DVD, Tape Or Video Disk?

[Outpost4]

I bought about 30 episodes of TOS on VHS tapes back in the early 1980s. I only bought my favorites as they were so expensive - around $500 for what I purchased. I bought the movies on LaserDisc. Fortunately there were only three at that time so I only spent another $100. Today you could buy all ten movies, all of TOS, TNG and maybe even all of Enterprise for the $600 I spent on 30 episodes and 3 movies back 25 years ago.

 

[Jeri]

We bought those Columbia House VHS tapes through the mail club -- two episodes on each tape, at $25/tape per month -- at a time in our lives when our budget for groceries was $35/week. Priorities!

 

[TrekNut87]

DVD. I got rid of my VHS collection several months ago.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I have all of Trek on DVD, except for TOS. I'm waiting for the inevitable Blu-Ray version of TOS remastered.

 

[Sector 7]

^I love the sig line!

For Christmas I gave my niece my entire VHS collection (about 250 tapes). She just had her 2nd child and needed the entertainment.
I still have over 250 movies on DVD because I replaced many of my tapes. I am slowly building my Star Trek collection on alternate media.

 

[BarryWaddle]

I'm in the process of converting my Trek tapes to DVD...And sometimes after 6 or 8 hours of it, I go a lil nuts, having to take a day break in between...Either that or I switch to a different series midstream.

Yeah...

 

[Jptrekker]

I have all the movies on DVD and the animated series on DVD.

I have TMP on laserdisc, and as far as I know, it's the only release of the original theatrical version (instead of the "special edition") of the film in letterbox format, so it may stay around for a while just because its unique. STVI on LD as well.

I kept my VHS of the first 5 movies and I have a screener of Generations, the first 5 when put together on the shelf make that nifty picture of the Enterprise.

I'll get TOS remastered when they finally decide on a HD format to release them in.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I'll get TOS remastered when they finally decide on a HD format to release them in.

Well, now they have no choice, it's Blu-Ray or nothing, since it won the format war.

 

[Harvey]

Assuming a bigger, better format doesn't arrive, but I expect it will be a decade before that happens.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Assuming a bigger, better format doesn't arrive, but I expect it will be a decade before that happens.

Agreed. Blu-Ray is a proven hit, they'd be a fool not to release TOS-R that way.

I mean, they must think that there's *some* market for TOS in HD, because that's why TOS-R exists in the first place! And they bothered releasing the first season in some HD format - it just happened to be the losing one. So I think that bodes well for a Blu-Ray release.

 

[Nemesis]

I have everything on DVD (and than I mean, everything).
All series, all seasons (even TAS) than I have all movies SE editons on DVD.
I didn't bought VHS series because I found them extremely expensive for just two episodes on one tape. I've bought several boxes like the data box, seven of nine box, greatest battle box, time travel box (need I go on) I even have some movies on VHS. I won't sell them or destroy them. It's something special. The only thing of Star Trek I collect are the series and movies and some books. All other stuff is less important.

 

[Forbin]

I've got a little of each.
Still use VHS for recording TV shows to watch later. Got about a million blank tapes, so may as well use them.
Still miss my Betamax, it was much better.

We still have about 100 Laserdiscs. Just bought a reconditioned player to replace the old one that finally died. Too much investment in the media to scrap it.

Slowly replacing movies on VHS with DVD copies. Not in any hurry, as long as we have a working VCR. Any new purchases are, obviously, DVD.

Of course "home movies" are getting to be a problem. Never mind my Dad's 8mms and my own super-8s that I may never be able to watch again, even the older VHS home videos are rotting away. I've out a few on DVD, but time, equipment and money don't permit doing that a lot.

 

[Jeri]

Forbin, do you mean you and your dad took 8mm movies of Star Trek on TV? Or just referring to that technology in general...

 

[Forbin]

Forbin, do you mean you and your dad took 8mm movies of Star Trek on TV? Or just referring to that technology in general...

Sorry, just talkin' formats in general.

Although I do have a 400-foot reel of Star Wars scenes on super-8 that I bought in 1978!

 

[Jeri]

Forbin, there must be some fan somewhere who did make movies off the television. I heard some copied the soundtracks on reel-to-reel.

 

[CaptainHawk1]

Had all of the movies up through 8 on laserdisk, now have replaced most on dvd.

Never collected more than a few eps on vhs, but have all three seasons on used dvd (pre-tosR, of course.)

As far as I have been able to tell, in the U.S., only the first 8 were available on LD. The only place i've been able to find INS is a Japanese import with Japanese subtitles.

I have all of Star Trek on DVD, though I'm working on a project to convert it all to a format playable on my PS3 or iPod.

I'm confused by this. A PS3 plays DVD's... what's the issue?

As far the Ipod is concerned, you need codebreaking software to defeat the security features on the DVD before you can transfer it. PM me for a link.

-Shawn

 

[CaptainHawk1]

I have all of Trek on DVD, except for TOS. I'm waiting for the inevitable Blu-Ray version of TOS remastered.

I wouldn't hold my breath for that happening anytime soon. They had 7 months after the demise of HD DVD to work out the remasters in HD Blu Ray and they chose not to. Season 2 came out on DVD 3 weeks ago and Season 3 comes out in October on DVD.

Last year at Christmas, I hedged my bets and bought both a PS3 and an HD DVD player and I don't regret it. The HD DVD player, although obsolete for the new format, upconverts standard DVD's better than any standard upconvert player I've ever seen. The PS3 does just as good but the upside to having the HD DVD player is that I don't have to tax the PS3 by using it as a game system, Blu Ray player and a DVD player. That being said, I have an HD TV and have played both the HD versions of the Remasters and the Standard versions and I really can't tell a difference. Like I said, the upconverting on the HD DVD player is very good and there is the other issue of "putting lipstick on a pig" (at the end of the day it's still a pig) which is the issue that TOS suffers from. Despite the digital color restoration and correction process, those TOS episodes weren't recorded using contemporary High Def equipment and now matter how well you clean them up, you're still dealing with 40 year old Standard Def recordings.

This is the same problem you have converting VHS to DVD. I have no idea why anyone would continue to use VHS nor can I understand why anyone would attempt to convert VHS to DVD. It may be on DVD, but it's a DVD copy of a VHS recording. Like I said, lipstick on a pig.

Save yourself the time and the energy. What do TNG seasons cost now, $45? My time would be worth way more than that. As far as the waiting for Blu Ray TOS remasters are concerned... don't waste your time. Pick up the standard Def's (or rent them off of Netflix and see for yourself because they have them, they just have the wrong artwork next to them in the listing and they don't say "Remasters." They say "Star Trek Vol. 1-15" and so on).

As far as the format I use: I have bought every episode of Star Trek DVD in existence the day it when on sale except TAS which my wife bought me for Christmas a couple of years ago and the HD DVD Remasters. All of my VHS tapes before that were recorded by me off of TV and I either timed all the commercial break pauses exactly right or I used 2 VCR's to edit out commercials. When I discovered DVD's (and the only reason I bought my first DVD player in 2002 was for TNG Season 1), I ditched all of the VHS tapes as the seasons were released and would never consider going back to them.


-Shawn

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ I remain convinced that TOS-R will make it to Blu-Ray. They released it on one HD format, they can do it again with the other one.

Besides, last time, they released it in a format that was in doubt - the format war was raging at that point. They had to take a *chance* releasing it on HD-DVD. Now would be an even better time, because Blu-Ray is the proven winner - it is the ONLY high definition DVD format. They can't lose, this time.

 

[Hermiod]

I have all of Star Trek on DVD, though I'm working on a project to convert it all to a format playable on my PS3 or iPod.

I'm confused by this. A PS3 plays DVD's... what's the issue?

As far the Ipod is concerned, you need codebreaking software to defeat the security features on the DVD before you can transfer it. PM me for a link.

I'm waaaaaaaaaaay ahead of you.

The plan is to create a complete library of PS3 and iPod compatible copies of every episode. Getting the software was easy (Handbrake and DVD Region Free handle the discs just fine). The issues were A) automating the process as much as possible and B) tweaking the settings so that the file is playable on an iPod but is still compatible with the PS3 and does not look bad on a television screen.

The resulting files then go on to a USB hard disk. The problem is that on my computer it currently takes roughly 30 minutes to encode an episode so that's two hours per disc.

I've done about 50 episodes of TNG so far.

 

[CaptainHawk1]

^ I remain convinced that TOS-R will make it to Blu-Ray. They released it on one HD format, they can do it again with the other one.

Besides, last time, they released it in a format that was in doubt - the format war was raging at that point. They had to take a *chance* releasing it on HD-DVD. Now would be an even better time, because Blu-Ray is the proven winner - it is the ONLY high definition DVD format. They can't lose, this time.

What you're missing is that fact that CBS/Paramount was obligated to release this on the HD DVD format because the production of Remasters was primarily funded by Toshiba. There was no issue of "taking a chance" on the format. CBS/Paramount had signed on to the HD DVD format and Toshiba threw a ton of cash at them in order to do it.

There is no such agreement with Sony and even though Blu Ray did win the format war with HD DVD, they haven't come close to winning the format war with DVD. Although sales of DVD's have been down over the past year, and even though Blu Ray discs outsold HD DVD's by a 2 to 1 margin in 2007 (due primarily to the PS3), DVD is still kicking the living crap out of Blu Ray. As much as I love the Blu Ray format they have 4 major issues that are impeding their adoption into every home in America.

First, the format war hurt them. There's no question that Sony came out on top in the format war and the PS3 had a lot to do with that but this also caused a carryover weariness with consumers, especially considering that only 25% of American households have an HD TV in their home. American consumers don't want to switch formats with no appreciable gain when the staying power of the format is perceived as questionable.

Second, except for the PS3, the cost of the hardware has not gone down and not everyone wants a PS3. When you can get a DVD player for $30 or a DVD recorder for $50 and you don't have an HD TV (or you have an HD TV with an upconverting DVD player that spits out a pretty damned good picture) what on God's green Earth would inspire someone to plunk $300 - $400 down on a Blu Ray player?

Third, not only is it a pain in the ass to find Blu Ray titles at your local Blockbuster, the cost of buying them is 2 to 3 times as much. The list price of Season 1 of the Remasters was $220 for Pete's sake! The cheapest I was able to find it (and ultimately where my wife ended up buying it) was Costco for $130. I think I paid $78 for Season 1 of TOS when it was released on DVD a couple of years ago. That's a huge difference.

Fourth, and this is kind of a hybrid of 2 and 3, an internal Blu Ray burner costs $400 to $800 and the blank media costs between $20 - $40 per DISC!!!

For me, this is not a cost effective investment at all and nor is it for most people.

Like I said, it's going to be a long time before you see the Remasters on Blu Ray so you might as well buy them now on DVD and enjoy them. I mean, seriously, we're Star Trek geeks. We're going to buy them again on Blu Ray even if we bought them on SD DVD, anyway, right?

-Shawn