The End of DVD's - Does it also freak you out?

[Thiago]

Guys, I'm 20 years old. Fact is, by the end of my lifetime (if everything goes well) DVD's will probably be dead and buried. But I spend most of the extra money I get in them, and the thought that in like 20 years all the money I invested was worth nothing (some new 'ultra' digital media might be released and will make DVD's look like , blargh, VHS) and I'll have to buy all the movies I like again. And that's a loooot. I think you guys can understand what I'm talking about. Well, anyway, I know DVD's will last LONG, I mean, VHS is not even finished yet. But that thought kinda lingers in my mind. What do you guys think?

[Raul Duke]

yea man, also everyone says eventually FS arent gonna play on most tvs, so I buy all WS versions, and I dont have any huge tvs in my house, so it's actually pretty dumb.

[Saruman]

It will be a long time before something beats out dvd. I think investing in them now is pretty safe for the long run.

[Cronos]

not at all bothered, theyll last a long time and unless one of them breaks or a really good improvement in picture or something happens, there wont be any need for me to upgrade

[Indy in IN]

I can see HD-DVD, but how friggin clear does a picture have to be? I don't want to see every zit on Tom Cruise's ass, ok?

[Moviefan1234]

I think it's going to be a long time until something replaces them, and when it does there's no doubt in my mind they will be DVD compatible.

[Hot-Handed Fury]

Originally posted by Raul Duke
yea man, also everyone says eventually FS arent gonna play on most tvs, so I buy all WS versions, and I dont have any huge tvs in my house, so it's actually pretty dumb.

Of course FS will play on WS tvs, but why not simply use the zoom feature on your DVD player if you want the movie's frame to fit your tv?

Originally posted by Saruman
It will be a long time before something beats out dvd. I think investing in them now is pretty safe for the long run.

Originally posted by Cronos
not at all bothered, theyll last a long time and unless one of them breaks or a really good improvement in picture or something happens, there wont be any need for me to upgrade

Well, how about sometime in the next 2 years? Blu-Ray technology and HD-DVD are already receiving lots of support from all the major studios, and the picture are audio quality are devastatingly good(according to those who've seen the demos). The Playstation 3 will use Blu-Ray technology, and if you buy one of those, then you'll automatically upgrade to a next-gen movie player.


Originally posted by Indy in IN
I can see HD-DVD, but how friggin clear does a picture have to be? I don't want to see every zit on Tom Cruise's ass, ok?

Its not so much about clarity as it is about getting an un-compressed video & audio track. Current Dual layer DVDs can only hold about 8 Gigs of data, and Blu-Ray discs will hold about 50 Gb; scientists already made a disc thats capable of holding 1000 Gb of data, so hopefully the SUPERBIT discs of the future will use something like that.

Originally posted by Moviefan1234
I think it's going to be a long time until something replaces them, and when it does there's no doubt in my mind they will be DVD compatible.

2-3 years, there will be another huge format war between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. Its really stupid too, because some studios back HD-DVD and some only back BluRay. But with the Playstation 3 using BluRay technology, I'm sure most people will go for that one and eventually all the studios will switch to it.

[Thiago]

2-3 years?! hahah you're reeeeealy pushing it, man. DVDs are still stablishing themselves in most parts of the world, and they're being very sucessful. They're actually making people collect movies around the world, that has never happened before. Here in Brazil, DVD's were released in 1999, but it's safe to say that 2004 was the best year for DVD's. This Christmas, everywhere you go there's a store with a sign "Buy 2 DVD's, win one for free". That doesn't mean VHS is dead. And it won't for the next 5 years AT LEAST. DVD's, as we know them, are going to last AT LEAST 20 years. That's a Fact.

[Slim_JGE]

This bothers me sometimes, but I don't think about it too much as it's gonna be a while before DVDs go the way of the VHS. We'll get more advanced DVDs before they go away (blue-ray, HD, etc. etc.) and I'm sure the players will be retro-compatable.

[Briare Rabbit]

Blu-ray and the like will come a long, like people said, and upgrade current dvd's but they will never replace them entirely. I mean, it's high resolution, and the studios will put some movies on these disks, but they wont go back and redo every title like they did for DVD. It isnt a practical thought.

And the whole 1000 MB thing, I read an article, and most people think that disks with such memory capabilities will never be used. They'd be far too expensive.

[SkyNet]

ha im also 20 years old and have spent a shit load of $ on my dvd collection!

I figure its close to or even over 10 Grand. (A lil less then 500 DVD's... $10-$20 a pop... you do the math)

it does worry me that a new format will replace DVD, in the form of Picture and Sound quality. But as far as Extra Features go i think DVD is safe until im well into my 60's! I was never big on Picture and Sound Quality, i mean, i dont want my movies soundiong and looking like shit.. but id much prefer a DVD packed with hour long documentaries about how they made the flick as opposed to a Superbit!

Too bad theyd ont have a DVD Collectors Anonymous... DVDCA (one letter away from a porno position and the name of Trey Parker and Matt Stones Band)!

[Misanthrope]

Here is a thought: There are already better compression technologies for digital videos like mpeg 4 and DivX.

9gb is ALOT of space, If someone still wants better quality or more runtime and space for extra features without sacrificing quality, why not keep the DVD disk technology and improve the video compression technology?

I know divx does loose some quality and doesnt has the best seeking abilities for chapters, but i mean it cant be that hard to put money into compression.

This whole blueray and other formats seem like a waste of space, A double layer dvd can fit alot of information, why is people not trying to become better at compression?

[Nachokoolaid]

Originally posted by Hot-Handed Fury




2-3 years, there will be another huge format war between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. Its really stupid too, because some studios back HD-DVD and some only back BluRay. But with the Playstation 3 using BluRay technology, I'm sure most people will go for that one and eventually all the studios will switch to it.

Yeah, but that's irrelavent, because Blu-Ray still plays DVDs. In other words, it's backwards compatible, so your current DVD will not be obsolete. It's just that the new discs that use the technology will be better quality, etc.

One more thing, a lot more people will have the next X-Box than the PS3, so that won't be much of a factor either.

[Patrick Bateman]

Originally posted by SkyNet
I was never big on Picture and Sound Quality, i mean, i dont want my movies soundiong and looking like shit.. but id much prefer a DVD packed with hour long documentaries about how they made the flick as opposed to a Superbit!

Yes. I completely agree.

[Thunder]

I'm not really worried because of a few things:

1) blu ray and hd-dvd will support dvd's, it's suicide not to do it.

2) The new formats will re-release all the old movies we know and love. The question is: do we care? Do you honestly really need to have a copy of Ghost Dad in hd-dvd? Little Monsters with blu ray technology? How about any PTA film? Of course you don't (but you'd still probably buy it). The fact if you own the DVD, you won' t be buying the new format unless it's SUPER AMAZING. (ie, new features, new proper transfers etc etc).

VHS to DVD was a natural progresion, VHS just looks garbage when placed next to DVD, but do you really need to rebuy all those movies again in a new format because it'll look a little nicer? Please. There will be some movies we'll rebuy because we know and love them, but the vast majority we'll simply say "i've got the dvd, do i really give a fuck about a new blooper reel? Sure i'll pay another 40 bucks for it!"

3) it's still years away. IF the rumors are holding true, we are on the verge of a beta-vhs war all over again. Both sides have equal support, and you know dam well the public is NOT going to be buying two different players just to watch disney on one side, and time warner on the other. They'll have to sort that out before anything even happens.

Personally, I think Playstation should stick with blu-ray, and movies go with hd-dvd. But some things are going to have to change. Namely, getting the 95.5% of people to actually purchase a hd tv, along with the new player is going to be incredibly tough, especially when the public suddenly realizes how completely fucked they just got over the quick change in formats.

We'll have to see. Personally, i'm keeping my dvd's. I'll be buying new editions of LOTR, Braveheart and a few old favorities, but I can live with my current transfer of Don't Be A Menace to South central, thank you.

[thedudeman69]

Nah. It wouldn't scare me. The Apcolypse, now that is a other story. :D

[Fisting Ackbar]

Well, good thing that I don't buy many DVD's. :cool:

[Damone]

All the talk about new technology always reminds me of the scene from Men In Black when Tommy Lee Jones is showing Will Smith all the technology they get from aliens and when he holds up what he says will eventually replace CDs and remarks, "Looks like I'll have to buy the White Album again." :)

[Thunder]

Originally posted by Nachokoolaid
Yeah, but that's irrelavent, because Blu-Ray still plays DVDs. In other words, it's backwards compatible, so your current DVD will not be obsolete. It's just that the new discs that use the technology will be better quality, etc.

One more thing, a lot more people will have the next X-Box than the PS3, so that won't be much of a factor either.

Uh no, no they won't.

Do you really want to compare X-Box sales vs. ps2? PS3 is going to outsell anything and anyone out there for many years to come, please don't fool yourself into believing xbox2 is going to beat it. It might look better yes, outsell? No.

[WhatsInaName]

Wow!

I accidentally pumped into this thread 6 years after its creation. It's funny to read how people think about the future of things and then get to see how things actually turned out.

I think most people now have HDTVs. Blu-ray won the battle against HD-DVD, while ironically, the PS3 is not the huge success its predecessor was.

I upgraded to an expensive HDTV 2 years ago, and now the electronics companies and the studios tell me that I need another expensive one to watch the new 3D films.

This time I'll be a little wiser and wait on the 3D thing to see if it'll actually still be here on the long run, and/or wait for the prices to go down and the technology to mature.

[The Postmaster General]

Best bump ever.

[Monotreme]

My hope is that DVDs will be eternal, and even 40 years into the future when all media will be digital, it'll still be "cool" and "retro" to watch good old-fashioned DVDs, sort of like how it's cool to have a record player and to play vinyl records today even though that technology has been dead for like 40 years. :)

[legato]

Not if Paramount has its way. They've iced almost all of its classic films from DVD. MGM is doing something similar, if for different reasons.

[Badbird]

Yeah, and FM radio is going to die. And the CD is going to die.

Oh, wait. None of that happened either.

[Cosimo]

i have like 4 dvds

[oh-dae-su]

Hmm 6 years later and...i'm still using DVD!

[athf1980]

dvd's won't die because most blu-ray players can play dvd movie which helps.

[hoojib127]

All the talk about new technology always reminds me of the scene from Men In Black when Tommy Lee Jones is showing Will Smith all the technology they get from aliens and when he holds up what he says will eventually replace CDs and remarks, "Looks like I'll have to buy the White Album again." :)

Yeah, I think it's more disturbing that it just took a little over 10 years for DVD to be usurped by something else, whereas, after nearly 25 years, NOTHING has still officially (physically) usurped CDs. :confused:

[Badbird]

Yeah, I think it's more disturbing that it just took a little over 10 years for DVD to be usurped by something else, whereas, after nearly 25 years, NOTHING has still officially (physically) usurped CDs. :confused:

DVD hasn't been overtaken by anything. Blu Ray is basically a more luxurious version of the same thing, and it only has a fraction of the market. Yes, it has grown, but until there is an HDTV in every room of the house, and Blu Rays drop dramatically in price, DVDs will still be the dominant media.

The reason CDs have never been replaced is that there is simply no need to. The media is near perfect for size & sound quality. CD players are everywhere and CDs are just too damn cheap to manufacture. They will eventually be replaced by an all digital media, as will movies, but you're talking about 20-30 years down the road for an infrastructure to be in place for something like that to happen.

[AspectRatio1986]

Read through the thread and I was just amazed how people knew about Blu Ray in Two thousand and fucking 4. I had no clue about the technology until at least mid 2006...finally adopting the format in mid 2007 with the initial 300 release. But I did some quick research and saw that they were developing the tech in the early part of the decade and released the first "player" in 2003 for almost $4,000. No movies were ever released for that system though...hilarious thread bump because I've never seen it before.

[oh-dae-su]

While Blu-Ray is popular, I don't think it'll replace DVD. Let's be honest, Blu-Ray is not much of an upgrade from DVD other than high definition. It's not like the jump from DVD to VHS. The leap from that was you can now fit the movie along with bonus features, scene selections, and language selections on a compact disc. On VHS, there was some trailers before it, the feature film, then maybe a documentary or music video or whatever at the end. Blu-Ray hasn't done anything that wowed me yet. Unless you're not paying attention to the movie and just thinking "wow, that looks great in high definition" you'll forget it's in high definition after 5 minutes. I don't see whats so great about Blu-Ray. I own 2 because I own a PS3, but if I wanna buy a movie, i'm sticking to DVD.

[Flickman]

While Blu-Ray is popular, I don't think it'll replace DVD. Let's be honest, Blu-Ray is not much of an upgrade from DVD other than high definition. It's not like the jump from DVD to VHS. The leap from that was you can now fit the movie along with bonus features, scene selections, and language selections on a compact disc. On VHS, there was some trailers before it, the feature film, then maybe a documentary or music video or whatever at the end. Blu-Ray hasn't done anything that wowed me yet. Unless you're not paying attention to the movie and just thinking "wow, that looks great in high definition" you'll forget it's in high definition after 5 minutes. I don't see whats so great about Blu-Ray. I own 2 because I own a PS3, but if I wanna buy a movie, i'm sticking to DVD.

You must not have a large HDTV cuz if you did you wouldnt be saying this cuz its simply not true at all.

Watching Blu Ray on a 42 inch HDTV is even a difference compared to dvd. Slight, but still...When you move up to 50 inches or over...you WILL see a big difference. Im on a 120 inch projector and blu ry compared to dvd is no less than an 80% bump in picture quality. It IS literally like going from VHS to DVD..no shit.

[Kevin Smith fan]

The end of DVDs does scare me somewhat, but I have a feeling the next big movement with watching movies will be something resembling what IPODS have done for music. Blu Rays are basically the equivalent of those obnoxious laser discs that came out in the '90s. There's no real technological advancement and they'll likely be forgotten about in 10-15 years.

[oh-dae-su]

You must not have a large HDTV cuz if you did you wouldnt be saying this cuz its simply not true at all.

Watching Blu Ray on a 42 inch HDTV is even a difference compared to dvd. Slight, but still...When you move up to 50 inches or over...you WILL see a big difference. Im on a 120 inch projector and blu ry compared to dvd is no less than an 80% bump in picture quality. It IS literally like going from VHS to DVD..no shit.

Uh, I actually do own a 50 inch Panasonic and I do see the difference, but it's not impressing me.

Here are some exampls of leaps.

This
http://8bitx.com/16bittourney/block03/castlevania4block.jpg
to this
http://www.emuparadise.org/roms/psx/Castlevania%20Symphony%20of%20the%20Night/disc.jpg
is a big leap.


This
http://cdn3.ioffer.com/img/item/451/180/06/107710917_tp.jpg
to this
http://www.copertinedvd.net/F/Fight%20club%20-%20dvd.jpg
is a big leap.


This
http://www.covershut.com/cd_covers/Kiss-Kiss-Bang-Bang-2005-Cd-Cover-2372.jpg
to this
http://www.covershut.com/covers/Rocky-Front-Cover-35490.jpg
is NOT big leap.

Get over yourself and realize DVD is here to stay

[Terminal_83]

DVD's will still be around because while people are adapting to Blu Ray, it's become a very very very gradual process. It doesn't bother me.

[KcMsterpce]

I have to cross my eyes at the incredulous claims of DVD being no different from blu-ray.
The audio is not only a blast above DVD, but the video is ridiculous-better. Even a not-so-great blu-ray still outshines a great DVD. To argue otherwise is just plain wrong.
It's another thing altogether if the consumer CARES about the quality difference - or even notices. I don't mind those who say that - but the change IS there, and it's huge.

As for the prices... I guess people just refuse to pay attention to what the majority of blu-rays cost, 'cause it's not much different (and even cheaper in a lot of cases) from DVDs.

But this all turns into a circular argument that leads to fucking nowhere. I just think it's frustrating that people won't open their eyes and/or think that just because they aren't noticing the change that it's not there.


With the rapid advancement in technology - especially with PCs, audio/video compression, quality of home movie viewing, and storage space capabilities - it's unfair to think that DVD could reign supreme as the ultimate home video product as long as VHS was able to do.
Moore's Law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law) has been a huge contributor to the advances in home movie technology as well.

Whether or not there are enough customers to CARE about better quality shit than DVD is another question. There are people like me out there, and the blu-ray market is actually doing better year-after-year in sales than DVD did against VHS.
A boon to BR is that it's compatible with DVD, unlike those who had only VCRs and were forced to buy an entirely different, incompatible product (for the first time in their lives, too), meaning they'd have to replace all their VHS tapes.

Ten years in the technology age - especially from 1998-2008 - is like a century. I have been a computer geek since the 80's, and just thinking about what's changed over the last 14 years makes me freak out a little. The switch from analog to digital with home video means that as the PC market moves forward, so does the way we watch movies.

[Badbird]

I have to cross my eyes at the incredulous claims of DVD being no different from blu-ray.

I do the same when I hear people talk about DVDs as if they suddenly look and sound like shit.

Yeah, I do see the difference between DVD and Blu Ray. I just don't care.

[WhatsInaName]

Best bump ever.

Well, thank you :D

On another note, regarding the jump from DVD to Blu-ray, having a 46 inch full HDTV I can tell you that the difference in the audio/video quality IS huge. Yet, I'm definitely not going to replace every DVD I have with a new Blu-ray.

I guess it all boils down to whether you care that much about the quality of the AV output. For me it's very important especially in movies with great visuals and/or impressive visual and sound effects. These are the movies for which I would be replacing the dvds with blu-rays.

[hard_candy20]

I won't worry. All of my standard dvd's look amazing on my HDTV, so I will continue to buy standard dvd's unless I really want the bluray. Granted, bluray has come quite a bit in the past few years, seeing as a lot of blurays are at decent prices, as are the bluray players, doesn't necessarily mean that dvd is going to vanish. If it does, I don't see it happening anytime soon.