all very well, but how are we meant to tape stuff off the telly now??

Your film is Miss Congeniality Milky...

Last i bought on VHS was... i have no idea. I've had a dvd player and dvds ever since they started selling them in the shops, but while i was doing my A-Levels i couldn't afford to buy loads of dvds so i started buying videos cheap instead. Last one i bought was probably Kramer vs Kramer or something like that.

I absolutely think the death of VHS is a good thing. They are big, chunky and the quality is naff. The only advantage is they are a cheap media to record onto, but with the increasing popularity (and lowering prices) of things like Tivo, Sky+ and DVD Recorders, we don't need VHS.

So in a few years time all my videos are gonna be useless? because if my video breaks I wont be able to get another one?

Well that just sucks big time IMO

Sange, with a ridiculous amount of knowledge you can run your V.C.R through a D.V.D\P.C and transfer them onto DVD, all you need is a mate who knows far to much.

I don't think anyone with a sizeable video collection needs to pop down to the shop with three pearls just yet.

With the quantum leap in quality DVD offers, VHS is certain to go the way of the cassette and vinyl, but you can still buy tape decks and record players, can't you? All this means is that VHS players will cease to be a mass consumer product: there'll always be a niche in the market, and judging from the sub-£100 record deck I bought last year, it's not going to be a costly one.

Well, one thing that narks me off about DVD is that you never get rid of those bloody borders, even when you fiddle around with the widescreen options, whereas the VHS films I've got have no borders at all... */me realises about to be stoned to death by mob of incensed DVD purists* ...but at least prices are coming down quite nicely!

VHS will most likely die a quick death in most customers homes. Especially if you see that a lot of people are getting their TV signal in digitally on mpeg2 quality who wants to record stuff from the telly at crappy quality? You buy a new tv with dolby surround sound + hdtv etc..... than you don't want to record stuff to watch later in hardly 1/5th of the quality!

This doesn't mean that we will see loads of dvd recorders coming too the homes very soon. But combinations between dvdplayers (or next gen 'dvd') and harddisk recorders are a logical choice (something like sky+ with a dvd (or next generation) player built in??)

But we'll have to see with the new standards of blu-ray and hd-dvd coming around the corner pretty quickly.

Especially when HDTV takes off in Europe you VHS videorecorder just won't do anymore (and even normal dvd quality looks "bad" compared to that!)

Also keep in mind that videotapes do run down pretty quickly when frequently used (or wrongly stored away)..... I haven't used mine (for watching video - only use it for watching stuff from laptop due to the front av) for 18 months - 2 years now.

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by Alan
Well, one thing that narks me off about DVD is that you never get rid of those bloody borders, even when you fiddle around with the widescreen options, whereas the VHS films I've got have no borders at all... */me realises about to be stoned to death by mob of incensed DVD purists* ...but at least prices are coming down quite nicely!

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You called?

Original aspect ratio. It's how the director framed his film, and it's replicated on the DVD. Of course, you'll get rather more from cinemascope film projected on a screen the size of a house than played on a '14 Goodman, but at least you don't have half the picture hacked off by the monkeys in the edit suite.

If you must have square pictures, there are pan and scam abominations available from most good retailers.

(Edited by Byron 14/01/2004 17:09)

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by Sange
So in a few years time all my videos are gonna be useless? because if my video breaks I wont be able to get another one?

Well that just sucks big time IMO

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It a sign of the times (i sound like an old fogey) that people assume that when things break they must be useless. In my day (waves walking stick!) you took your video/tv to your local repairman and he fixed it for ya. While these businesses may have declined I'm sure they're still available. So when it breaks Sange - get it fixed! You'll make some old repairman very happy.

BTW: Me & Misskitty have been off the net for some time (and will continue to be) as i'm jobless - have been for ages and its all i can do to keep the bailiffs (sp?) away. So no net for us. Im at a public access place atm. So would like to tell everyone we're missing them and that we're sad we wont be able to make the T-party.

(Edited by Funky Monkey 14/01/2004 17:30)

Trust me when I break things I really break em

Hope you two get things sorted soon *hugs*

I think our communal VHS player must have heard the news 'cos it packed in last night whilst I was trying to record something

The last video i bought was "Paperback Hero" which is the film of the book i was hunting for (and found!) last year. It stars Hugh Jackman and it was his first film role. I got it on video as it isn't available on R2 DVD.

And my kids must have over 100 videos between them.

I have to admitI'm seriously considering switching all my videos to DVD over the next few years. I just think they are so much easier to use and take up less space.

Come to think of it, I'll probably end up ebaying the videos I do have to cover the costs.

the last vid's i bought were friends season 9 and buffy/angel box sets.

i'd miss VHS 'cos it's so handy. though i did have to take a degree in brain surgery with a top up in computer science to opperate my recorder! even then the timer doesnt always work, it seems to like switching between spanish and UK time all by it's self. either that or my dog's cleaver than i am!

If NTL would come out with some kind of Tivo/Sky+ kind of thing, I'd ditch my VCR in a flash. It's only about 4 years old so perhaps I'll be able to sell it to someone with a large VHS collection for a couple of quid

At our house we keep on getting offers of sky for stupidly good deals on sky+ when we're short on cash, when it's one of those months with enough to spare, not an offer in sight

I haven't bought a video in almost 6 years - actually I didn't buy it it was a gift - the Star Wars SE widescreen box set.....no no just remembered I bought a HMV Babylon 5 widescreen box set of all the B5 movies...anyway it's been DVD's since then.
While I love the features and options etc. I absolutely HATE the DVD itself.
The fact that they are so ridiculously sensitive to even the slightest spec of dust...and if there's a finger prints...
It was bad enough trying to look after my CD's....
I also hate the fact that what's contained on DVD's is compressed
Compression = loss of data
And if you want an uncompressed movie with no data loss your only option is the Superbit edition which cost a mint....
Oh and they have no special features other than being the whole film and nothing but...

Prior to DVD's I wouldn't even consider watching a crappy DivX or (S)VCD transfer.....no it's like "whatever"

Bring on Solid State! - only worry with solid state memory is magnets....and pretty much any kind of liquid....and heat....and cold....but at least you don't have to worry about finger prints or scratches



(Edited by Wesley 15/01/2004 15:15)

How much headache scratches cause is down to your player. All the new ones have much improved memory buffer type thingies, and going by experiance of a mate's player, you could clean you discs with a brillo pad for all it cares.

My current one spits out/freezes discs depending on the time of the month/ imbalance in the earth's magnetic field/ place in the lunar cycle, but it is to be replaced *very* shortly.

(Edited by Byron 15/01/2004 15:31)

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by Havoc
At our house we keep on getting offers of sky for stupidly good deals on sky+ when we're short on cash, when it's one of those months with enough to spare, not an offer in sight

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I wish i'd get a offered a good deal!
I looked into Sky+ last week and it would cost me £250
Really isn't worth that much to say i already have Sky.