It seems like the latest buzz is all about the future of DVD. With Toshiba and Microsoft plugging HD-DVD, and Sony pushing Blu-Ray, the question has to be asked, who cares?
Well, I have no doubt that it won’t be the consumer. Both formats feature technological improvements over DVD, most notably the additional storage space. But aside from production companies, it’s going to be very rare that anyone will use either format.
DVD offered a load of advantages over VHS that appealed to the consumer. But let’s not forget that many of those advantages were offered by laserdiscs beforehand. So, more than anything, it’s timing that was the key factor. We’d reached a point where consumerism had gone digital, with the mass market turning to online shopping, and so people were less “afraid” of digital technology. They’d been using CDs over cassettes for a long time in listening to music, now was the time to invest in digital film formats. Then the advantages became really clear- smaller boxes for storage, no need to rewind, flashy menus, great sound and picture.
But where are we now. Well, the average consumer will now buy DVD rather than a video, given the choice. Many have replaced their entire VHS collection with DVDs. But…
…we’re just not ready to go through that all again. Maybe if there was more unity amongst manufacturers (right, when is there ever?) they’d be able to convince Joe Public to trade in their shiny new DVD players for some other, more expensive shiny players with a limited number of available films to watch. As I keep telling anyone who’ll listen, the cinema experience is becoming inferior to the home entertainment experience in many ways, for a number of reasons (perhaps to be covered in a future article). The key point is, the average person does not see (or care about) the difference in quality of a projected film, and a DVD. Trying to sell them HD over DVD is akin to trying to sell ice made from mineral water to Eskimos.
So bring on the new formats, they’ll be very handy for shooting and storing data on. But I won’t be throwing out my DVDs just yet…