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Why is it that people are attacked for utilizing old formats for entertainment? I got rid of my VHS tapes long ago, but I didn't have many. If someone had an entire library, why wouldn't they want to continue to use it until they no longer can? Not everyone wants to chase after the latest technology with their hard earned dollars, just so they can make fun of the person with the old technology.
It's not like we are discussing an iPhone 4 versus an iPhone 6 here. VHS is dead and buried and has been for years. The replacement options aren't just incrementally better, they are vastly superior in every way, shape, and form. If you're still using VHS, then more power to you, but it seems more like an old man yelling at clouds than anything else. You can pick up DVD's for $0.50 on Amazon.
It's not like we are discussing an iPhone 4 versus an iPhone 6 here. VHS is dead and buried and has been for years. The replacement options aren't just incrementally better, they are vastly superior in every way, shape, and form. If you're still using VHS, then more power to you, but it seems more like an old man yelling at clouds than anything else. You can pick up DVD's for $0.50 on Amazon.
Tell me this.....does the end of the movie change because you watched it on your iPhone instead of a tube TV with a VHS player? Does the call go through better if you make it on your iPhone instead of your flip-phone....or even your land line? The answer to both is a resounding "no".
Sure there are advantages to new technologies. But not everyone can afford to invest in every one of them. I'd rather pick and choose which technologies will benefit me, and which won't. I got rid of my table top computer when I decided I wanted something more portable. On the other hand, I am fine with DVD and CD. In fact, I prefer to have a tangible item in my hand (such as a disc) as opposed to some file somewhere.
It's all priorities Me, I'd rather have money for retirement than to spend it all to try to keep up with the Joneses.
My main point is, I resent being FORCED to change technologies (such as the change the government forced for televisions).
I'll take my CD's right now. I have a MP3 player that I use for hiking & camping the controls are too small to be using while driving. CD's are much easier to use while driving. As far as Pandora & those things go it's easy to lose signal at times.
I enjoy Pandora.....I use it on my television for background music. However, the problem with those types of technologies is......THEY pick the music, not me. I agree with you about CDs, that's for sure. They are much easier to use, and I don't have to do a lot of labor to get them into a useable format....they already are!
I enjoy Pandora.....I use it on my television for background music. However, the problem with those types of technologies is......THEY pick the music, not me. I agree with you about CDs, that's for sure. They are much easier to use, and I don't have to do a lot of labor to get them into a useable format....they already are!
They are as long as you like listening to one artist at a time.
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I don't have a huge CD collection, maybe 400 or so, and if I added up the time and $ it has taken me to schlep them from one place to another, shelve them, store them, move them, lose them, find them, it's not a huge stretch to think that keeping them digitally is a better deal. YMMV. I also hate clutter in my car and enjoy not having to carry a bunch of CDs in the cabin with me. Not to mention on a plane or train. That's just me.
I spent a weekend (with several beers and cigars) digitizing my old VHS collection of random things (not just recorded shows or movies) precisely so I could ditch the cassettes...they take up so much room and were starting to degrade anyway. Wanted to ditch the aging VHS player too. It's all about clutter reduction for me.
They are as long as you like listening to one artist at a time.
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I don't have a huge CD collection, maybe 400 or so, and if I added up the time and $ it has taken me to schlep them from one place to another, shelve them, store them, move them, lose them, find them, it's not a huge stretch to think that keeping them digitally is a better deal. YMMV. I also hate clutter in my car and enjoy not having to carry a bunch of CDs in the cabin with me. Not to mention on a plane or train. That's just me.
I spent a weekend (with several beers and cigars) digitizing my old VHS collection of random things (not just recorded shows or movies) precisely so I could ditch the cassettes...they take up so much room and were starting to degrade anyway. Wanted to ditch the aging VHS player too. It's all about clutter reduction for me.
I can understand and appreciate that. They do make for a lot of clutter. The most recent time I moved, I went through my CD's and DVD's, took out the stuff I didn't see myself listening to or watching in the near future, and cashed them in at the local "exchange" store.
However, there is something nice about being able to flip open a booklet that comes with a CD and reading who is playing on a certain track, when it was recorded, and other info.
As for listening to one artist at a time.....frankly, that is what I usually prefer to do.
I use my cd player in my car everyday. There are 6 discs in there with my favorites on them. I have an MP3 player but when I plug it into my car stereo, the sound quality & volume are greatly diminished. Also, the mp3 player is too small to manipulate the buttons. The stereo controls on my steering wheel are much easier and safer to use while driving.
Tell me this.....does the end of the movie change because you watched it on your iPhone instead of a tube TV with a VHS player?
No, but it sure is nice seeing it in crystal-clear HD as opposed to the fuzzy VHS mess.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jimdc58
Does the call go through better if you make it on your iPhone instead of your flip-phone....or even your land line? The answer to both is a resounding "no".
I don't have a land line, and yes, iPhones have better call quality than flip phones.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jimdc58
It's all priorities Me, I'd rather have money for retirement than to spend it all to try to keep up with the Joneses.
Really? The $30 DVD player is going to disrupt your retirement? It's not as if anyone is saying you need to buy a $10,000 OLED TV or a $6500 Vertu phone. These are generally used and reasonably priced technologies being discussed in this thread that have a significant advantage over the previous type of technology.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jimdc58
My main point is, I resent being FORCED to change technologies (such as the change the government forced for televisions).
No one is forcing you to do anything. What they are doing is discarding out of date technology that the majority of people don't care about or want.
No, but it sure is nice seeing it in crystal-clear HD as opposed to the fuzzy VHS mess.
Sure. But one has to decide how "nice" it is, and whether they want to invest in that "nice".
Quote:
Originally Posted by LeagleEagleDFW
I don't have a land line, and yes, iPhones have better call quality than flip phones.
I don't have a land-line either, but I'm not about to put down those that do. And, again, does your call go through on any of the options? Yes. So, again, it's about having the latest. As for call quality on iPhones? I can always tell when someone is using one, because they sound worse not better.....probably because the microphone is so far from their mouth. I have a flip-phone, and it serves every purpose I could need.....at $38 a month! The only problems I ever have with calls are coming from the other end....people who insist in calling using the hands-free in their cars, for instance.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LeagleEagleDFW
Really? The $30 DVD player is going to disrupt your retirement? It's not as if anyone is saying you need to buy a $10,000 OLED TV or a $6500 Vertu phone. These are generally used and reasonably priced technologies being discussed in this thread that have a significant advantage over the previous type of technology.
I'm not talking about buying a DVD player over a VHS player. However, since you brought it up, it isn't the player that ads the cost. If someone has an ENTIRE LIBRARY of VHS movies, buying them all again in DVD and Blu-Ray is a VERY costly proposition!!!!! As someone who has owned some music in as many as four formats, I am really tired of shelling out time and again.
As for other items......updating a television, a computer, a phone, etc., all add up. I've seen the people that think they have to keep up with every gadget. Guess how much they have put away for a rainy day???
I don't need a $100+ phone bill, a $200+ cable bill, etc., etc., etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LeagleEagleDFW
No one is forcing you to do anything. What they are doing is discarding out of date technology that the majority of people don't care about or want.
Uh.....yes, they are forcing it. If I can't use my CD's in the car, and can no longer pick up a broadcast signal with my TV (as it has gone from analog to digital), then, yes, I am being forced to change.
I'm not saying, and never did say, that there aren't good things about new technology. However, if I can choose staying up to date on every gadget that comes along......or retiring.......I'll choose the latter.
Some technology is "out of date" because it's superseded by genuine improvement. Carbureted engines in passenger cars are superseded by fuel injection, for myriad reasons: more robustness to temperature/humidity/altitude variations, better control (when properly closed-loop) over air-fuel mixture ratio, often better throttle response, better balance between part-throttle and full-throttle performance, easier cold-starting, lower emissions, and so forth. Yes, it's a hassle to adapt from carburetors to fuel injection, but arguably the hassle is worthwhile because of superiority of new technology over old, of new performance over old.
The same can't be said for MP3 vs. CD. The latter has better playback quality, period. The technological drive is towards more compression, at the cost of reduced acoustic quality. It may not matter for pop music, or whatever is popular these days, but is certainly matters for classical music.
So the churning of technology is asking us to not merely replace the old with the new, but the superior with the inferior. How is that progress?
Some technology is "out of date" because it's superseded by genuine improvement. Carbureted engines in passenger cars are superseded by fuel injection, for myriad reasons: more robustness to temperature/humidity/altitude variations, better control (when properly closed-loop) over air-fuel mixture ratio, often better throttle response, better balance between part-throttle and full-throttle performance, easier cold-starting, lower emissions, and so forth. Yes, it's a hassle to adapt from carburetors to fuel injection, but arguably the hassle is worthwhile because of superiority of new technology over old, of new performance over old.
The same can't be said for MP3 vs. CD. The latter has better playback quality, period. The technological drive is towards more compression, at the cost of reduced acoustic quality. It may not matter for pop music, or whatever is popular these days, but is certainly matters for classical music.
So the churning of technology is asking us to not merely replace the old with the new, but the superior with the inferior. How is that progress?
You bring up good points. I would also argue that, aside from causing me to no longer need some of my tune-up tools, changing from carburetors to fuel injection didn't have an impact on me in much of any way. I traded in a carbureted car when it wore out, bought a fuel injection car, and never missed as step. I wasn't FORCED to buy anything. No one made it impossible to use my carbureted car. And I could still be using it today if I so wished.
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