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J6P debates whether to watch Planet of the Apes on VHS or DVD! (1 Viewer)

Dave H

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I was at Hollywood video tonight and rented Apes. Just as I grabbed a copy, a couple in their mid 40's (or so) had a brief, interesting conversation in regards to Apes that went along the lines of this:

Woman: "So, do you want to get this movie tonight?"

Man: "Sure."

Woman: "Should we get in on VHS or DVD?"

Man: no response

Woman: "Which one should we get it on?"

Man: "I don't know."

At that point I walked away and paid for my movie.
 

Jeff

Supporting Actor
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Jun 30, 1997
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I work at a video store. This happens a lot. It depends on where their DVD player is. What they were really saying is should we watch it in bed or in the living room.

Jeff
 

Geoffrey_A

Second Unit
Joined
May 22, 2001
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We get this a lot at my video store too. What's more upsetting is when they ask if the dvd is Widescreen, and when you say yes they groan and opt for the vhs. Shudder.
 

David Lambert

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Aug 3, 2001
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Wes, I don't...yet. But, Best Buy has "all DVD Players on sale" right now! :D
I was in line at Wal-Mart yesterday, buying a DVD myself, with a family of 3 in front of me: Woman holding infant girl and husband/father in a cowboy hat, making faces at the baby.
Baby girl started making faces at me, so I played back, too. Then mom notices the rack of $6.44 VHS tapes to our left, picks up one and shows it to hubby, who apparently has never seen it. But she likes it and wants it.
I mention to her, Vampire in Brooklyn is coming out on DVD in late January, along with a group of other Eddie Murphy movies. She looks pleased and puts the tape back.
Ah, I did my good deed for the day!
As a capper to this story, I'll note that when the clerk rang up the DVD I was buying, she held the case about 6" off the Sensormatic de-activator, producing that "boing" type of sound that indicates "I can tell your trying to deactivate a tag, but your not being entirely successful".
She tried this about 4 times, never getting closer than 6" from the device. I said "You'll probably have to put that right down on top of it".
She replied, "Oh, I wouldn't want to erase it!". I had to assure her that you cannot erase a DVD like you can a VHS. "Are you sure?" "Positive; unlike a tape, a DVD or CD might last as long as a thousand years." "Wow, thanks!"
She then properly deactivated the tag inside the box. :)
 

Jodee

Screenwriter
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Jun 13, 1999
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I'll never forget last year when I was standing in line at Best Buy and the woman in front of me was buying the Gladiator DVD. The Best Buy EMPLOYEE said something like he loved the movie and he even bought it on DVD and VHS-- "The VHS to watch now and the DVD to watch later--WHEN I GET A WIDESCREEN TV."

When will people realize they don't need a widescreeen TV to watch widescreen DVDs? I have one now, but until May of this year I was enjoying widescreen movies just fine on my 27 inch.
 

TheoGB

Screenwriter
Joined
Jun 18, 2001
Messages
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And this is in Software because?

I apologise because I knew what sort of thing I'd find looking at this thread's title but am I alone in thinking this sort of thing is a bit beneath us?

Yeah, we want widescreen but is it really worth turning this board into some sort of snobby class-war discussion where we moan about people who aren't even doing anything to us?

At least confine it to After Hours. There just seems to be a lot of anti-'average joe' stuff going on and frankly, the film studios video departments are to blame for the widescreen problem and most likely the TV studios.

(Here in the UK people are just as much against black bars, but more than the sale of w/s TVs I believe the BBC's commitment to 16:9 broadcasts has had a lot to do with changing attitudes.)

Sorry if I'm out of line but I think it's just got out of hand.

Theo

P.S. I think 'Pan & Scam' is now just a cliche too. We should stop using it as it just sounds like a smartarse remark.
 

Tom-G

Screenwriter
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Mar 31, 2000
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Thomas
What you should have done, Dave, was suggested to them that they rent the DVD and then sit closer to the television if they don't like those "black bars." :)
 

Jesse Skeen

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Apr 24, 1999
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I was looking around in a Blockbuster one time just cause I was bored, and some J6P pointed to a tape (I forget which movie) and asked me if it was any good, and I said the movie was good but that he didn't want to watch it on VHS, he should go get the laserdisc, and he said "Huh? What the hell's laserdisc?" I felt like such an elitist bastard! :D
 

Neil Joseph

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As the man of the house, he should have definitely some cojones and made a decision on the spot. Even a bad decision like "let's get the VHS" would have been semi ok.
 

Justin Lane

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Jan 18, 2000
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Theo makes a very good point. If Dave had no interest in informing the couple as to the benefits of DVD and OAR presentation why even evesdrop in someone elses conversation then on top of that come to a public forum to critcize the couple? Jeeze, it is just a rental film, not life and death contrary to popular belief.

J
 

Jan Strnad

Screenwriter
Joined
Jan 1, 1999
Messages
1,004
NOT LIFE AND DEATH??? Come on! This is the HOME THEATER FORUM, not some goody-two-shoes political group! Issues simply don't come any bigger than Widescreen Vs. Pan-and-scan here! :) :) :)
And by the way, in reference to an earlier post, "Elitist Snob" is a badge of honor. :)
 

Dave H

Senior HTF Member
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Aug 13, 2000
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Theo and Justin,

If you don't like this subject, why don't you exercise YOUR FREE CHOICE to avoid it or this discussion? I wrote the subject very clearly so you know what it was. There have been over 800 views, so obviously other people are interested.

Furthermore, it's not hard to hear what someone is saying when s/he is a couple of feet from me. In addition, I didn't have the time to explain to them the benefits of DVD.

You guys shouldn't get so worked up about what people write on this forum just because YOU have no interest in it.
 

TheoGB

Screenwriter
Joined
Jun 18, 2001
Messages
1,744
Dave, I specifically stated:
I apologise because I knew what sort of thing I'd find looking at this thread's title but am I alone in thinking this sort of thing is a bit beneath us?
You can read the rest of my message I don't need to say it again. My comment was not meant as a personal attack, merely a questioning of the tone of the J6P debate.
Surely you can agree that this is not a 'software' topic, however?
800 views mean little, though. Don't forget those surveys about Howard Stern showing the people who hated him listened longest to his show.;)
Theo
 

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