Couple of quick DVD questions:

[tomswift2002]

Vinyl was basically passe for quite a while (outside of the DJ crowd), but experienced a resurgence in recent years as people discovered the qualities of analog audio, with new turntables widely available in both low and extremely high quality, and everywhere in between.

As higher-definition video formats eventually overtake the old ones, I think blu ray may someday be more analogous to something like LaserDisc.

Kor

I think people will still be using VCR's/DVD-recorders for years to come. I know a few people who are on OTA Antennae, and whle they've bought a digital converter, there were very few stand-alone DVR/PVR's, and from what they told me, most of the reviews that they could find mentioned that people had a lot of trouble with them. So there are still people using a VHS and DVD-recorder to "time shift" their programming in standard-definition.

But I think that right now Blu-Ray is already analogous to the Laser Disc, as, while it does have a larger install base, it doesn't have the same base as DVD, and there are many more titles being released on DVD than on Blu-Ray, even when it comes to new releases. Even when I go into stores, the newest movies tend to have more DVD copies than Blu-Ray copies. Even TV shows produced during the era of HD TV see very few being released on Blu-Ray, or in the case of Smallville, only see partial releases. With Smallville. Warner's has said that Seasons 2-5 were done in HD, but aside from Season 5 appearing on the HD-DVD format (but not on Blu-Ray), there has been no Blu-Ray reissue. So I think Blu-Ray's days are numbered, plus I've been noticing how studio's are releasing movies and TV shows on digital before they release the physical media.

As for Fuani's 750,000, that has been from the sale of VHS/DVD combo units. There have been no stand-alone VCR's made since 2008.

 

[Kor]

I think people will still be using VCR's/DVD-recorders for years to come. I know a few people who are on OTA Antennae, and whle they've bought a digital converter, there were very few stand-alone DVR/PVR's, and from what they told me, most of the reviews that they could find mentioned that people had a lot of trouble with them. So there are still people using a VHS and DVD-recorder to "time shift" their programming in standard-definition.

But I think that right now Blu-Ray is already analogous to the Laser Disc, as, while it does have a larger install base, it doesn't have the same base as DVD, and there are many more titles being released on DVD than on Blu-Ray, even when it comes to new releases. Even when I go into stores, the newest movies tend to have more DVD copies than Blu-Ray copies. Even TV shows produced during the era of HD TV see very few being released on Blu-Ray, or in the case of Smallville, only see partial releases. With Smallville. Warner's has said that Seasons 2-5 were done in HD, but aside from Season 5 appearing on the HD-DVD format (but not on Blu-Ray), there has been no Blu-Ray reissue. So I think Blu-Ray's days are numbered, plus I've been noticing how studio's are releasing movies and TV shows on digital before they release the physical media.

As for Fuani's 750,000, that has been from the sale of VHS/DVD combo units. There have been no stand-alone VCR's made since 2008.

I find it interesting that some failed TV shows that get canceled after one season then get released as a DVD set, but not on blu ray, even though they were broadcast in high definition! One recent example is Almost Human. Is it such a big expense to just release it on blu ray?

Kor

 

[tim0122]

I find it interesting that some failed TV shows that get canceled after one season then get released as a DVD set, but not on blu ray, even though they were broadcast in high definition! One recent example is Almost Human. Is it such a big expense to just release it on blu ray?

Kor

Blu-Rays cost more to produce. So that's probably why. The studio has already lost money off the show. They don't want to risk losing more on Blu-rays that nobody might buy. So instead, they'll just release on DVD, which cost less and therefore isn't as much of a risk.

 

[johnnybear]

I'm sure I've read that Fox are no longer producing The Simpsons on DVD anymore and that they will be only available on download from now on! That's a nice way to treat your loyal customers I thought!
JB

 

[tomswift2002]

I find it interesting that some failed TV shows that get canceled after one season then get released as a DVD set, but not on blu ray, even though they were broadcast in high definition! One recent example is Almost Human. Is it such a big expense to just release it on blu ray?

Kor

Not to mention TV shows that didn't fail. I've got Mythbusters Collection 8 DIsc 2 on right now and I would like to see these shows in 1080p, but Discovery has never issued any of the collections on Blu-Ray. And when I compare the 1080p downloads available on iTunes and the PSN store, the quality is about equal to that of the upconverted DVD. Of course, with iTunes and PSN, the files are about 1.0GB in size for the HD, which I would suspect to be more compressed than a Blu-Ray would be ( Collection 8's DVD has 5 episodes per 7.11 GB disc, or about 700 MB per episode, compared to about 300 MB for an iTunes SD 1 hour download, so a Blu-ray I would expect to be around 3.5 - 4 GB per 1 hour show on a 25 GB disc, possible closer to 8.5 - 9GB on a 50 GB Disc for 5 episodes).

But there are some things that I don't buy on Blu-Ray; namely animated programs. I don't really see any visual benefit from animated Blu-Ray's, like A Charlie Brown Christmas or Looney Tunes.

Blu-Rays cost more to produce. So that's probably why. The studio has already lost money off the show. They don't want to risk losing more on Blu-rays that nobody might buy. So instead, they'll just release on DVD, which cost less and therefore isn't as much of a risk.

Not to mention, but some TV shows are not even getting a normal DVD release. The new Tim Allen sitcom has only received a MOD DVD-R release.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

The other thing is that I like carrying DVDs and CDs along when traveling. Airplane!, for example, is my favorite in-flight movie (even though it's only been an "official" in-flight movie on some obscure Mexican airline), and I find that Smetana's Ma Vlast (the whole cycle, played en suite) is the best way I know of to quiet my thoughts and get to sleep in a moving sleeping car (very relaxing, but not at all boring). I carry a portable DVD player with me, that doubles as my travel CD player. If I could upgrade THAT to a Blu-Ray, without spending an arm and a leg, I'd be more inclined, since I could presumably also hook up that portable Blu-Ray to a TV, the same as my existing portable DVD.

 

[tomswift2002]

I'm surprised they were still selling that many annually .

According to this, the reason why Funai is shutting down is due to one of their parts manufacturers stopping production of a specific part. And I don't think it's the video head, as for years in the pro market, Sony's Betacam SP, SX and Digital Betacam decks have used heads designed for metallic tape to play back stuff recorded on oxide Betacam tapes. If it wasn't too much more, Funai could've upgraded the video head from the soft oxide ones to one of the lower metallic heads.

http://kickerdaily.com/posts/2016/07/vcr-machine-bowing-out-of-the-market-japan-to-stop-production/

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Betacam is not VHS, any more than it is U-Matic. (Neither is it Betamax, although it's certainly derived therefrom.) Even if the heads are of compatible specs, drum dimensions might be different.

 

[tomswift2002]

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You might want to check this out. Yeah Betamax has a wider head track than VHS, but for the most part VHS and Betamax used very similar parts.

And with Betamax/Betacam, in the beginning Sony's idea was for Betacam camera operators to be able to use a consumer level Betamax tape should they be in a position where they had used up their pro supply of Betacam tapes.