------------------
Jeff Ulmer
> To me the look and sound of the DVD has not convinced me to to spend
> upwards of $5000 on changing the system.
What? Where does $5000 come from? Unless you need one of every player.
If you already have AC3 all you need is a DVD player and some software,
which will cost you less than half for each title.
To all the DVD enthusiasts...
> Why do we need this technology? Granted when HDTV exists, then a new
> format is needed, but nothing has advanced in the audio/visual industry
> to demand this. The sound is still DolbyDigital, the video is still
> limited by the TV and format still doesn't allow recordings.
The discs are smaller. A whole movie fits on one side. AC3 sound on many
titles where AC3 is either not avaliable or WAY omre expensive on LD.
Dual formats on a single disc. Higher resolution. Better picture.
> Therefore the only people that possibly would want this are super
> audiophiles and those whimpy people that can't lift 12" discs.
And the majority of people who would NEVER accept having to wait for
side breaks and disc swaps, nor would ever pay $100 for a single movie,
no matter how good it was. LD was fine in the past, as long as you could
afford the software and didn't mind the artistic butchering that breaks
and flips cause. It did champion the widescreen format (this is good).
But for me to sit back and pay $70+ canadian dollars for the same film
with less features than can be had on a $25 DVD is simply nuts. If I can
get it on DVD, I will pass on LD, almost every time.
DaViD Boulet/Don Harley
Robert Durham wrote:
> To me the look and sound of the DVD has not convinced me to to spend
> upwards of $5000 on changing the system. To all the DVD enthusiasts...
> Why do we need this technology? Granted when HDTV exists, then a new
> format is needed, but nothing has advanced in the audio/visual industry
> to demand this. The sound is still DolbyDigital, the video is still
> limited by the TV and format still doesn't allow recordings.
Excuse me? How can the format be "limited by the TV" when I can clearly
see, and enjoy, the clearer picture of a DVD image over laserdisc?
Did you know that you can buy display devices that are better than the
27" 4:3 NTSC interlaced sets at K-mart? There are 16:9 displays, some
progressively scanned, and there are even HDTV-res front-projection
systems (at a high cost). DVD looks better than LD on all of these
systems...and costs less that LD. Why continue to buy an exisiting
format that is more expensive and delivers a lower-quality image? DVD
doesn't need to find it's way into the home of every VHS collector for
one to save money and enjoy this wonderful new format.
At the very least, it makes *more* sense to buy DVD rather than LD.
-dave
Jeff Ulmer
> The DVD may have better quality and sound, but what is the overwhemling
> thing to attract the 2nd tier of home movie buffs?
1. Uninterrupted movie experience-no side changes, no disc swaps.
2. Better picture-anamorphic transfers, dual formats for many titles.
3. Much more convenient storage due to smaller size (more movies per
square foot)
4. Abundance of 5.1 channel AC3 sound, found primarily on high priced
LDs.
5. Low cost of media, usually half a comparable (AC3) LD.
6. Industry wide development adoption of the media, not only in home
entertainment, but also computer industry, unlike other formats like MD.
7. Low equipment cost. My DVD/LD player cost less than a comparable
stand alone LD player.
From a collector's standpoint, the lower media cost is a big factor. I
can buy twice as many films on DVD as I could on laser for the same
money. Add to that the other features of DVD (extras from high priced
LDs, AC3 sound, bios, etc) and DVD only makes sense. In my local
retailer nearly everyone is looking at DVD, perhaps noy buying yet
(there are only 20-30 titles here at this time), but it is attracting a
lot of attention, from kids through to seniors.
Robert Durham
I didn't mean to rattle your cage, but the way you speak about DVDs you
must love movies...
I too like movies, but I have invested a considerable amount of money in
LDs. (I trust that you may have as well.) Further, I have some other
components that make me think twice about these new innovations. As a
owner of a MiniDisc recorder and player, I had to witness that big
hoopla and then its fall. I also have a DSS system, which the verdict
is still out on.
However both of these innovations were not just better than the current
standard, but were a complete new genre in the electronics industry.
thing to attract the 2nd tier of home movie buffs?
-Bob
AndersonRM
In article <33D56B...@Blomand.net>, Robert Durham <che...@Blomand.net>
writes:
> The sound is still DolbyDigital, the video is still
>limited by the TV and format still doesn't allow recordings.
>
>Therefore the only people that possibly would want this are super
>audiophiles and those whimpy people that can't lift 12" discs.
>
>
I was going to respond to the post rationally until I got to the above
drivel.
You are a moron who knows NOTHING about DVD. Which pretty
much puts you in the same boat with the other nutcases who criticize
the format without any experience. Didn't the joke "DVD sucks" post
embarrass any of you into hiding?
-Rich
Eric Pobirs
Esarjeant wrote:
> So why is DVD going to flourish beyond a niche market?Imagine getting
> Microsoft TechNet on a single DVD!! (instead of 2-4 CD-ROM discs...
> wow)
Hey, even better, try a reality. The Hi-Val package bundles a number of
titles that were originally multiple CD-ROMs. Most impressive is Wing
Commander IV which gone form six discs to one DVD! Mind you, it's
shovelware with only minor improvements but it gives you something to
think about in regard to future titles with high quality video and use
of the second layer.