Circuit City Says No To Tape (1 Viewer)

[Dalton]

I haven't used a vcr in at least 2 years. I could never even imagine using one again.

 

[DeepakJR]

i think its good that cc is takein vhs out of their inventory and increasing DVDs, however since more people will now start buying DVDs i think that they will continue to b**** about the black bars in OAR titles. more j6pwill start saying that they want new movies in full screen on DVD since vhs is no longer sold, then DVD will eventually become a better seller because a j6p is buyin all his/her titles on DVD in pan and scam? no, i think they should keep vhs available so DVD can stay elite since people dont want to accept the fact that OAR is better.

thx, l8rz,
Deepak Jr.

 

[Dan Lindley]

Deepak,

I think the point here is that DVD is more mainstream than ever. However, you raise the "is this a good thing or a bad thing" question.

My view is that the larger the installed base, the more profitable many options become. Since the 'elite' helped launch DVD and that was profitable enough, then OAR/16x9enh should be fine. Now and even better in the HDTV future.

The best counterargument is that the studios want us to buy twice, and having figured that out, are now limiting OAR/16x9enh. As for that, I have no data.

We will never win as an 'elite'; that is not the trend, nor should it be. A better OAR educated public is the best outcome, since DVD conversion is a done deal. A second best is a let many flowers (releases of all versions) bloom view on the part of the studios since so many will be sold of P/S and of OAR/16x9enh.

Best, Dan

Dan

 

[Ken Garrison]

If people don't like OAR even though they understand it, then that's tough sh**. They should put a short video on DVDs that'll play at the beginning of the movie to educate people why we have those black bars. The goal is to put Pan and Scan to an end so we only see OAR on all the movie channels and such. We want to be able to watch a movie on TV and not worry about it being the butchered version. I even cussed out AMC via Email for not showing enough OAR. I read their schedule on the internet and they show OAR like once or twice a month. That ain't enough. There's a couple of Starz channels that'll show OAR on Monday and Wednesday on primetime. That STILL isn't enough. WE NEED MORE!!! There's OAR fans out there too. I bet there's more OAR fans out there than P&S fans.

 

[Bill_Weinreich]

Wow, no VHS, no Ld. What's next, the phasing out of Beta?

 

[SpenceJT]

I give the retail market about five years (or less) with VHS. It could even accelerate as more, and less expensive DVD recorders come to the market.

On the downside, the battle over OAR will become more of an issue, as more and more households adopt DVD.

The only thing that could give the VHS format a reprieve is HD-VHS. Considering that it is still a physically read media, subject to mechanical wear and tear not to mention the fact that it must still be fast forwarded and rewound to get to chapter marks and special features, I doubt that it will last very long once a standard for HD-DVD is agreed upon.

Regards,

Spence

 

[Jay Sylvester]

Could these events, perhaps, get us a basic release of the OT in November 2003??! One can only hope!

I seriously doubt that Lucas will break his "no OT DVDs until 2005" promise. Honestly, if all he has to offer is the SE, then I couldn't care less if he never releases them. I'll settle for nothing less than the theatrical releases.

I checked out your site. Maybe we should consider teaming up. See below.

 

[Butch C]

My one year old cousin can load her favorite VHS cartoons into the VCR herself but my uncle would never let her near a DVD player...VHS will be a childrens product for years to come.

 

[John Berggren]

It's good to see this retail preference for DVD. I just wish Circuit City and Best Buy would use their dominance to educate about the virtues of OAR while they are at it.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

The danger is that as the VHS market switches to the DVD fromat, the studios feel the pressure to "dumb down" the format with P/S transfers. As long as these people were still interested in VHS, DVD could be tailored for the true cinefile.

Let's hope education and our wallets can convince the studios that "dumbing down" is not necessary as the VHS market dwindles in favor of DVD.

-dave

 

[Joseph Bolus]

I checked out your site. Maybe we should consider teaming up. See below.

Jay:

That's not "my" site; just a site that I support. I'll happily add yours to the list. See Below.

 

[DanHaya]

Joseph,

Although there's already a thread on this topic (SW OT Trilogy on DVD), I'll go ahead and post my thoughts here anyways.

First of all, Lucas has the power to do whatever he wants...I think we all know that by now. He's never gonna release the Original Trilogy in it's original form ever again. Forget it...not gonna happen...get over it! He's married to his Special Editions (and the forthcoming Ultimate Editions) and he considers the original versions "incomplete". If you want those, I'd suggest that you buy a used copy on VHS or LD from someplace like eBay.

Secondly, Lucas is to busy promoting Episode II, on preproduction for Episode III and finishing up the Episode II DVD to mess with OT right now. Plus, I'm sure he's going to be working closely with Frank Darabont on the script for Indiana Jones IV. So, he has a pretty full plate through 2005.

Finally, as many have already heard, Lucas has filmed some additional sequences with Natalie Portman during filming of Episode II that he plans to incorporate into "Return of the Jedi". Rumor has it that after Episode III is complete, Lucas plans on adding additional scenes to OT and releasing them (possibly to theaters first) as his "Ultimate Editions".

Perhaps you have already heard all of this and I am simply rehashing what you already know. I would love to see the original versions of OT (or even the SE) on DVD, but it's just not going to happen. Lucas is going to do whatever he wants, and we're not going to change his mind. I've resigned myself to this fact. So, I'll enjoy my copies on VHS until the day comes that I can buy them on DVD.

--Dan

 

[Joseph Bolus]

Lucas is going to do whatever he wants, and we're not going to change his mind. I've resigned myself to this fact.

To paraphrase Yoda in the original Empire Strikes Back: "That is why you fail."

 

[Jay Sylvester]

Dan,
Lucas has changed his mind before. He said no Star Wars DVDs at all until Episode III was complete. Fans--fans like us--let him know how much that sucked. That's why we got Episode I on DVD, and that's why Episode II is going to be released a mere 6 months after its theatrical release. Simply because the fans asked for it.
I think that with enough pressure, Lucas will reconsider his position. While I don't expect an immediate release of the OT (I'm enjoying my LDs very much thank you), I do hope to see the OT on DVD in 2005 once Episode III is done.
Joseph,
Great quote And thanks for the support.
Back to the original point of this topic...death to VHS! I'd gladly choke away its last breath if I could.

 

[Mike Hutman]

I still use my VCR player a lot, but only for Porn.

 

[Peter Overduin]

Okay, so is this a nail in the coffin for the new, ill-concieved and poorly-timed HD VHS?

For once, CC has got it right. Tape is dead, regardless of the format.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

No, D-VHS has been from the beginning designed to be a stopgap measure to HD-DVD. I think JVC and the studios will be thrilled if it even does LD numbers in the long run

It's specifically for enthusiasts that want HD pre-records NOW instead of waiting 10 years

 

[Robert Dallas]

Jeff is right.
But i am tired of re-buying my films, over and over again.
First VHS
Then Laserdisc
Then DVD
But in anycase DVHS it´s a nice format, very, very, very, nice.

 

[Bill_D]

I haven't used a vcr in at least 2 years. I could never even imagine using one again.

I have close to 50 VHS tapes in the house somewhere and I can honestly say that I haven't thought about them in a few years until I happened upon this thread. The VCR is connected in my rack so I know the time when I am at the rack.

 

[Tomoko Noguchi]

I feel for those VHS users. I really do. :p)