Should studios kill off standard definition DVD's? (1 Viewer)

[Jesse Skeen]

In a word: YES!

 

[Harry-N]

Good DVD beats bad Blu-ray, but only barely.


I think I've only managed to see one bad Blu-ray. That was MARNIE in the Hitchcock set. I was ready to pull out the DVD instead of finishing that one on the Blu-ray.


I have no problem with DVDs and Blu-rays and whatever other formats they're going to throw on a 5" plastic+metal disc all co-existing. side-by-side, for as long as the studios are willing to release stuff in multiple formats. I still value my DVDs as much as my Blu-rays, as I never invested a fortune to upgrade all movies to the newer format. A DVD of some movies is just fine for me. I feel no need to upgrade, just because a studio has taken the same remaster and put it out on Blu.


There are some titles that I am eager to get on Blu, because they are favorite titles, and I want them in the best possible quality I can get - things like the STAR TREKs and STAR WARS and INDIANA JONES and PLANET OF THE APES and 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and BACK TO THE FUTURE and BLADE RUNNER and CASABLANCA and A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Titles that get played perennially - I just want them in the best state possible. Other movies sit on the shelves watched sparingly, like GIRL, INTERRUPTED, SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS, FINDING FORRESTER, PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED. Some films, IMHO, don't demand the extra attention that a great Blu-ray can afford. As someone said, the greatness of a film should transcend the format it's available on. And some don't need the extra sharpness, like that dreamy PEGGY SUE... with its soft-focus shots.


I'm indeed happy that I maintain both kinds of discs, and never toss out the DVD just because I have a Blu-ray. There are rooms in the house with only a DVD player. And a few weeks ago, we took a trip to an unknown place for a vacation. This mountain cabin was supposed to have a DVD player, but I couldn't be sure it was a Blu-ray player, so when it came time to gather some discs for viewing while up there, I grabbed the DVDs. I KNEW they would play there, regardless. It turned out that the cabin had one Blu-ray player in the main living room, but a DVD player in the bedroom. And it turned out that the Blu-ray player remote (a VIZIO) didn't work - and yes I changed the batteries.


My point is that the DVDs that I still owned of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION and THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW, two series we're currently watching, served perfectly fine for that cabin-viewing, so I'm happy I haven't tossed them or sold them off.


And here's something to think about: Rather than a campaign to educate the masses to higher definition television, how about an effort to get them to not use their current TVs in Stretch-O-Vision mode!


Harry