Would you buy a DVD if you already have the VHS?

[Frederik Pileborg]

The first LDs were big, but now they are the same size as regular CDs. They're basically the earlier version of DVD (MPEG-1 with fixed bitrate, etc..). I don't think there is a single DVD player out there that isn't capable of playing LDs too.

[Rev. Darkstar]

"I don't think there is a single DVD player out there that isn't capable of playing LDs too."

I tried playing my rare Squirm LD in my DVD player, the only way I could get it into the drive is if I snaped it up into little bits. For some reason the movie didn't play , no sound no nothing. I fact no movie I've put in my DVD  player since has played, oh well.


Anyway Frederik, I think your on about VCDs, these have a lower spec than LD but are starting to come into their own because of high DVD-R prices. VCD is the new MP3.

[Flangepart]

Wow, what can i add? My GE dvd was $129 at Wal-mart , and the sound and picture are worth the cash. It plays cd's too. Yeah, i have 10 dvd's,with 11 films. I shop around for used dvd's, and have gotten some bargins. Get the flicks you like the most first, and replace the other vhs stuff as you can. Vhs does deteriorate over time, i've found to my sorrow. But, like diamonds and James Bond, dvd's are for ever....as long as your friends kids don't play frisby with them!

[AndyC]

Does your GE DVD player play VCDs? (Acronym overload!)

I might take a look at one, after I get back from Chicago.

[Ken Begg]

Stupid releasing-the-special-edition-six-months-after-the-first-disc.

[BoyScoutKevin]

That would depend upon what else is on the DVD. I bought the DVD for "Lair of the White Worm," after I had the VHS, because the added commentary by the director on the DVD is worth it. But, I'll probably not buy the DVD for "Lord of the Rings," the animated version, not the live action version, because I hear it is the same as the VHS version, and I already have the VHS version.

[Andrew]

Oh, I can do full-fledged video editing here, but am not so much interested in cutting LDs to VCD as having real, "best master available," DVDs.

Andrew

[BlackAngel]

Well I just bought me a Playstation 2 for my belated birthday, and I might think of replacing the tapes for dvd's.  But I still got my VCR (somtimes I work till the next day so I gotta tape my WWF).  Not to sound like a derelict now revaling in the wonderful invention of the DVD, but it is good idea.  Because, do you hate it when, after all the fast forwarding and rewinding, just to get back in pace with the movie, you pull the tape out of the VCR, but part of the tape is still stuck?  And it gets to the point where if you pull it any futher that the tape is going to break.  That's $15-$20 down the drain.

[Rev. Darkstar]

I've bought two DVDs of the same movie, last year I shelled out a whole 5 pounds the crappy Digital Entertainment version of Class of nike em high, then a couple of weeks ago I bought the Troma version in a sale.

Both copies cost me less than if I was to buy the Troma version at full price.

[Vermin Boy]

I own both DVD versions of Plan 9 From Outer Space... I'd get rid of one, but they both have different extras (the Image release has the full 2-hour documentary "Flying Saucers Over Hollywood," while the Passport version has interviews with various people associated with Plan 9 and Burton's movie, including a great vintage interview with Bela himself).

[Karahde Khan]

Hi! This is my first post here, so be nice :)

I'd be pleased to substitute all the VHS tapes in my video collection for DVDs. The reasons are the usual: better quality, widescreen, durability, extras and... since I'm from Spain VHS tapes here contain the movie dubbed into Spanish. With the DVD, I've got the chance to watch the movie in it's original language with subtitles.

And what to do with the tapes (assuming they're originals, when they're TV recordings or bootlegs I simply tape over them)? I try to sell or trade them. I recently sold my Superman and Superman II (pan-and-scan) tapes and then got the DVDs for not too much more than I got from the tapes. I got rid of two useless videos (specially #1 without the extra footage in the DVD and new VHS) and gained two great DVDs.

Now a sorry story: You'll never meet a guy who takes more care of his VHS tapes than myself. I got the Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome DVD and prepared to trade my old VHS (which was a 1980s rental copy). I opened the case and saw that there was a little amount of white stuff on the tape. I popped it into my VCR to clean it up, watched a bit from the beginning and it still looked decent. Then, I stopped, fast-forwarded, and... the machine suddenly stopped. I ejected the tape and...

...it had broken. Literally.

Imagine what will happen with your beloved VHS collection in 15 or 20 years!!!

[popman]

Nothing can really prove that DVD has a longer lifetime than VHS.

Lots of my old (15 years old) audio CD are unreadable nowadays despite I took very care of them.

What will happened to my DVD since it's the same kind of physical support.

[Lee]

Popman is right. DVDs and DVD players have only been around for the last couple of years(about 4-5 if I remeber right). It may be a bit early to tell about their life-expectancey.

[AndyC]

I suppose DVDs are still unproven as a means of long-term storage. However, we can probably look at CDs and laser discs as some indication. I have music CDs that are 12 years old and still play alright. I also have old beatup rental VHS tapes from the early 80s that play just fine. On the other hand, I have a couple of tapes from the late 80s that don't play at all. Never having owned a laser disc, I can't say how they hold up. Anybody have any really old (relatively speaking) LDs?

While we don't know how DVDs will stand up in the long term, we do know that tapes will eventually rot. Magnetic recording has been around for a long time. If the tape itself doesn't break down, it will be gradually erased by the magnetism that is all around us. The recording is just residual magnetism in a thin layer of metal oxide. It's far from permanent. I store my collection as far as possible from the TV, light fixtures or electrical wiring. At department stores, I cringe every time a cashier runs my latest purchase past one of those big electromagnetic desensitizers, instead of using the little handheld one. Maybe I'm overly cautious, but I've spent a lot of time and money collecting these tapes, and I want to get as many years out of them as possible.

I would breathe a lot easier with my collection on DVDs. It's certainly no more perishable than tape, and in many ways, it's more durable.

Now that I've thought about it, I'm going to go shopping for a player as soon as I get back from B-Fest. I've put it off long enough.

[Flangepart]

Ouch! Karahade, i feel for ya' My poor, bairns....the sight of dead MST3K tapes...(sob)....flakeing like a dandruff ridden scalp...i can't go on.....OH< THE HUMANITY!....figurativly speaking......