Are we Spoiled?

JamesSmith · 03-08-2008, 03:56 AM

Dear Guys:

While there are a great many tv shows we wish that were on DVD, isn't it true that most of us have them already on video or could easily convert them to DVD if we wanted?

Granted, I want them too. But sometimes I wonder. As long as we have our own collections, and we can always grab a friend and FORCE them to share our favorite forgotten programs with us (with popcorn in hand), do we make a big fuss over some of this.

Like taking an acquaintance, grabbing him/her, and showing him/her all 8 episodes of Quark from 1978, and going "See! See! I told you this was great. . What? Can't you understand this is fine art? It's done by one of the two people who created Get Smart. Wait! Why are you walking out the door? Come back here. It's got a really great theme song. . And it's got the Barnstable twins! They used to be the Doublemint Twins in the 70's. Really."

Ok. I'm exaggerating a bit. But have you ever tried to recommend an old show to someone who could care less and only want to watch the new stuff.

I'm not trying to be judgemental, but does anyone else feel guilty about some of this at times. We already have all the episodes on tape.

But going back to the topic So. . are we spoiled?

James Smith

Regulus · 03-08-2008, 06:14 AM

I do not recommend trying to "Ram something down Someone's Throat". (I'm all sure we have been in a situation where that has happened to us!

)

Lasy year we had some visitors at my Mother's House and on one afternoon I spotted them watching an Episode of a TV Show I had on DVD on a Commercial-Infested Channel, I got the DVD and showed it to them and they were impressed! The next day I showed them the next episode in the series, timing it to start at the same time the Network started theirs. They immediately noted scenes on the DVD that they had not seen on the Network Version, and when the episode ended there were still 15 minutes to spare on the Network Version. I told them those 15 minutes plus the time taken from the cut-off scenes was the time they were spending watching Commercials!

I haven't seen them since, but I hope they saw how much better Home Video is than Network or Cable TV!

george kaplan · 03-08-2008, 07:35 AM

Quote:

isn't it true that most of us have them already on video or could easily convert them to DVD if we wanted?

We already have all the episodes on tape.

Gary OS · 03-08-2008, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesSmith

While there are a great many tv shows we wish that were on DVD, isn't it true that most of us have them already on video or could easily convert them to DVD if we wanted?

I'm not trying to be judgemental, but does anyone else feel guilty about some of this at times. We already have all the episodes on tape.

I've only read of a few people on these boards who make this claim of having everything they want on vhs. I can assure you that the majority of us do NOT have everything we want. Not even close! To be honest, it kinda comes off as boasting and school yard bragging akin to "my father/mother/home is better than yours" that little kids engage in. I'm not speaking to you personally, but of the larger message that says we should all have the series we want from taping 20+ years ago. Some of us just flat out weren't in the position to do that, for many, many reasons.

Gary "most of the 50's and early 60's shows have not been on tv for close to 2 decades, and unless you were quite well to do in the early 80's I don't see how the average joe could have taped everything they wanted" O.

RickER · 03-08-2008, 08:49 AM

I had a VCR in the early 80s, but blank tapes were DAMN expensive. Maybe you dont remember the day when blank tapes were $20, or more each, for quality tape. But most important, those tapes would be 25 years old now, and i would like DVD resolution, not VCR quality.

You want to talk spoiled, this is what spoiled is:

I remember the day when i bought Star Trek on tape. It was 2 episodes on one tape. The next year, about '83, i bought an LD player. I bought those same 10 episodes again on LD. How excited was i to own 10 episodes of Star Trek, uncut, and looking better than the film prints that my local channels aired. Remember when local channels ran scratched, broken, and beat to hell film prints? It was so cool to own them, and looking better than my local channels! Now i get a laugh when people bitch that only 1/2 a season of something was released, when i remember the day i was excited just to get a handful of episodes that i could revisit anytime i wanted!

Of course i understand why people want complete sets...just remembering when.

**HTF Ads**

Glenn Overholt · 03-08-2008, 11:04 AM

James, the only reason that you haven't been arrested yet is because the studios figure that you aren't worth the effort.

It is legal for you to tape shows to watch them later, but nobody ever gave you permission to tape and keep them.

Glenn

Corey3rd · 03-08-2008, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glenn Overholt

James, the only reason that you haven't been arrested yet is because the studios figure that you aren't worth the effort.

It is legal for you to tape shows to watch them later, but nobody ever gave you permission to tape and keep them.

Glenn

They'll raid the Playboy Mansion before my house. Have you seen the tape library that Hef has on the shelves? He'll be serving hard time if they came after him.

Ockeghem · 03-08-2008, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickER

I remember the day when i bought Star Trek on tape. It was 2 episodes on one tape. The next year, about '83, i bought an LD player. I bought those same 10 episodes again on LD. How excited was i to own 10 episodes of Star Trek, uncut, and looking better than the film prints that my local channels aired. Remember when local channels ran scratched, broken, and beat to hell film prints? It was so cool to own them, and looking better than my local channels! Now i get a laugh when people bitch that only 1/2 a season of something was released, when i remember the day i was excited just to get a handful of episodes that i could revisit anytime i wanted!

Rick,

I remember those days. I've had a couple of those two-episodes per tape in my hands, but I didn't start purchasing TOS seriously until the mid-1980s (the first single episode-per-tape edition, not the blue ones that came out shortly thereafter, although I do own a couple of those volumes as well). I now own the entire TOS series on VHS tape and on DVD (with regard to the latter, one half of the series in the two episodes per disc sets plus the complete series in three boxed sets).

Believe it or not, I may still spring one day to complete the two episode-per-disc DVD sets that came out a few years ago (in forty volumes). As I mentioned, I own about half of them. I just like the look and feel of those sets, and I'd be willing to bet that there are some people out there who would be willing to part with them since the boxed sets are now available.

Hank Dearborn · 03-08-2008, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glenn Overholt

It is legal for you to tape shows to watch them later, but nobody ever gave you permission to tape and keep them.

Glenn

Oh, really? According to who, you? That's what I love about the internet, people are able to make any outrageous statement they want. And the great thing about the Home Theater Forum is that when you point it out, you get chastised for it.

Read the book, Fast Forward, Hollywood, The Japanese and the VCR Wars by James Lardner. Universal vs Sony lawsuit was decided by the Supreme Court and it was decided that home recording of television programs did not constitute copyright infringement. For the full decision, go to this link:

Sony v. Universal: US Supreme Court Betamax Decision (Jan 1984)

Don't quit the day job.