Blu-ray wins in technology, if not in titles
Chris Hicks
It's the future of home video, requiring us to eventually purchase new Blu-ray DVD players, like it or not.
And each studio will now scramble to rerelease its high-end catalog — again. But many films will go missing, if the large number of titles released on VHS that never made it to DVD is any indication.
Persnickety fans who love high-def's crisp, clear, enhanced picture and have the disposable income to keep up with every new entertainment upgrade are in chatboard heaven. (Just give it a Google and see.)
But they aren't nearly as giddy as greedy corporations that can once again gouge consumers with yet another new version of the same old movie they've already purchased on VHS, Betamax, laserdisc and/or DVD.
Not to mention the retreads ... er ... reissues that inevitably follow — special editions, collector's editions, ultimate editions, each with a new featurette or audio commentary or booklet or postcard photos.
And if you think that's an exaggeration, you haven't been paying attention.
Heavy 78 rpm single records gave way to lighter 45 rpm singles and larger 33 1/3 albums — and somewhere along the way, cumbersome reel-to-reel tapes (although the latter never really caught on with the masses).
In the 1970s, various stereo systems came along (quadraphonic sound anyone?). And 8-Track tapes — which would sometimes switch tracks in the middle of a song! (To this day when I listen to Joni Mitchell's "Court and Spark" album on CD, I half expect a fade-out and fade-in in the middle of "Car on a Hill.")
Then along came cassette tapes, although early generations were not as satisfying as later improvements. But you could record your old LPs and create what we now call "playlists."
Then came CDs, although there are purists who swear the sound has never matched vinyl records. Plus, fans of the aesthetic value of album covers were dismayed to see them shrink so that artistic detail was pretty much lost.
Now it's digital downloads (try enjoying the cover art on your thin, skinny iPod).
But for music buffs, the real downside is that a surprising number of recordings from the 1930s, '40s, '50s, '60s, '70s and '80s have never been released on cassette or CD. And probably never will be. (Just best-ofs, which include only a sampling of songs from AWOL albums.)
Oh, you can find the originals on vinyl in used-record stores or on eBay, but unless you have access to a record player — anyone remember those? — you're out of luck.
Recent comments
Amen to that! I already have 3 copies of the original trilogy, 2…
lbw1138 | March 7, 2008 at 10:39 p.m.
