Am I too late to the party?

[capri0mni]

Okay, this came up, recently, in a conversation with my dad. I have yet to buy a DVD player (and the built-in VCR thingie in my T.V. is busted; woe).

And now, there is news that Sony (I think) is coming up with new technology to replace DVDs. ... So. Should I even bother? How long will it be, do you think, before DVDs become as obsolete as video tapes are today?

Or is now the perfect time to buy one -- now that they are cheap, but a goodly while before obsolescence?

Also (if DVDs will be around for awhile), I'd really like a multi-region player. I know you can convert standard players into universal ones with secret code patches, and all, but I'm not that technically confident, and would prefer plug and play, if possible. Any suggestions or recommendations?

Thankees!

Comments

[snowgrouse.livejournal.com]

If your computer is up to it, get a DVD drive to it and look around for a region-hackable one. That's the easiest way to watch 'em.

And don't worry about format changes, the new "formats" are going to be DVDs anyway.

[drox.livejournal.com]

I really love my Philips DVP642 (http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=20465). It's multiregion, cheap, and simple to use. Just plug it in and go. Plays just about anything you can put on a disk too.

[lizziebelle.livejournal.com]

I think you should go for it. Most DVD players these days are multi-regional, and people have too much invested in discs for them to go obsolete all that soon. Then get Netflix! It rocks. :)

[gordon-r-d.livejournal.com]

I really wouldn't worry aout DVDs becoming obselete. I very muc doubt Sony's Blu Ray DVD or the rival HD-DVD format will become widespread for some time yet.

Most region hacks for players maybe involve half-a-dozen keypresses at most, I'm sure someone from the US can tell you what a good multi-region player is though. (And if you do get a player, I'll redo the Who discs for you so you can watch 'em on the telly!)

[gordon-r-d.livejournal.com]

In fact, looking at the player Drox recommended, it'd likely play the discs I did for you already. :)

[clamnebula.livejournal.com]

I'm not familiar with this particular machine, but here's a link to a multi-region player for sale on Amazon -
http://tinylink.com/?uLFxXs8LiY

[spooforbrains.livejournal.com]

The new DVD formats are going to end up in a Betamax / VHS style duel-to-the-death, and it's far too early to know who's going to win. Sony's Blu-ray, despite having a stupid name, has the support of most of the major players, but is, as usally, completely bogged down with Sony's Digital Rights Restrictions crap. Plus, up 'til now, Sony has managed to do for every singly format they've tried to launch - MiniDisc ... dead. Memory stick ... only used in Sony products. Betamax? Mine is an evil laugh.

The other competing format is HD-DVD, which ... I don't know anything about. Wikipedia could probably tell you about it.

The long and the short and the tall of it is that DVD will be around for a long time. On the other hand, the real future is formatless. If you really feel you want to invest in something useful, buy an XBox, hack it and install XBox Media Center. Then discover bittorrent and live happily ever after!

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the comments, guys! Now, I have a direction to go in.... I'm also thinking of getting a new tv -- the one I have now is rather small, is nearly 10 years old, and the picture quality seems to be wearing out (can that happen--or is that my imagination?).

I much prefer to ask friends who actually own these things, rather then the salespeople in electronics stores -- every single one of them talks too fast.

[spooforbrains.livejournal.com]

Yes, the picture quality absolutely can degrade with age. Also something that looked entirely reasonable ten years ago will probably look a bit dated compared to someone else's newer telly, so that could be it.

Getting a new TV is a slightly thornier issue than a DVD player, because there IS a new, defined standard in the world of TVs that actually IS coming in to force - hi-definition TV. Assuming you want your TV to last another ten years (unlike DVD players which are almost throwaway) you're going to need to think about the whole HD thing.

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

Oh, I've been thinking about the whole HD thing for a while now. :-)

Comparisoo is not an issue -- I haven't watched tv in someone else's house for years and years... I'm just noticing that the "ghosts" are getting more and more pronounced on my set... It's almost like I'm watching it cross-eyed X-)