DVD killed the video star : Part 3

I don't see any conflict at all and both postings do have valid points to make. My contention with the original posting
was that it cited picture and sound quality as one of - if not THE reason why the VCR had lost to the DVD. It
was with this that I disagree and state that a high quality VCR will give you picture and Hi Fi sound that will rival
DVD. Of course with VCRs, the actual tape matters - a lot! If you want hi quality picture and sound, you need to be
looking at high end tapes, not the regular run-of-the mill "for daily use" types. One needs to be looking at the likes
of the JVC EHG and higher series of video cassettes.

It should come as no surprise that the DVD outsells the VCR on the high street by what must be an order of
magnitude, for various reasons, not least that the DVD players are now dirt cheap and the technology certainly
en vogue. The DVD has several 'features' that outclass the VCR by leaps and bounds - like the option to enable
or disable subtitles in more than one language (there are VCRs that do menus, indexing and subtitles - but I
haven't seen one that lets you pick the subtitle language).

The DVD's ability to playback CDs and MP3 files means it is fast replacing CD players as well and what is going
largely un-announced by the big high street retailers is that sales of CD players have fallen as well. You find people
are opting to have the one DVD player that doubles as both 'VCR' and CD-player. They will often connect this to an
AV type amplifier - usually with the 5:1 audio processing capability and Dolby-this-and-DTS-that. This often means
that the sound setup is changing from regular 2-channel stereo to surround sound to make the most of the
audio technology (1 x Sub woofer, 2 x front surround, 2 x rear surround).

What most do not realise is that there is a silent world out there known only to the purists. These are the sort that
will shell out GBP 2000 on a turntable (that was not an extra zero!) and will be looking for little-known names such
as Sugden, Naim, Linn, Audio Note and Rothwell to mention but a few, and will shell out 5 times that much for a
pair of speakers. They frown on AV amplifiers, DVD audio and surround sound - and maintain that these should be
used only for reproducing video recordings (DVD) not Hi Fi audio. The latter - as far as the audiophiles are concerned -
remains the preserve of high quality Hi Fi amplifiers, stereo speakers and analog sources. These unfortunately, are in
the minority and are largely ignored by the big companies because let's face it - there is more to be made by selling a
million things that cost $10 each than 1 item which costs $1M.

It is in Dixon's interest to announce that it will no longer stock VCRs because let's face it - it is all overhead to
them. I can't see that anyone would want to buy a VCR in Japan and the occident today with the DVD recorder prices
falling as they are, and yes, people will start transferring their video recordings to DVD - but if one's VCR was not high
quality to start with, one will end up with a DVD that is the same quality as their original VHS recording! The
only benefit of this transfer then becomes convenience - not quality.

It is for this reason that I am loathe to transfer my vinyl to CD. I'd rather transfer it to SACD, but alas! Majority rules.
Like Beta max lost out to VHS, again the world of commerce dictates that the accepted universal standard for audio will
be the lower quality system - but that is another debate!

Thanks for the info...