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..........With the turn of this century everything is changing. Will viewers still watch big screen TV's as those same viewers watched the programs during their lunch hour on their IPhone? Of course many will buy on-demand and stream to their TV's. Many sports fans still want the big screens; but I wonder about the industry in the future - everything does change. Of course Hollywood is no longer owned by Americans; the Chinese have moved in. I just feel that the 80's and 90's gave us the best choice of, what to us, was a new product that time/money/ and thought went into producing. We can do anything now because of our technology; but that doesn't mean we can write original scripts - maybe, someday, automation will also do that?
Difficult to say.
One of the reasons why I don't get hooked into my smart phone is that I work at network operations center. Eight hours a day with 8 computer screens in front of me and two big screen TVs over me.
I am then expected to look at my computer as a little screen in my hand? I don't think so!
Similar thing with TV. TV is not that vital, that compelling to me that I have to get my fix every day anywhere. When I watch it, it is on a big screen. When I watch it, it is at a time and a place of my chose and it is in media that I can have in my hot little hand.
Difficult to say because I work in a modern industry and I would imagine others do as well. So are they influenced to watch TV like they are in a Mission Control (which is reality).....or like they are in Star Trek (which isn't) and they are using a PADD (well, that is sort of reality in that we can watch).
Can't say I miss the hassle of VCR/VHS, but there was one advantage (that I can think of now) - being able to accidentally record breaking news! I used to set my VCR on a timer, then select different shows on my satellite lineup, so it would switch to that channel at the right time. Kids these days would be mind-boggled by that, lol. Anyway, one day I had it all set up to tape my daytime TV, and then the September 11th attacks happened. As a result, I have about 5 hours of live-broadcast footage, which you basically can't get anywhere else. I don't even have a VCR anymore, but still keep that tape in storage.
Also, I liked being able to stop & start a tape, if you wanted to cut commercials or just record a specific clip. You can't do that with a DVR or streamed show! Also can't save them for posterity, unless you plan to keep the DVR in a closet forever (assuming it would even work with evolving tech). Sometimes low-tech is better, at least in that sense.
With the turn of this century everything is changing. Will viewers still watch big screen TV's as those same viewers watched the programs during their lunch hour on their IPhone? Of course many will buy on-demand and stream to their TV's. Many sports fans still want the big screens; but I wonder about the industry in the future - everything does change.
I do streaming TV only (no cable), and have an iPhone, iPad mini, AND Microsoft Surface - but I will ONLY watch television on my actual TV, unless I'm traveling or something. My eyes are too old to be watching shows on a tiny screen, especially when I have a 40-something inch flatscreen in the living room (and a smaller one in the bedroom). Plus I'm a multi-tasker, and usually doing something else on my phone/tablet while watching my shows.
I miss the family trip to Blockbuster or any of the varying privately owned video stores. I miss the dinner that came along with Friday movie night. I miss "everyone gets to pick their favorite" and spending Friday-Sunday getting through the stack.
I DO love technology and love that I have thousands of titles between movie and tv that I can hold in my hand and any of the other benefits I mentioned earlier in the thread.
I do streaming TV only (no cable), and have an iPhone, iPad mini, AND Microsoft Surface - but I will ONLY watch television on my actual TV, unless I'm traveling or something. My eyes are too old to be watching shows on a tiny screen, especially when I have a 40-something inch flatscreen in the living room (and a smaller one in the bedroom). Plus I'm a multi-tasker, and usually doing something else on my phone/tablet while watching my shows.
We have many at work that sit and watch movies. I don't and there are others that do not either. Of course it would be hard to see them on my $10 2"X3" display screen on my TracFone! Some will play video games. But there are diehard video fans that are happy to sit by themselves and see movies.
No. I hated VCR's & VHS tapes. Horrible Picture Quality (PQ) - i.e., each time you taped a show on a VHS tape the PQ would be worse than the source material, bulky format, the need to rewind, the possibility that the tape would catch in the VCR & screw up the entire machine/VHS tape, etc.
My stupid VCR broke in '96 and I never replaced this. Piece of garbage.
I miss the family trip to Blockbuster or any of the varying privately owned video stores. I miss the dinner that came along with Friday movie night. I miss "everyone gets to pick their favorite" and spending Friday-Sunday getting through the stack.
I DO love technology and love that I have thousands of titles between movie and tv that I can hold in my hand and any of the other benefits I mentioned earlier in the thread.
I still miss the family time of the era.
Once upon a time, my way of greeting the weekend was to go to the video store, peruse the fantastic worlds they displayed, and get a half dozen or so rentals for the weekend.
The problem is that the video stores killed this a lot sooner than the format change did. They changed their shelf display items (as oppose those blanketing the wall with all the new releases) from displaying the "poster front" of the movie, ie like this: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....82,268_AL_.jpg
So unless you actually knew the movie you were looking for, you had to take each one off the shelf to read it, to see who was in it (for me, for example, always know that Michael Ironside and Joanna Pacula were good draws), run the risk of some jerk giving away the flick with a pre-emptive summary,.......and in time, it just became too tiring, too tedious to continue, so I stopped going.
That the video stores would forget this and shoot themselves in the foot by not displaying the art work is rather hard to believe................but they did!
Quote:
Originally Posted by moneymkt
I still have my VCR but I think this is the last year because I am unable to buy blanks VHS tapes now so after December I will be trashing the VCR.
You could always check Good Will.
When I copy a VHS over to DVD, I blank it (standard media security procedure) and then donate it to Good Will. Equally, they are still out there on Amazon. The catch is, they are no where as cheap as they were in their height. Quite the opposite.
One might also see if they can find a media supply company that has them. That one I am not so sure on but it is how I solved the issue, say in 2012-2014, with 4X DVDs because my older machines couldn't take anything faster. As it was, though, those machines wore out so further supply needs (still have probably 400 of the 4X around somewhere) became a moot point.
I do keep the unopened VHS around as well as the once used blanked tapes....to a limit. About a year and a half to two years ago, it hit me with "What am I saving them for?" What was I going to record "now" that my ethics, lack of TV watching, conversion to DVD, and my technology & supply improvements would make it practical to use the tapes before?
Different technology, different needs.
Last edited by TamaraSavannah; 09-21-2017 at 01:24 AM..
I used to set my VCR on a timer, then select different shows on my satellite lineup, so it would switch to that channel at the right time. Kids these days would be mind-boggled by that, lol. Anyway, one day I had it all set up to tape my daytime TV, and then the September 11th attacks happened. As a result, I have about 5 hours of live-broadcast footage, which you basically can't get anywhere else. I don't even have a VCR anymore, but still keep that tape in storage.
Also, I liked being able to stop & start a tape, if you wanted to cut commercials or just record a specific clip. You can't do that with a DVR or streamed show! Also can't save them for posterity, unless you plan to keep the DVR in a closet forever (assuming it would even work with evolving tech). Sometimes low-tech is better, at least in that sense.
Kids would be mind-boggled by setting a device to record different channels at different times? That's exactly what a DVR does. And to your point of recording breaking news, I set my TiVo to record several news shows during the day--several in the morning (breaking overnight news), some mid-day, many more in the evening & night. I usually delete them unwatched, but should something happen, they are available.
I mentioned several posts above how easy it is to transfer the digital recording from my TiVo to a hard drive. At that point, you can store it, save it, watch it... forever.
Unlike your 911 tape, which you still have, but can't watch because the device it was recorded on is no longer available to you.
We can get nostalgic all we want, but there is nothing of any value that a VCR brings to this era.
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And to your point of recording breaking news, I set my TiVo to record several news shows during the day--several in the morning (breaking overnight news), some mid-day, many more in the evening & night. I usually delete them unwatched, but should something happen, they are available.
