Look Closely, (The Fun Continues) - Part 2

Tuesday's post, for those of you that somehow FORGOT to stop by for your daily dose of enlightenment, focused on the ever-changing realm of the DVD and it's latest incarnation, the "high-definition" format war between HD-DVD and BLU-RAY.

Well, don't all fo you dash out to Best Buy and grab a compatible player just yet...

You will still be able to get "regular" format DVDs for some time (so they say). This rivalry between formats is said (as I have ALREADY SAID) to be like the BETA vs VHS tape format from the 80s, which was won by VHS, in spite of BETA having a better picture resolution (which it truly does, but finding a machine OR a person to service it is as rare as a tax break for a homeowner in Indiana). That conflict boiled down NOT to a battle of technologies, but rather a battle of MARKETING. A curious side note to the videotape wars...they used to embed codes in the VHS tapes to prevent copying by consumers (made the picture dark and murky, and the audio track garbled), but if you tried to make a BETA copy of a coded VHS tape...no freaking problem...a perfect duplicate tape. Imagine that.

I'm just wondering how long before this latest DVD battle devolves into nothing more than a skirmish over OUR dollars for THEIR pockets and bank accounts? With the advent of plasma and LCD "hi-def" TVs flooding the markets, the venerable cathode ray tube-driven television will be relegated to quaint tales of how much space they used to take up and how heavy and cumbersome they used to be to get into the family vehicle when purchased.

Soon, all you'll be able to buy will be these flat, expensive sets with great resolution, programming options that make MIT professors tremble, and power consumption costs that will equal the family fridge.

But hey, at least we'll be entertained during our financial demise, right? And who cares about challenging ourselves to improve ourselves, as long as we can couch-potato our lives away in HIGH-DEFINITION. That's what REALLY matters today, and not improving the species. Just improve all the technology constantly, keep us all guessing, and we'll "think" we're better by what we possess...not who we can become.

My personal take on the format wars at this point in time, would be to WAIT...however long it takes (which by today's standards shouldn't be that long), for a DVD player that will be able to play ANY or ALL formats with the push of a button (and you just KNOW that's on someone's horizon). Flick the switch and you can go from high-def to low-def for those classic movies or old TV shows. Simple, huh? I mean it's not like someone will find some way to take the DVDs of old kinescopes of Milton Berle or Playhouse 90 (shows from the 50s for the younger readers) and make them high-def. That just isn't going to happen.

Interestingly enough, even with both HD/DVDs and BLU-RAY out there NOW, people bought 2.4 BILLION "standard" DVDs, compared to only 14.2 million high def DVDs. And that doesn't include the downloads from the internet (hmm...internet...hold that thought). And like some die hard aficionados (like myself) that enjoy the sound of VINYL LPs (the original compact disk), we tend to stash away a turntable.

So it will be with DVDs. If it ever comes down to only being able to get BLU-RAY disks, and I still want to watch one of my "old" DVDs in low-def, I whip out the trusty progressive-scan standard player and whirl away. Whenever one of these "wars" wages among the marketers looking out for "my best interest and what I really NEED in my life", I sit back and do nothing...as should you. I bide my time until THEY make up THEIR minds and decide what the hell to do regarding what format/player/device/gadget they will be producing.

And then I wait some more...until the price drops, because you KNOW whenever a "new" item comes out, the price is out the ass.

So, I might be several years behind the times (we didn't get a DVD player until TWO YEARS AGO....that's right), but at least I'm NOT paying the prices that many people are for something that's barely out "in the field". I like to wait, and see if any problems pop up, which in the first few years of anything new usually will.

I don't know about you, but I just HATE IT when a new item has some flaw...like causes a fire because some $.39 part overheats for no reason, and my house burns the hell down...right? Or maybe there are compatibility problems with cable or satellite devices.

That would suck, wouldn't it?

Maybe it's better to not EVEN buy DVDs anymore, but just download everything from the net...(that would piss the hell out of all those people making DVDs, wouldn't it?). Might not even NEED a tangible format per se...just slip in a DVD/RW, and download your butt off. Just pray the computer doesn't crap out, or there'll be no movie night at the Smith household. Better to err on the side of caution....especially with the speed at which these companies roll out new technology (just so we can be happy and entertained...and not see that all our money is being spent to send these CEOs to the yacht dealer for a "new ride").

In any event...keep the "low-def" DVD collection...for now. It's not going the way of the passenger pigeon quite yet. There is still time to enjoy them.

Besides, they DO make damn fine COASTERS for your drinks...in a pinch.