Which do you like?

[Indiana_Jones]

Wanted to watch a move last night, own the VHS and DVD, and I thought it'd be fun to watch the VHS. I like the little crackles you can see on the screen sometimes and the full screen is cooler then the widescreen at times. Just good to take a little step back in time lol. :drinkup:

So what do you like to use? DVD or VHS? :)

-Indy

[Waylander]

Those New fangled 8inch by 8 inch laser disk. Look like a jumbo sized floppy disk. That's what I use.

[Sparky Bills]

I dont own a VHS player.
We got a PS2 and an Xbox, so can only watch DVD's :yes:

[Eurygnomes]

Somewhere in the boxes that are strewn around our house at present, are three VHS machines. However, there are only two of us living there. And we each have a DVD player too. ANd there was one left there by previous tenant. Soo...we're hooked up digitally man...

But some of my stuff is ONLY on VHS...

[placidfemme]

We prefer DVD's... because we don't have a video player :(

*has 3 or 4 of my fav movies on VHS and can't watch them*

[matthewt]

I have a dvd recorder with a 160Gb hard disk. Means I can record TV like a normal video recorder but I can hold anywhere up to 200 hours on the hard drive. Once I've watched it I just deleted the recording. No tapes, no delays, no hassle. Also means I can record a program and start watching it while it's still recording. Lots of other handy features so we wouldn't live without it now.

I hardly watch "live" tv any more. Just record everything and watch it when the kids are in bed and we have time to watch it. Quite often we start at 8pm with the news and slowly catch up the night. Because it has a DVD recorder built in I've used it to burn all my 8mm cam-corder tapes onto DVD.

In terms of movies I mainly watch DVD's for widescreen, 5.1 sound and picture quality.

[bugjuice]

I prefer DVD cos the quality is often sharper (bit of perfectionism coming out there), and I like the extra features often on DVDs like outtakes or makings etc. Plus the sound quality can be pretty awesome with the right set up.. but I don't have surround yet.. :weep:

[Beemer]

I have a dvd recorder with a 160Gb hard disk. Means I can record TV like a normal video recorder but I can hold anywhere up to 200 hours on the hard drive. Once I've watched it I just deleted the recording. No tapes, no delays, no hassle. Also means I can record a program and start watching it while it's still recording. Lots of other handy features so we wouldn't live without it now.

Ooh, I'd like one of those! We had an old VCR and only owned one or two DVDs (won them or got them free with books, etc.) but then the VCR died so we decided to replace it with a combo VCR/DVD player. Because we were broke, we got one through Fly Buys - not the model they have now, the one before it. It's a Samsung, so thought it would be okay, but it's crap! The controls are hard to figure out, the manual worse than useless, you can't programme it to record the same programme at the same time every week or day, and the time elapsed function seems to zero itself every time you turn it off - so you end up rewinding the tape to the beginning and back to where the last programme ended just to be sure how much room you have left! I hate it! As for quality, the only DVD we have watched is a Crusty Demons one so it doesn't really compare to a movie!

[Wolf]

Have shit-loads of VHS tapes but until recently we were without a VHS player, got an expanding collection of DVDs and I want to get everything i have on tape on DVD as I prefer widescreen and the picture quality - as a for instance, in the fire swamp in Princess Bride, you can scarcely see a thing in places as it's too dark and it wasn't til i got it on DVD that I noticed you could see sand stuck to their faces after the encounter with the lighning sand - the resolution and light level of the VHS copy was not sufficient to show it. Batman on VHS was a nightmare - night-time streets of Burton's dark and dingy Gotham City and a guy dressed in black - couldn't make out what was happening a lot of the time...

[matthewt]

Ooh, I'd like one of those! We had an old VCR and only owned one or two DVDs (won them or got them free with books, etc.) but then the VCR died so we decided to replace it with a combo VCR/DVD player.

Once the hard drive DVD recorders drop in price (say 1-2 years) that will really be the end of VCR. Provided you can dub onto a DVD then it's all good.

Sky are bringing out a recorder with a 160Gb HD and 2 digital tuners built in. Sounds great but without the DVD writer you can't get anything off the unit.

[Waylander]

Sometime soon I will find an adaptor for the second monitor output on my computer to AV cables (the Yellow, red and white) so that I can run all video from my laptop on my TV and have a universal region dvd player easy.

[TerminalAddict]

I have a dvd player that rarely get used, and a VHS somewhere in storage.

I have a tivo recorder .... kicks the arse outta DVD recorder :) ..
and I have a DVI and VGA input in the telly so the HT PC (mac mini) gets plugged in to watch DivX or Xvid, or High Res DVD :)

[Big Dave]

Huh? What Sky Sport channel was it on?

[phaedrus]

I have a dvd recorder with a 160Gb hard disk. Means I can record TV like a normal video recorder but I can hold anywhere up to 200 hours on the hard drive. Once I've watched it I just deleted the recording. No tapes, no delays, no hassle. Also means I can record a program and start watching it while it's still recording. Lots of other handy features so we wouldn't live without it now.

I hardly watch "live" tv any more. Just record everything and watch it when the kids are in bed and we have time to watch it. Quite often we start at 8pm with the news and slowly catch up the night. Because it has a DVD recorder built in I've used it to burn all my 8mm cam-corder tapes onto DVD.

In terms of movies I mainly watch DVD's for widescreen, 5.1 sound and picture quality.

good isn't it. what software do you use? my favourite is mythtv (http://mythtv.org)

[Drunken Monkey]

VHS doesn't support dolby digital 5.1, so watching scratchy tapes would make 4 of my speakers expensive vase holders.
I hate it when the tracking goes out on old VCRs as well.
Death to VHS!!!!

[Zed]

...I like the little crackles you can see on the screen sometimesLOL you're not serious? Little crackles vs. A perfect smooth screen at all times - no comparison.

I like what Drunken Monkey said, "Death to VHS!!!!". But I'm not that passionate about either really.:rofl:

[pete376403]

DVDs - have two players. The video recorder still gets used for time shifting, but not for watching rented moies.

BTW Anyone remember the Philips Video 2000 format? (Double sided tape cartridge much like a music cassette, but bigger. Four hours per side)
I was sooo close to buying one, but got a Sharp VHS cos it was front loading where everything else (icluding the Philips) was top loading. The Sharp was a bargain at just under $3000.

[inlinefour]

Although I am well versed in VHS video use and record all important motorsports and sci-fi, I much prefer the DVD format, esp when I can record DVD on the computor :devil2:

[Slingshot]

I've just got the special edition Tog Gun DVD set. The DTS 6.1 encoding sounds absolutly mint when the AV Receiver is cranked up to about 18Db.
The opening sequence is wicked!

That's what I like about DVD, it's all about the sound!

[Indiana_Jones]

That's what I like about DVD, it's all about the sound!

I'm not into sound that much, some people I know are pretty hard-out lol.
I guess I might get surround sound when I leave home, one day :D

-Indy

[pyrocam]

Niether, computer in lounge, DIVX or XVID

[Magua]

I'm not into sound that much, some people I know are pretty hard-out lol.
I guess I might get surround sound when I leave home, one day :D

-Indy

It's all about the sound dude. In saying that, dvds are too fucking quiet. The price to pay for quality?

[Mooch]

It's all about the sound dude. In saying that, dvds are too fucking quiet. The price to pay for quality?

They are have a greater dynamic range, just turn it up more for the vocals and get blown out of the room during the loud bits.
Seriously though , most DVD players let you change the dynamic range , go through the menus and find the something like "night" setting" or dynamic range on it's lowest setting , the should equalize the volume a bit more.( won't sound so quiet).

For movie nostalgia you can't beat the old 8mm film projectors, jittery picture, scratchy sound, has that really "retro" feel.
Mind you , I can't wait for "blue ray" or "enhanced DVD" 1080i formats , the picture is absolutely stunning , lots more pixels per frame , should be able to see the smoke coming of the motogp bikes tyres out of the turns.

[Mooch]

I'm not into sound that much, some people I know are pretty hard-out lol.
I guess I might get surround sound when I leave home, one day :D

-Indy

Mate , you haven't lived until your seen Topgun on a large hometheatre rig , makes it a completely different movie , the opening scenes will blow you away (Literally) . :Punk:

[Slingshot]

Mate , you haven't lived until your seen Topgun on a large hometheatre rig , makes it a completely different movie , the opening scenes will blow you away (Literally) . :Punk:

Agreed...love it as the music changes from the Top Gun theme to rock.

[Storm]

DVD quality is good, however full marks to VHS on the widescreen- I am bloody sick of missing half of the screen due to dvd's. Not all of us think that widescreen is all that and a bag of chips

[Waylander]

DVD quality is good, however full marks to VHS on the widescreen- I am bloody sick of missing half of the screen due to dvd's. Not all of us think that widescreen is all that and a bag of chips
Get yourself a wide screen TV. Then it would be the VHS that doesn't use the whole screen. Or better yet, get a projector. Then your veiwing screen is so big it doesn't matter if it's letterbox or full.

[Mooch]

DVD quality is good, however full marks to VHS on the widescreen- I am bloody sick of missing half of the screen due to dvd's. Not all of us think that widescreen is all that and a bag of chips

It's a trade off , your actually missing 1/3 t 1/2 the orginal film as the sides are cropped off to make it fit in 4:3 TV format. I'd rather see the orginal than the cropped version.

[Warr]

Just have computer with a 21'' screen and a TV tuner card.
Along with a VCR, that covers most things.
Place isnt big enough for more junk. The only addition I could see as benificial would be a projector.
Wide screen would be nice sometimes :)

[MikeL]

Death to VHS!!!!

Don't worry, it's dying...
But I for one will shed a silent tear when it goes. I've worked with pretty well every videotape format, consumer and professional, from the 1/2" B&W open-reel of the 1970s, to DV-Cam now, including the Philips V2000, Betamax and a funny little 1/4" cassette produced under the Technicolor name I think. For many years in the 80s I did event-recording using a JVC portable VHS which never let me down. The VHS system in terms of image stability (jitter) was arguably the worst of the domestic systems, but mechanically the mechanisms were rugged and reliable. If you didn't go beyond 2nd generation the quality was quite acceptable.
VHS was what made video affordable and user-friendly for the general public, and despite its imperfections I have a soft spot for it.
P.S. when I say "affordable", I perhaps should have added "relatively" - at least in the early years. My first VHS deck - the fabulous JVC HR7700 - retailed for $3,200.

[matthewt]

good isn't it. what software do you use? my favourite is mythtv (http://mythtv.org)


No software, it's a Sony home cinema unit (RDR-HX900). I needed something the Mrs could operate, fiddling around with a PC would never work with her.

[Indiana_Jones]

Mate , you haven't lived until your seen Topgun on a large hometheatre rig , makes it a completely different movie , the opening scenes will blow you away (Literally) . :Punk:

Would like to give it a go, and I would like to see Titanic with some nice sound, like at the flicks, way cooler :yes:

-Indy

[TerminalAddict]

No software, it's a Sony home cinema unit (RDR-HX900). I needed something the Mrs could operate, fiddling around with a PC would never work with her.
:weird: I keep telling people about TIVO ... but nobody listens
:nya:

[matthewt]

:weird: I keep telling people about TIVO ... but nobody listens
:nya:

A friend of mine has a Tivo setup, says it emails him more than his friends. I suppose it's not popular here because you need a reasonable amount of techo knowledge to get it setup. Probably not that tricky but beyond most non-IT types.

[zadok]

DVD. No contest. :love:

[Slingshot]

:weird: I keep telling people about TIVO ... but nobody listens
:nya:

A friend of mine is building one...just seems like way to much hassel to me. There's normally better things to do than watch TV. Even now when I record things on the VCR I find that most of the time I never get around to watching it.

[pyrocam]

actually. what would you rather see, a vhs with the standard degradation or a DVD with a few scratches on it.

at least VHS is actually watchable and doesnt skip and stuff.

[Drunken Monkey]

...Or better yet, get a projector. Then your veiwing screen is so big it doesn't matter if it's letterbox or full.

The projector still needs to support widescreen - some don't, including mine unfortunately. It does display a slightly wider image than the T.V., but there is a difference between true widescreen display and letterboxing.

[John]

actually. what would you rather see, a vhs with the standard degradation or a DVD with a few scratches on it.

at least VHS is actually watchable and doesnt skip and stuff.
vhs makes me sick at least I could copy the dvd and fix up the tracks.

[Mooch]

actually. what would you rather see, a vhs with the standard degradation or a DVD with a few scratches on it.

at least VHS is actually watchable and doesnt skip and stuff.

Good point , but I hate it when you need to open the VCR to cut out a tape that’s given up and tangled it's self around most of the insides , not to mention belts that wear out , and heads that do the same thing.
Probably watch one tape to 100 DVD's now.

[MikeL]

The fact that several major manufacturers have announced that they are ceasing production of VHS decks shows clearly that this is an obsolete format. Also the cost of VCRs now shows that the manufacturers have long since recovered all their R&D costs and got the maximum profits out of the technology.
What I mourn to a certain extent with the passing of videotape (apart from a certain nostalgic affection for a format which was a big part of my life for many years), is the replacement of a technology which, although mechanically complex, was understandable by anyone with a moderate grasp of mechanics and analogue electronics, and in which malfunctions were reasonably easy to diagnose, with a new one which works superbly most of the time, but when it fails, leaves you utterly perplexed.
In the course of my involvement in professional video production I would have produced and distributed something in the region of 10,000 VHS tapes, and the number of customers who have come back with a faulty tape would be a couple of dozen at the most. Last year I went into DVD-R. The experience (somewhere between a severe headache and a minor nightmare) left me with renewed affection for grotty old VHS...

[vifferman]

We've had our VHS player (Mitsubishi Black Diamond summat or other) for ten years, and had no problems at all with it - never even had to clean the heads (whereas the CD player we bought the same year has had to have its laser replaced a couple of years ago, and another CD player we had lasted less than 2 years). I bought it with some 'on call' money I was paid one Easter, and the criteria were that it had to be easy to use, have an on-screen menu, and multiple heads.

While it still goes fine, it's a bit crap quality-wise, given we've upgraded everything else, so eventually it will make way for a HDD/DVD recorder. It's a bit stink watching something on a 5.1 135W/channel system, when whatever you've recorded isn't even in stereo...