Are DVDs really worth it?

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

Thinking of adding a DVD player along with the VCR. Are they really worth having? Is the quality any better? Any recommendations on brands to get or aviod?

Starting my X-mas shopping tonight so any advice would be much appreciated! :D

[DK666]

1. Magnavox

Its at circuit city.

Progressive Scan
VCD
SVCD
DVD
Kodak Photo CD

At $ 79.00 you cant beat it.


BTW the picture quality is in the TV and the DCF (digital comb filter)

[proud patriot]

2. Yes !

Not only is the picture and sound quality
much better , but CD's taken care of last
much longer than Tape . :hi:

It's taken our family awhile to make the adjustment
but our DVD collection is growing and we are up to
50 in 3 years .

[tekriter]

3. Absolutely worth it...

The specification for VHS tape is 240 lines of resolution, for DVD it is 450 if I remember right.

And that is a difference you can see on any TV, no high-def required.

[Elad]

4. I don't think they're worth it

There's a benefit in picture quality, but it's not enormous in my opinion. The best benefit is the sound. Before I ditched my DVD player, I had it hooked up to a nice surround system with two 12" subs, the sound was incredible.

However, that was about the best thing about it, and in my opinion doesn't outweigh the negatives. I found the special DVD features to be mostly boring and time-consuming. The extra price (twice as much for a new DVD as a new VHS) is a major pitfall as well. DVD encryption is also a downfall, the technology allows the big corporations complete control over your movie-watching experience. It's spawned a lot of fascist attacks on free-speech and copyright law by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) as they sue and indict everyone they can who simply knows how to decrypt a DVD.

The encryption technology also allows the movie-maker to force you to, for example, watch the previews, or sit through 45 seconds of FBI warnings, you won't be able to fast-forward. It also prevents you from viewing DVDs purchased in other countries, through region-coding.

And DVDs, although they can last longer than VHS, are not permanent media. Like CDs, they can warp over time, especially on the higher-end players which spin the disc faster and faster - the faster it spins the more prone to warping it is.

At any rate, I got rid of my DVD player, and am happy back on VHS. :)

[skypilot]

6. Wow!!!

I don't own a DVD player but I'd heard about this business of programming DVDs so that you couldn't fastforward throght the previews. I thought it was something they were THINKING about doing in the future. I didn't know that it was being done already. That is definitely a disincentive for me.

On edit: I just reread your post. I noticed that it says the technology "allows" for certain inconveniences. Are these things actually happening now?

[Elad]

9. Oh yeah, it happens all the time

I'd say about 50% of the DVDs I rented before forced me to sit through previews, FBI warnings, and lately, they've even started putting commercials in there as well. What next? Government propaganda?

[TrogL]

16. Workround

The commericals tend be track 0. Just click to advance one track and the movie starts.

[NashVegas]

31. Commercials

So far I haven't run into any of those - probably because my taste runs far out of the mainstream (usually).

The day I see a commercial in a purchased DVD I can't zip past is the day I'll return it to the store and demand a refund.

[sleipnir]

30. VHS is going the way of the Horse and Buggy in 2 years

That's the word in the industry. No one will be producing VHS tapes in two years, they're out. Sorry, but if you don't upgrade soon, you won't be able to get new movies anymore.

Best Buy has already stopped selling any new VHS products, MGM is rumored to stop VHS production after March.

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

10. Wow! If DU Admin says it...

it must be true ;-)

I don't plan to "own" DVDs any more than I "own" VHS tapes. Call me Captain Tape Rental. I'm just seeinf these amazing prices on DVD players, and thought I might be able to score a quick gift for the entire family.

Does sound like there are some "issues" with them though.
Tanks!

[PatGund]

25. Easy way around the region encoding -

Get a multi-region DVD player, or one that allows the user to set the regions. I have one of these, (since I get DVD from the UK as well, and it handles PAL/NTSC output and conversion), and haven't had a problem watching them. They're not that much more expensive either, (mine was $89). I know Amazon.com sells them, as does J&R Video and Computer world. Or just search on eBay for "multi region DVD".

Region encoding is a joke. Many DVD players in Europe are multi-region, and region encoding is illegal in Australia and New Zealand, so players sold there are all multi-region.

[ProfessorGAC]

28. Spinning Causes Warping?!?!?

That is counterintuitive. The spinning action would have the effect of increasing the angular momentum of the disk, which would actually reduce any warping effect.

I would think they'd be more prone to warping if they sat flat for extended periods.
The Professor

[Elad]

32. You can actually shatter a disc if you spin it fast enough

Sunlight or humidity are certainly more common causes of warping, but from what I've read, the faster spinning machines cause it as well. I saw video once of a disc warping and then shattering while being spun too fast.

[Abaques]

36. VHS tape is still not as durable....

Every time you view a vhs tape you are degrading its quality in a very visual manner. Sure dvds and cds can warp and crack from poorly designed players, but most often the cause is cheap media (or a combo).

Don't let that keep you from upgrading to a superior quality.

You can make backups too...

[Leftist78]

48. From what I saw just now

That already damaged disc was being spun at about 25,000 RPM. That's about 48x. The discs that were in good shape lasted well past 30,000 RPM or 52x. Let me know when DVD's spin that fast and I'll start to worry :eyes:

[Loonman]

49. Tape stretches and can degrade just sitting on the shelf

Plus the build-up of ferric oxide on a VCRs tape heads shortens the life of your player.

[Abaques]

34. Buy a big hard drive, a dvd-rom and a moderately fast processor....

And then a copy of dvdxcopy (in bestbuy or compusa). Just rip all of your dvds to mpeg files and then watch them off of your computer (through video out to your to tv).

The dvd encryption was broken a long time ago and is just a joke now. The MPAA (for all of its evilness) only can attack people who share or who pirate (ie, those trying for profit). You have a legal right to make a backup copy of your property. The MPAA will not challenge individuals making personal backups. For one thing its almost impossible to get that kind of information from an individual and secondly, they might not win that case and they know it.


If you want to know more about making backups of your dvd collection, go here:

www.dvdrhelp.com


They have lots of howtos on riping and converting dvds.

[Leftist78]

44. Myth Busters

Like CDs, they can warp over time, especially on the higher-end players which spin the disc faster and faster - the faster it spins the more prone to warping it is.


on the Discovery Channel right now they're going to test this to see if it's just an urban legend or not.

[Loonman]

5. No, but 8-Track tapes and Super-8 Film are still where it's at!

You may as well upgrade, VHS will be gone in about 5-6 years.

[ErasureAcer]

7. I'd say so

you can check out my DVD collection for some good DVDs to start ya off with.

http://www.dvdaficionado.com/dvds.html?cat=1&id=krelian

[Tummler]

21. DVDaficionado kicks ass

Hi from another dvdaf user! :hi:

http://dvdaficionado.com/dvds.html?id=tummler

[Monte Carlo]

8. You don't have to rewind the tape, and scene selection is a definite plus.

I can't tell you how satisfied I was when I played my first DVD and didn't have to rewind it.

Another plus is that handled properly, DVD's play as well on the 100th viewing as they do the first, whereas tapes wear out.

The big minus is that normal DVD players can't record. But, if you already have a VCR, the two complement each other well.

[bedtimeforbonzo]

11. YES

I have had several brands, and my bottom-of-the-line Sony is my favorite so far.

Easily worth it if you really like movies.

[Caution]

12. benefits to DVD

with all respect to a DU admin, dude you have no clue what you are talking about in terms of VHS/DVD quality. You may not be able to see the difference in picture quality but that doesn't mean the difference isn't there. I can see the price of a DVD being an issue, however, the price of VHS has only recently come down because of the popularity of DVD (there was, before DVD a thing called a rental window where a new release VHS tape was priced at nearly $80 each to give rental companies like blockbuster a chance to make money off a new release before the public could purchase the film at a reasonable price). There are a very few DVDs out there that force you to sit through previews before hand (though this practice is common on VHS as well but you can always fast forward VHS). That said I own over 250 DVDs and no more than 10 of them do not allow the previews to be skipped and due to consumer feedback the locked previews are disappearing.

DVD is literally (and by literally I mean mathematically) more than twice the picture quality of VHS. The sound difference is quite substantial as well. Additionally, VHS tapes degrade in quality with each subsequent viewing. So unless you are the first to rent the tape you are already seeing less than half the quality you would get out of a DVD.

On top of this the single biggest reason to go for DVD over VHS is for letterboxing. There are a few movies out there on VHS that you can get letterboxed but that number is VERY few indeed. The vast majority of DVD releases are letterboxed. Letterboxed means they are presented in the original aspect ratio they were presented in at the movies. Many people look at a letterboxed picture and see the "black bars" however this isn't the true story. Most modern films are presented in either 1.85:1 or 2.35:1 aspect ratio. On VHS they do what is called "Pan & Scan" (some DVDs also do this but they mislabel it as "Fullscreen"). on a 2.35:1 film (such as Raiders of the Lost Ark) this cuts off over 40% of the picture! So not only do you get only 50% of the quality with VHS, you also only get 60% of the actual movie!!!

Here are some examples:

http://www.widescreen.org/examples.shtml">Widescreen Advocate
Notice how often times entire people are simply cut out of the film!

More on DVD quality: from the http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html">DVD FAQ
<quote>
DVD has the capability to produce near-studio-quality video and better-than-CD-quality audio. DVD is vastly superior to consumer videotape and generally better than laserdisc (see 2.7.). However, quality depends on many production factors. As compression experience and technology improves we see increasing quality, but as production costs decrease and DVD authoring software becomes widely available we also see more shoddily produced discs. A few low-budget DVDs even use MPEG-1 encoding (which is no better than VHS) instead of higher-quality MPEG-2.

<snip>

DVD audio quality is superb. DVD includes the option of PCM (pulse code modulation) digital audio with sampling sizes and rates higher than audio CD. Alternatively, audio for most movies is stored as discrete, multi-channel surround sound using Dolby Digital or DTS audio compression similar to the digital surround sound formats used in theaters. As with video, audio quality depends on how well the processing and encoding was done. In spite of compression, Dolby Digital and DTS can be close to or better than CD quality.
</end>

[Robb]

13. What I tell people

is a little simpler.

"Remember the first time you heard a CD? It's like that."

On a half-decent TV, it really is a big leap in quality. I spent two years saving and shopping for a TV, and finally got a smokin' deal on one of those Sonys where you can click a button to refocus the guns to project a higher-vertical-resolution widescreen-shaped picture (in technical parlance, "skooshed"), and man... set the DVD to think it's sending to a 16x9 TV, and let 'er rip.

It's a whole new world. I can especially tell when I watch a VHS tape now.

[Tummler]

22. Well said

I wasn't a film buff 'til I discovered DVDs. DVDs can provide:

* Original aspect ratio -- no mutilated, pan 'n' scan garbage

* Vastly higher A/V quality, especially if you have an HDTV and/or a 5.1 (or 6.1, or 7.1) audio setup

* A huge variety of "obscure" (international and independent) movies, from both U.S. and foreign publishers, are available from various U.S. and foreign websites. With region-free and PAL-capable players so easily available, one can enjoy DVDs from anywhere in world. European, Hong Kong, and Korean releases (for example) often include English subtitles!

* Extras which can provide insight into a film

Besides, VHS is moribund except as a means for taping TV broadcasts. DVD or a future variant (one of the competing HD-DVD standards) will dominate home video for the next 10+ years.

[geniph]

46. Emphatic agreement!

I buy DVDs for three things primarily: long-term durability (the picture doesn't get a little worse every time I view the movie), widescreen, and picture quality. I also happen to really like the extras on most discs - everyone else wanders out of the room, but I like watching the "making-of" features, deleted scenes, and for some directors, watching the movie with director's commentary (never skip one of John Waters' commentaries!).

14. subtitles

The main advantage I see is that you can turn subtitles on or off.
With highly cinematic films this is a distinct advantage because, at least for me, the subtitles always distract from the image.

As for picture quality, it is "better", but there are certain aspects of it that are different and there are reasons to prefer film.... but VHS has the same problem relative to film.

In DVD, the images are almost TOO sharp. To get a sense of the distinction, a film such as In Praise of Love by Godard is shot with film stock the first half and in video the second half. The difference is obvious.

or look at the difference in a Tarkovsky film on video and on DVD. On DVD, there are images that are crystal clear compared to the VHS. The problem is that Tarkovsky did not intend for them to be so clear.

[TrogL]

17. If he didn't intend it, it's not there

DVD's cannot magically clean up an existing image, if anything it's your TV doing that if it has some of Sony's extra gizmos.

37. well

actually, I have a really crappy TV.
What I was referring to is the way light looks. I haven't seen original prints of Tarkovsky, so I don't know for sure. I do know that in Stalker on VHS, there are shots that are very dark that look much brighter in the DVD. This is because of the remastering when it was laid onto DVD, not my TV. Since part of Tarkovsky's technique is to have images gradually reveal things, I am assuming that the original film images were not as bright. I might be wrong.

The brightness is analogous to the way a CD will sound crisper than vinyl sometimes in a way that makes me wonder if it was really supposed to sound so crisp, and makes me wonder in DVD if the image was really supposed to be so bright. Since Tarkovsky is not around anymore we can't ask him.

On the other side, I heard an interview with Wim Wenders where he said that the DVD of Wings of Desire finally caught the color properly and made the black and white look the way he had always wanted it to.

[TrogL]

15. No contest

DVD's give consistent quality. VHS degrades the first time you watch it and it's downhill from there. DVD's also give you the option between full-screen and pan-and-scan and various surround features (can you even BUY an amp without surround these days?).

The movies aren't even all that expensive if you keep an eye on the remainder bin at Blockbuster or haunt pawn shops.

[Enraged_Ape]

18. I like all the DVD extras

I'm a film buff, so I'm fascinated by the "behind the scenes" documentaries and the additional audio tracks of the directors, actors, etc. The Lord of the Rings extended DVDs are treasure troves of this kind of thing, and they really add to my appreciation of what went into making these films.

[Loonman]

19. Also - magnetic tape can degrade just sitting on the shelf

Remember all your cassettes from the 1970s?

Listened to 'em lately?

[RebelOne]

20. Oh, yes, definitely worth it.

Pretty soon you won't even be able to rent VHS tapes at Blockbusters. I had been holding out, but finally gave in last Xmas and had my son buy me a DVD player. Plus you can rent DVDs from NetFlix cheaper than at Blockbuster. I don't want to sound like a commerical for NetFlix, but their service is the greatest.

[TrogL]

23. Saves a lot of arguing

Whenever the kids want to watch a movie, there's one holdout who doesn't go along with the majority and raises a fuss.

So I send that kid off to the computer with a pair of headphones to watch what she wants. Most computers (and even some cars) come with DVD players now.

[Kat45]

24. I noticed that some stores don't carry many video tapes anymore

Most of the movie department is given over to DVDs, and there are not all that many VHS movies at all. I was trying to find "Seabiscuit," which was being heavily promoted, for my parents for Christmas. They don't have a DVD player, but I had a hard time finding it on video. I think it took me three stores to find it.

[HEyHEY]

26. Get a Sorny or a Magnetbox, maybe a Panaphonic

I personally couldn't care less if DVDs hadn'tbeen invented. VHS was doing fine by me. But the good thing is that you can forward through the movie much easier.

[citizen snips]

27. DVDs last longer.

The disks last longer than the tapes.

[NashVegas]

29. Only With Proper Handling

Some rental stores are finding VHS tapes had a wider profit margin due to improper handling of DVDs (scratches).

[wysimdnwyg]

33. When you look at all the pros and cons...

DVD is almost always worth it.

DVD Pros:
- High resolution of 480 lines
- Multi-channel surround sound
- Most DVDs do not have "previews" at all
- Full Aspect Ratio allows you to watch the movie the way it was meant to be seen
- Scene selection allows you to go directly to any scene you want at any time
- Bonus features like "making of" and "how do they do that?" documentaries, as well as outtakes, background info and castmember info, as well as many other things. (Children's DVDs are great about having extras for a computer DVD player.)
- The disc tends to last much longer than VHS

DVD Cons:
- Some DVDs have previews and/or the FBI warning forced on you at the beginning, and you can not FF past it. (The FBI Warning is fairly common, but the preivews being forced like this are rare. Even with the forced FBI warning, it still takes less time to sit through that than to FF through it on the video.)
- Typically cost 50-100% more than VHS


VHS Pros:
- Cheap - can be found for as little as a few dollars each. Few cost as much as $15 any more.
- Stop in the middle of the tape and pick back up right where you left off.

VHS Cons:
- Magnetic tape degrades very quickly compared to DVDs
- Viewing of a tape degrades the performance of the player
- Very low video and sound quality compared to DVDs


With the price of DVD players down to less than $50, you don't spend that much more, but you get a lot more in return.

[LibInternationalist]

45. DVDs can stop in the middle and restart, now, too

newer model players

[ikojo]

35. I LOVE DVDs!!!

I bought a portable DVD player in 2001 and have not looked back.

When I buy new DVDs I try to buy them on Tuesday when they are released, that way you get them relatively cheap. I am talking cheap when you think about what a CD costs. I got Finding Nemo for $14.99 the week it was released.

I never bought VHS movies the way I buy DVDs that's for sure because until the last few years VHS movies were really expensive (around $25 and up). I remember when Schindler's List came out on VHS it was $90! I waited until a video store had a used copy for sale and got it for $12.00. I also buy a lot of used DVDs, which generally come with a guarantee that they will play. I've never had a problem. If I do have a problem 321 studios has a product that will recover damaged discs.

I do like the extras and stuff. If I like the movie well enough to buy it then I want to know more about how it was made and what the actors thought of the experience.

As far as quality goes...yes it is better. There is none of that warbly sound you get from a tape that has previously served as an appetizer for a VCR. No need to worry about DVDs being eaten and that's what I like best.

[TopesJunkie]

38. No.

[amazona]

39. sort of...

Since DVD players are now so cheap, you might as well. I don't buy DVDs. I just rent them. The main disadvantage of DVDs is that when they are wrong, they start jumping around in the middle and ruin the end of the film. With VHS, the tape always looks worse at the beginning, so you don't get involved in something and then it starts acting wonky halfway through. But VHS is probably on its way out because the picture quality is not as good, not by a long shot.

I don't collect movies -- how often would you watch even the best movie -- so I'm not too affected by the switchover. However, if you have a lot of personal stuff like your wedding or whatever on VHS, maybe you should think about getting set up to put it on CDs.

[Spirochete]

40. They're worth it

if you rent, you will be finding fewer and fewer movies available on VHS. The picture quality is much better, especially if you use S-video or component output. The sound is better, too - they all use DTS or Dolby 5.1 surround. The extra features are often quite cool., and you can search for hidden "Easter eggs" on the disk, if you're into that. They are all MP3 compatible now, so you can pop in a CD-R with 150 MP3's and you've got 10 hours of nonstop music, if you're into playing music instead.

Philips, Pioneer, Toshiba - all make pretty good ones, so I hear. Don't bother with the progressive scan, unless you have a HDTV.

[info being]

41. DVD = Netflix = Worth It

[Lisa]

42. I only got a DVD player a couple of months ago ...

And I'm pretty satisfied with it (Hitachi). (It also plays VHS, so I can still use the tapes which I've recorded myself, and the commercial ones in my collection which haven't made it into DVD format.)

The cost was about $40 more than a good-quality VCR.

I have no problems getting rid of any unwanted DVDs (yes, there are some that are better than others ... sometimes the much-ballyhooed "extra features" are bits of fluff that make "Entertainment Tonight" seem profound). My local library started a DVD collection in September. They like them because they are easier to check over for damages, and (so far anyway) seem to be more durable than tapes. Take up less storage space too.

Anyway, I picked up some used DVDs for half-price at my local video place (much cheaper than new ones, and I haven't seen any quality problems with scratching etc. yet). After I'd fooled around with them, the library was pleased to get them. I'm going to use this technique to load their collection with stuff like Noam Chomsky lectures, "Bowling for Columbine", "All Quiet on the Western Front", and other works that people should see ....

[LibInternationalist]

43. Absolutely!

And get NetFlix

[BlackVelvetElvis]

47. DVDs? It depends on what you like

True. Some DVD's are cheap, no worthwhile extras, poor image and sound quality.
I am a film fan (silent, cult and obscure) and finally caved in and bought a DVD/VHS combo unit when the stuff I liked was available. Worth every penny. I love that I have an option as far as widescreen goes. Some of the time the extras are worth the money (LOTR series springs to mind) compared with the cost of VHS. VHS format is like cassette tapes/albums were 10 years ago. DVD players are so cheap, buy one and enjoy!