BL> I *still* don't understand the DVD popularity explosion, but I
BL> admit its' real. Consumers have become dickheads!

JB> DVDs are neat toys, the producers stick extra stuff on the DVD.
JB> you often get comments form the makers of the film and stuff
JB> like that and subtitles and/or soundtracks in weird
JB> languages... 

 Yair... crap.

 It's not just the "toy" thing, either. People actually find DVDs
useful, and more desirable than VCRs!

 I amke a p[oint of laggign 5-years behind the current technology,
but I could always understoand why CD killed cassette audio. The
fuckers were always jamming, and it took *ages* when you wanted to hop
to another track, the way you could do with vinyl. Admittedly, CDs
were driven by publishers looking for a non-recordable medium (like
vinyl), but the CD technology was clearly superior in all ways, and
that's behind us now anyway, where it's actually easier to make up a
re-recorded CD than a cassette.

 Still, DVD defeats me. The increase in quality is not required or
even visible in most cases. With digital techniques, you can *fake* it
better in the standard 5MHz video bandwidth. Everyone talks about the
"extras" (as you do) but that's just PR hype and bullshit. Who cares?
And you can put 6-hours of crap on VHS tape anyway!

 It seems to me that we have reached the stage in our technology
where increases in performance are pointless, yet... each increase
commands a new big market!

JB> soon DVD recorders will be cheap enough to displacce VCRs from
JB> that use, they are simpler mechanically, and so potentially
JB> cheaper.

BL> Yes... which explains why CD writers are so cheap. The thing I
BL> don't like about CDs and DVDs is what everyone else seems to
BL> like so much... their "permanency." To me, CDs are brilliant
BL> for music you like to listen to many times, and data that will
BL> last years (unlike floppies which are always a risk). I really
BL> can't see a use for DVDs except for home movies and how many of
BL> those do you need?

JB> Some naughty people copy commercial DVDs for themseles.

 But why? How many times do you want to watch a movie? I can actually
answer you that, because it's well known in the TV industry... three
times. With a song, there seems to be no limit, you can listen to it
over and over, but a movie is an utter bore when you know what comes
next, just as a book is an utter bore, or (I assume) a video game
(never having played a video game simce Space Invaders).

 I can see a point in owning a large, flat, widescreen TV (status
symbol) but what's the point in a DVD? I *know* publishers are still
searching for a non-recordable medium to protect copyright, and DVD
gives a forlorn hope of digital encryption, but in reality they're
diddling themselves. Ain't gonna happen, anytime soon.

Regards,
Bob

--- BQWK Alpha 0.5