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Why DVDs suck

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yeah a casing around the playing surface of SOME sort would have been kinda sweet....
scratched CD's DVD's REALLY suck.
 
Unless you have kids, I see no reason why DVDs would get scratched. I mean, you bought them... care for them.
 
They are supposed to get scratched.
The MPAA would be very disapointed if they were indestructable and you only had to buy it once.

Anyway, I figure we're due for a new format soon so they can get another boost as people replace their collections again.
 
Originally posted by: ergeorge
They are supposed to get scratched.
The MPAA would be very disapointed if they were indestructable and you only had to buy it once.

Anyway, I figure we're due for a new format soon so they can get another boost as people replace their collections again.
Click to expand...

hddvd.org =D
 
No more easily scratched than a CD. Whose fault is it that you cant take care of a DVD? And before you say "well they're fubared from Blockbuster" - I buy @$$loads of previously viewed DVDs from Blockbuster all the time and the few that are scratched - they work perfectly fine in either of my DVD players.
 
Originally posted by: coolVariable
DVDs also suck because of:
1. bad compression. Watch them on a very good TV and you will see what I mean (especially dark areas!!)
2. bad resolution.
Click to expand...

To a certain extent, I agree.

Not all DVD releases are bad, though. Some are actually very good... but others are compressed beyond all reason to fit in the worthless "bonus features."

If you don't understand what CV is talking about, read some very good DVD reviews at hometheaterspot.com. They focus more on audio/video quality, than reviewing the movies themselves. The variation in A/V quality between DVD releases is astounding once you know what to look for.

As for resolution... yes, we need HD-DVD. But that's at least 5-10 years off. For now, the only true HD format is D-VHS, but it's doomed to fail. Tape is dead.
 
Originally posted by: NuclearFusi0n
Originally posted by: ergeorge
They are supposed to get scratched.
The MPAA would be very disapointed if they were indestructable and you only had to buy it once.

Anyway, I figure we're due for a new format soon so they can get another boost as people replace their collections again.
Click to expand...

hddvd.org =D
Click to expand...

LoL, figures.

from the link:
* Much better sound and video quality than regular DVD. Also on big 60" or more tv-sets.
* One format for recording and read-only.
* Low-cost manufacturing facilities so prices on HD-DVD films are acceptable.
* HD-DVD players must be able to read regular DVDs and DVD-R discs.
Click to expand...

Number 3 is a joke. Does anybody really think that DVD prices are high due to manufacturing costs?
When consumers can buy DVD-R media for about $1/each and writers approaching $200

My WAG is that the manufacturing & distribution costs for mass-market DVDs are on the order of $1/disk.

 
Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
No more easily scratched than a CD. Whose fault is it that you cant take care of a DVD?
Click to expand...

Guess you don't have kids.

And before you say "well they're fubared from Blockbuster" - I buy @$$loads of previously viewed DVDs from Blockbuster all the time and the few that are scratched - they work perfectly fine in either of my DVD players.
Click to expand...

Just bought my first two previously viewed DVDs. Had to return spiderman twice before I got a playable one. Not good odds for me so far.
 
Originally posted by: ergeorge
from the link:
* Much better sound and video quality than regular DVD. Also on big 60" or more tv-sets.
* One format for recording and read-only.
* Low-cost manufacturing facilities so prices on HD-DVD films are acceptable.
* HD-DVD players must be able to read regular DVDs and DVD-R discs.
Click to expand...

Number 3 is a joke. Does anybody really think that DVD prices are high due to manufacturing costs?
When consumers can by DVD-R media for about $1/each and writers approaching $200

My WAG is that the manufacturing & distribution costs for mass-market DVDs are on the order of $1/disk.
Click to expand...

Say I'm a gardener. It costs me only a couple dollars in gas to come work all day on your five acre garden and lawn. Is that all I should charge you?

There is more overhead than just production cost. There is labor, advertising, royalties, distribution, taxes...

I could go on, but why? All the people involved in creating the content, making the DVD, distributing the DVD, and selling the DVD deserve to be paid for their work. If you don't agree, don't buy the DVD.
 
I've never inflicted anything worse than light tiny scratches on my CDs and DVDs over the past 15 years. My wife, OTOH, abuses her discs. Still--I've not run across a disc that was unplayable, even the ones from the library--why the heck do people abuse public property?! :disgust:

I also agree with above--cartridges are bulky and ugly.

1YP
 
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: ergeorge
from the link:
* Much better sound and video quality than regular DVD. Also on big 60" or more tv-sets.
* One format for recording and read-only.
* Low-cost manufacturing facilities so prices on HD-DVD films are acceptable.
* HD-DVD players must be able to read regular DVDs and DVD-R discs.
Click to expand...

Number 3 is a joke. Does anybody really think that DVD prices are high due to manufacturing costs?
When consumers can by DVD-R media for about $1/each and writers approaching $200

My WAG is that the manufacturing & distribution costs for mass-market DVDs are on the order of $1/disk.
Click to expand...

Say I'm a gardener. It costs me only a couple dollars in gas to come work all day on your five acre garden and lawn. Is that all I should charge you?

There is more overhead than just production cost. There is labor, advertising, royalties, distribution, taxes...
Click to expand...

When I say manufacturing & distribution costs, I mean materials, facilities, labor, taxes, etc.
My point is that reducing manufacturing will have a trivial impact on the retail cost of DVDs. Manufacturing costs (by my guess) are only on the order of 4% to 8% of the total retail cost. Even if you could cut it in half, it wouldn't be a big deal

I could go on, but why? All the people involved in creating the content, making the DVD, distributing the DVD, and selling the DVD deserve to be paid for their work. If you don't agree, don't buy the DVD.
Click to expand...

I suspect that the markup & profit on DVD's is enormous, and higher then could be sustained if that market was truly free. But that's irrelavent to my previous post.
 
Originally posted by: VBboy
It would be more expensive
It would not be compatible with current PC DVD-ROM drives
It would be heavier and more expensive to ship
They couldn't make CD/DVD players as one unit
They couldn't make multi-disk DVD players

Sorry, mate 🙂
Click to expand...

pwnt! 😀
 
Originally posted by: edro13
Originally posted by: VBboy
It would be more expensive
It would not be compatible with current PC DVD-ROM drives
It would be heavier and more expensive to ship
They couldn't make CD/DVD players as one unit
They couldn't make multi-disk DVD players

Sorry, mate 🙂
Click to expand...

pwnt! 😀
Click to expand...
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USE THE FSKING CASE YOU IDIOT, CLEVERLY ENOUGH IT'S QUITE USEFUL TO PROTECT FROM SCRATCHES.

(unless your an idiot who can't take a disk out of a DVD drive/player without dropping it/rubbing it against the tray etc)
 
There are problems with everything.

Just be glad that this is a problem that YOU can avoid by either buying your own new discs and taking care of them or checking out any pre-owned discs before you take them home.

CK
 
Errr...I have about 130 DVDs to my name and not one of them has the slightest scratch. it's not that hard to take care of them!


DVDs also suck because of:
1. bad compression. Watch them on a very good TV and you will see what I mean (especially dark areas!!)
2. bad resolution.
Click to expand...

the compression problem is all but gone. mpeg2 encoders are much better and you'd be hard pressed to find any major recent release (last couple years) that has any artifacts. i've seen DVDs blown up to 100+ inches and they look fine if it's a good transfer.

as for the bad resolution....that's like saying VHS has bad resolution in 1988. it's the best available right now (and for quite sometime...don't think they won't milk DVD for all its worth. HD-DVD won't come out until HDTV has really penetrated the market.)
i don't see it as "bad" mainly because THERE'S NOTHING BETTER! (aside from D-VHS which is a waste of time and money.)
 
Oh, and the chemicals deteriorate so ... in 10-15 years they won't be readable!
😀

DogFromDuckhunt and Deeko are penile-fixated @ssholes!
 
Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
No more easily scratched than a CD. Whose fault is it that you cant take care of a DVD? And before you say "well they're fubared from Blockbuster" - I buy @$$loads of previously viewed DVDs from Blockbuster all the time and the few that are scratched - they work perfectly fine in either of my DVD players.
Click to expand...

I'm w/RB here. Between renting and buying I've gotten hundreds of DVDs from BB and the only one I ever had a problem w/a disc from a bad batch of "Spy Game."


Lethal
 
Plastic case is a good idea. Too bad the Minidisc never gained popularity in the US and Europe. Otherwise we might have MD Video.
 
Originally posted by: NuclearFusi0n
Here's a quick and simple first point - NO PROTECTION FROM SCRATCHES
they could have used a cartridge - but NOOOOOOO! :|
Click to expand...

its not their fault that you can't handle a simple item
 
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