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Posted by Kevin on 04/10/07 03:00
<leo86@my-deja.com> wrote in message
news:1176168157.510337.164660@n59g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
> On Apr 9, 2:01 pm, "SFTVratings" <SFTVratings_t...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Horizontal Resolution (per picture height)
>>
>> Standard 4:3 ratio:
>> -------------------
>> 240 standard VHS or Betamax
>> 330 cable tv
>> 400 S-VHS or laserdisc
>> 540 DVD
>>
>> Widescreen 16:9
>> ---------------
>> 405 DVD
>> 720 HD 720p
>> 1080 HD 1080i
>>
>> Expressed in a manner that people are more familiar with:
>> 320 x 486 - vhs
>> 533 x 486 - S-vhs / laserdisc
>> 720 x 480 - dvd
>
> So what? I can fast forward through the friggin' trailers and studio/
> distributor logos on a VHS tape. I can't do that on a DVD. I have to
> sit and wait. And if I'm trying to find a line in a subtitle on a
> foreign film, it's much harder to do with a DVD than a VHS tape. If I
> want to stop a tape and resume watching it the next day at that exact
> point, I can do that on a VHS and not on a DVD. If I want to present
> clips to a class, it's easier to cue a tape and show the clip that
> way, whereas with DVDs, you have to wait for the extraneous crap to
> pass and then the menu to appear and then click on this and then
> that...etc., etc., etc. to find your clip all while the class is
> waiting. (Granted, if you have the equipment to burn clips on DVDs,
> fine, but I don't.)
>
> Do I care about the visual quality of a film? Yes, of course, and I
> upgrade to DVD for those films that deserve to be seen in the highest
> quality visual image. Great animation (think PRINCESS MONONOKE, GHOST
> IN THE SHELL and AKIRA) demands the format with the highest quality.
> But, guess what? I watch a lot of movies just to see them, things that
> are not masterpieces and don't really need to be watched in an optimum
> format. I have a lot of Audie Murphy westerns on VHS. I enjoy them a
> great deal, but there's nothing in that collection that's great enough
> to upgrade to DVD. I recently bought four VHS tapes for $10. One of
> them was DEATH WISH 3. Do I really need to see DEATH WISH 3 on HD-DVD?
> No, I don't. A better quality image will not improve that crummy
> movie. I paid $2.50 for it and that was more than enough. My curiosity
> about it has been satisfied. I have a bunch of Italian westerns on
> VHS. They're marginal films and I don't need to upgrade. (I have the
> Leones on DVD, however. Those are masterpieces.)
>
> Even the masterpieces are fine on good quality VHS. I have a DVD of
> THE WILD BUNCH, but when I re-watched it recently, I pulled out the
> letter-boxed VHS because it was handier and I put that in my 13-inch
> TV/VCR combo in the bedroom, laid back and watched the first half,
> leaving the tape in the machine, and finished watching it the next
> night. It was the first time I'd seen it in years and I enjoyed it
> immensely. It's a great movie and while it's greatest on a theater
> screen, the conditions I watched it in fit my mood and my
> circumstances and served me just fine.
>
> To all the people who spend tens of thousands of dollars on high-tech,
> state-of-the-art home entertainment systems and the newest formats and
> all and then use it to watch bad Hollywood CGI movies or current TV
> shows I ask, what's the point? Watching something that's actually good
> on a 13-inch TV set is a much more meaningful and enriching experience
> than watching crap on a 50-inch screen with surround sound and high
> resolution. But Techies never show any interest in content, do they?
> And the rest of us, those of us who actually care about the quality of
> CONTENT (i.e. storyline, characterization, subject, acting,
> camerawork, composition, production design, music, etc.) are forced to
> play catch-up as the formats WE like become obsolete. And we have to
> adopt the formats YOU insist on. And the average consumer just follows
> along like a sheep.
>
> Oh, and I still listen to music on audiocassettes played on a Sony
> Walkman. And guess what? It sounds just as good as the sound on a CD.
> (I don't know how it compares to MP3's because I haven't gotten that
> far yet, have I?)
What's your point? That you don't know how to operate a DVD player? How
long do you expect to be able to watch those VHS tapes? Are you going to
watch your favorite movie a couple of times a year? If so, be prepared to
see that tape degrade before your very eyes. DVD's don't lose audio or
video quality with repeated viewings. Tapes do. I know for a fact, because
I used to have over 250 VHS tapes in my library. They are gone now,
replaced with DVD's.
My music collection spans a period of over 40 years. I have replaced all my
vinyl and tapes with CD's. I literally wore out a copy of "Sticky Fingers"
by The Rolling Stones. Same goes for "Who's Next" by The Who and "Dark Side
of The Moon" by Pink Floyd. All replaced with the CD versions.
As the horse was made obsolete by the automobile, audio and video formats
will be made obsolete by more advanced, higher resolution, higher quality
formats. Get over it. And learn how to operate your DVD player.
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