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"... videotape is dead, man."
- Thread starter Joseph DeMartino
- Start date
PillowRock
Regular
Re: \"... videotape is dead, man.\"
I think that (the false modesty thing) probably varies some from actor to actor.
There are some people who are big enough perfectionists that when they look at something that they have done / made the only thing that jumps out at them are all of the things that feel could have been a little better, a little smoother, a little bit more whatever .... because nothing is ever quite *perfect*. I know some people like that. Heck, I have some tendancies in that direction myself.
I suspect that there are some actors who don't enjoy watching themselves for that reason. Of course, it can be quite tough to tell from a printed quote or stock answer to a stock interview question which ones are being sincere and which ones are engaging a bit of false modesty.
I think that (the false modesty thing) probably varies some from actor to actor.
There are some people who are big enough perfectionists that when they look at something that they have done / made the only thing that jumps out at them are all of the things that feel could have been a little better, a little smoother, a little bit more whatever .... because nothing is ever quite *perfect*. I know some people like that. Heck, I have some tendancies in that direction myself.
I suspect that there are some actors who don't enjoy watching themselves for that reason. Of course, it can be quite tough to tell from a printed quote or stock answer to a stock interview question which ones are being sincere and which ones are engaging a bit of false modesty.
taichidave
Regular
Re: \"... videotape is dead, man.\"
It is for that reason alone I am grateful no one has thought to videotape one of my training sessions.
It's bad enough trying to keep my inner monologue to a dull roar while I'm "in the moment." If I actually saw myself teaching? Horrors.
Videotape is good enough for transient things, like taping the Galactica miniseries. (And I can't wait to tape over that, I'm afraid.
)
For archival stuff, DVD is far superior.
It is for that reason alone I am grateful no one has thought to videotape one of my training sessions.
It's bad enough trying to keep my inner monologue to a dull roar while I'm "in the moment." If I actually saw myself teaching? Horrors.
Videotape is good enough for transient things, like taping the Galactica miniseries. (And I can't wait to tape over that, I'm afraid.
) For archival stuff, DVD is far superior.
Re: \"... videotape is dead, man.\"
Go Dean Cain!
Firstly, I do want Lois and Clark on DVD. My tape versions are rather poor in places (I only have up to 13 as actual sold copies, after that the WB gave in).
Secondly, who wouldn't want Dean Cain on DVD? He's hot in a hot man's body. Of hotness. And Teri Hatcher, do I need to say more? Okay, I will... Teri Hatcher in leather.
Teri Hatcher + Dean Cain + DVD = Happy Happy Antony.
Oh and I wish tapes would just go already, they clog up stores. And with DVD players selling for £30, there's no excuse.
Go Dean Cain!
Firstly, I do want Lois and Clark on DVD. My tape versions are rather poor in places (I only have up to 13 as actual sold copies, after that the WB gave in).
Secondly, who wouldn't want Dean Cain on DVD? He's hot in a hot man's body. Of hotness.
And Teri Hatcher, do I need to say more? Okay, I will... Teri Hatcher in leather.Teri Hatcher + Dean Cain + DVD = Happy Happy Antony.
Oh and I wish tapes would just go already, they clog up stores. And with DVD players selling for £30, there's no excuse.
phoenixrising
Regular
Re: \"... videotape is dead, man.\"
It isn't limited to actors. Just take a listen to some of JMS's commentaries on the B5 episodes, "The Fall of Night" in particular where he gripes that they should have had a fan on Sheridan's face.
Antony, I very much agree with you, but until DVD recorders come down in price, VHS isn't going anywhere. When they reach the price that VCR's were at during their peak, then I think you can truely say that viedotape is dead.
It isn't limited to actors. Just take a listen to some of JMS's commentaries on the B5 episodes, "The Fall of Night" in particular where he gripes that they should have had a fan on Sheridan's face.
Antony, I very much agree with you, but until DVD recorders come down in price, VHS isn't going anywhere. When they reach the price that VCR's were at during their peak, then I think you can truely say that viedotape is dead.
Joseph DeMartino
Moderator
Re: \"... videotape is dead, man.\"
I'm there.
Joe
I'm there.
Joe
Jade Jaguar
Regular
Re: \"... videotape is dead, man.\"
DVD recorders are coming down in price, and if I had the $, I would buy the Pioneer combination DVD recorder/TIVO. But I don't, so SVHS video tape is very much alive at my house. But, IF I has the $, video tape would STILL be alive at my house, because I would also buy a Marantz DVHS. That is the only existing format that can record HDTV signals.
DVD recorders are coming down in price, and if I had the $, I would buy the Pioneer combination DVD recorder/TIVO. But I don't, so SVHS video tape is very much alive at my house. But, IF I has the $, video tape would STILL be alive at my house, because I would also buy a Marantz DVHS. That is the only existing format that can record HDTV signals.
Re: \"... videotape is dead, man.\"
A few months back, I was in urgent need of some ready cash. So, I packed up some things that I could sell, and headed off to sell them. Among them was a large number of pre-recorded VHS tapes. I got them to a music store which brought and sold second hand media, only to find that they no longer paid cash for VHS tapes. It was either take them home again [on the bus] or trade them for a credit coupon. Well, having gotten that far, I decided that I might as well trade them, and got a credit coupon to the value of $100. I later used it to get the Two Towers Special Edition dvd, and a Christmas present for my mother.
The price of dvd-recorders is starting to drop here as well.
And I am in something of a quandry and have a few questions.
My VCR quite on me a few months back, and I haven't gotten around to getting a new one yet - I am paying off my new comuter at the moment. But the moment I have finished payments ...
I am torn between getting a new VCR and saving up my pennies and getting a dvd-recorder. But I know virtually nothing about them. Here are my questions.
When you record something on a dvd-recorder, what kind of disc do use? Does it have to be a blank dvd disc? [which are rather expensive] Or can you use an ordinary blank cd-rom disc like you can for SVCDs?
Does a dvd-recorder play pre-recorded dvds? Or SVCDs?
When you record on a dvd-recorder, is the disc that it burns [I presume that it burns in a similar fashion to a dvd or cd writer in a computer] is the material it records to disc permanent? Or can you record over the material later like you can with a VHS tape?
Finally, should I spring for a VCR now, knowing that in a couple of years, dvd recorders will probably be even cheaper than they are now - and without doubt more advanced? Or do I save my pennies and buy a dvd-recorder as soon as I can afford it?
Any advice would be welcome.
Thank-you.
A few months back, I was in urgent need of some ready cash. So, I packed up some things that I could sell, and headed off to sell them. Among them was a large number of pre-recorded VHS tapes. I got them to a music store which brought and sold second hand media, only to find that they no longer paid cash for VHS tapes. It was either take them home again [on the bus] or trade them for a credit coupon. Well, having gotten that far, I decided that I might as well trade them, and got a credit coupon to the value of $100. I later used it to get the Two Towers Special Edition dvd, and a Christmas present for my mother.
The price of dvd-recorders is starting to drop here as well.
And I am in something of a quandry and have a few questions.
My VCR quite on me a few months back, and I haven't gotten around to getting a new one yet - I am paying off my new comuter at the moment. But the moment I have finished payments ...
I am torn between getting a new VCR and saving up my pennies and getting a dvd-recorder. But I know virtually nothing about them. Here are my questions.
When you record something on a dvd-recorder, what kind of disc do use? Does it have to be a blank dvd disc? [which are rather expensive] Or can you use an ordinary blank cd-rom disc like you can for SVCDs?
Does a dvd-recorder play pre-recorded dvds? Or SVCDs?
When you record on a dvd-recorder, is the disc that it burns [I presume that it burns in a similar fashion to a dvd or cd writer in a computer] is the material it records to disc permanent? Or can you record over the material later like you can with a VHS tape?
Finally, should I spring for a VCR now, knowing that in a couple of years, dvd recorders will probably be even cheaper than they are now - and without doubt more advanced? Or do I save my pennies and buy a dvd-recorder as soon as I can afford it?
Any advice would be welcome.
Thank-you.
Joseph DeMartino
Moderator
Re: \"... videotape is dead, man.\"
I can understand money being tight, but why make it an either/or thing? Are VCRs still that expensive in your neck of the woods? Here you can get a decent, brand-name 4-head stereo VCR for under $50. That's less than a good pair of sneakers. You can get a progressive-scan DVD/VCR combo that will also play CDs, MP3s and VCDs for $130. A good stand-alone DVD player can be found for under $50 if you catch the right sale or rebate deal.
Why not hold off on the DVD burner and just get a cheap VCR to tide you over for a couple of years while you wait for DVD-recorder prices to come down and some of the kinks to be worked out. (We've still got a couple of different formats out there, and not all players will play discs created by all burners.)
As a general rule any DVD player (burner or not) will play CDs and VCDs. Most of the newer ones will also play SVCDs and MP3s, and many support JPG slide shows and other picture-disc formats. DVD burners will also burn CDs and CD-Rs. Some of the writeable DVD formats currently available are also re-writable, like CDs, but the discs are more expensive.
Are you looking to archive this stuff or just time-shift it? Because for time-shifting you might be better off with a hard-disk based digital personal video recorder along the line of TiVO or ReplayTV when you're ready to spend some more money in a few years.
Finally you could add a video-capture card, an upgraded audio card and a DVD burner to your PC and use that as both a PVR and a DVD burner.
Regards,
Joe
I can understand money being tight, but why make it an either/or thing? Are VCRs still that expensive in your neck of the woods? Here you can get a decent, brand-name 4-head stereo VCR for under $50. That's less than a good pair of sneakers. You can get a progressive-scan DVD/VCR combo that will also play CDs, MP3s and VCDs for $130. A good stand-alone DVD player can be found for under $50 if you catch the right sale or rebate deal.
Why not hold off on the DVD burner and just get a cheap VCR to tide you over for a couple of years while you wait for DVD-recorder prices to come down and some of the kinks to be worked out. (We've still got a couple of different formats out there, and not all players will play discs created by all burners.)
As a general rule any DVD player (burner or not) will play CDs and VCDs. Most of the newer ones will also play SVCDs and MP3s, and many support JPG slide shows and other picture-disc formats. DVD burners will also burn CDs and CD-Rs. Some of the writeable DVD formats currently available are also re-writable, like CDs, but the discs are more expensive.
Are you looking to archive this stuff or just time-shift it? Because for time-shifting you might be better off with a hard-disk based digital personal video recorder along the line of TiVO or ReplayTV when you're ready to spend some more money in a few years.
Finally you could add a video-capture card, an upgraded audio card and a DVD burner to your PC and use that as both a PVR and a DVD burner.
Regards,
Joe
Jade Jaguar
Regular
Re: \"... videotape is dead, man.\"
Just to expand on what Joe said, yes, there are two formats, DVD+R/RW, and DVDR-R/RW. You need different discs to record on each, but once recorded, discs from either are supposed to play on ANY DVD player, and actually do, about 80% of the time, on newer players, anyway. In both systems, the R discs can only be recorder once, and the RW discs can be recorded about 1,000 times. R discs are cheaper than RW discs for both systems, and although discs for one system cost a little less than those for the other system, even the RWs are less than $2 each, but you must buy cases separately.
If you don't want to spend the money on one now, Joe's suggestions are good alternatives. And when the prices come down, a combination TIVO/DVD Recorder IS the hot setup. You can dump any recordings you want to save from the TIVO hard drive onto a DVD while watching, or at 4x or 8x the normal playback speed, while watching something else that is on the hard drive, at the same time!
Just to expand on what Joe said, yes, there are two formats, DVD+R/RW, and DVDR-R/RW. You need different discs to record on each, but once recorded, discs from either are supposed to play on ANY DVD player, and actually do, about 80% of the time, on newer players, anyway. In both systems, the R discs can only be recorder once, and the RW discs can be recorded about 1,000 times. R discs are cheaper than RW discs for both systems, and although discs for one system cost a little less than those for the other system, even the RWs are less than $2 each, but you must buy cases separately.
If you don't want to spend the money on one now, Joe's suggestions are good alternatives. And when the prices come down, a combination TIVO/DVD Recorder IS the hot setup. You can dump any recordings you want to save from the TIVO hard drive onto a DVD while watching, or at 4x or 8x the normal playback speed, while watching something else that is on the hard drive, at the same time!
Re: \"... videotape is dead, man.\"
A two-head VCR goes for around $200 NZ here. Four head VCRS are not common here. A six-head VCR starts at around $300.
DVD-players [such as the one I've got] start at around $97. I am not sure about the price of dvd-recorders, but I saw one advertised a couple of weeks ago for $799. DVD-burners go for around $500. CD-burners go for under $100.
I guess that in the meantime I will get another VCR. While I have gotten rid of my pre-recorded VHS tapes, I still do have stacks of stuff on VHS - including all five seasons of
Babylon 5. Eventually, I hope to get B5 on dvd. I am also going to gradually start getting my favourite movies on dvd or SVCD - which my dvd-player handles quite happily.
I should add that blank dvd-discs are quite expensive here - $14 NZ. I know that with time, and with the increased buying of dvd-recorders and burners, the price will come down. I can remember when VCRs first came into common use, blank VHS tapes were considered cheap if they were anything under $10. Now, you can bluy a three-four pack of reasonable quality VHS tapes for the same price.
So, I guess I will wait a while before getting a dvd-recorder.
A two-head VCR goes for around $200 NZ here. Four head VCRS are not common here. A six-head VCR starts at around $300.
DVD-players [such as the one I've got] start at around $97. I am not sure about the price of dvd-recorders, but I saw one advertised a couple of weeks ago for $799. DVD-burners go for around $500. CD-burners go for under $100.
I guess that in the meantime I will get another VCR. While I have gotten rid of my pre-recorded VHS tapes, I still do have stacks of stuff on VHS - including all five seasons of
Babylon 5. Eventually, I hope to get B5 on dvd. I am also going to gradually start getting my favourite movies on dvd or SVCD - which my dvd-player handles quite happily.
I should add that blank dvd-discs are quite expensive here - $14 NZ. I know that with time, and with the increased buying of dvd-recorders and burners, the price will come down. I can remember when VCRs first came into common use, blank VHS tapes were considered cheap if they were anything under $10. Now, you can bluy a three-four pack of reasonable quality VHS tapes for the same price.
So, I guess I will wait a while before getting a dvd-recorder.
