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Home » Music And Movies Articles » Movies And Television On Dvd But Where Is The Technology Heading

Movies and Television on DVD, But Where is the Technology Heading?

Movies, they have been around to entertain us for over 100 years. Over this time, technology has improved to allow us to watch movies at home via 8mm reel to reel, VHS and Betamax video tape, CD-ROM (VCD movies) and currently DVD format. The DVD format, emerged informally as "digital versatile disc" around 1995. Research by Sony/ Philips and Toshiba around this time came from looking for alternatives to CD-ROM and VHS/Beta tapes as a replacement.

DVD has become a popular format for not just movies but for several platforms of media today, used in formats like DVD players for movies and TV series, consoles like the Playstation and XBOX, and for Personal Computers (which are also used for storage, the DVD-R +R, DVD-RW & DVD-RAM formats).

Since 2005, Sony and Toshiba have again gone head to head with Bluray (Sony) and HDDVD (toshiba) and with those of you old enough to remember the Betamax (Sony) and VHS (Toshiba) it is reminisce of the format wars of 25 odd years back.

For most, these two new formats are generation II of DVD, Bluray has a slightly larger capacity than HDDVD (around 30 Gb compared to DVD of around 4.7Gb) and uses a thinner blue laser on players (large red lasers are used on players that play cd and dvds) and HDDVD although slightly less capacity than Bluray (around 25Gb) uses a thinner red laser and is easier to manufacture in plants that make standard dvd discs. This presents new issues for the consumer. Which do I buy? What are the advantages and disadvantages? What is the cost?

Holographic DVD is also another emerging format that looks like getting commercial release in about 2009 and has storage looking to 200Gb and upwards. Thats about half a million MP3's, or about 400 hours of Standard Definition video or 80 hours of High Definition video. Whew !

Standard definition video ? High definition video? What the heck is this you ask. It is how a picture or video playback is displayed on a screen and that screen needs to be capable of High Definition playback (TV, rear projection. LCD or Plasma), TV and Video/ DVD has played back in Standard Definition for about the last 50 years. It is approximate to 800 x 600 DPI on a computer screen, where High Definition is approximate to 1280 x 1024 DPI on a computer screen.

Digital download (the internet and wireless internet), another emerging technology not just for viewing video on computers, but for cell phones as well. Cable TV, TIVO, Digital or broadband TV (IPTV), yes yet more technologies on the TV front vying for your hard earned dollar. Most consumers in the USA already have these 3 technologies.

Confused ? Thats understandable. Its 2007 and we haven't had more to choose from to get TV or movie entertainment than any other time before it. We don't know what technology will be available in 5, 7 or 10 years, but one thing is sure. No matter how good the tech is, the best will be the one that consumers desire to use the most...

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Home Equity Loans - Are They Right For You?

The bills are out of control and you need a new car. "Maybe we can get a new carpet and paint the house", you say to yourself. These are just a few reasons why home equity loans can seem like the solution to all your problems and are so popular.

Home equity loans can be a fantastic way to start your own business or to take advantage of an investment opportunity. They can also make your situation worse than it was before you got the home equity loan.

The reason's for taking advantage of home equity loans are the most important part of the process. Take the time to sit down and ask yourself, "Do I really need a home equity loan? Do I want to go on a spending spree or am I really trying to improve my life?"

A home equity loan is like having a second mortgage on your home. Suppose your home is worth $200,000 and you have a mortgage against it at $150,000, you will have $50,000 of equity available. Home equity loans allow you to borrow up to 80%, and sometimes more in certain situations, of your home value. In this situation you could borrow $80,000 as a home equity loan and still have only borrowed 80%.

This is why it is so important to take a good look at your situation before making a decision. You can see how easy it could be to get carried away with home equity loans.

Let's say you only need $20,000 for that new car and some home improvements. You decide to borrow another $15,000 of equity for that vacation to Hawaii you have been dreaming about. First of all, a vacation to Hawaii would not cost $15,000 unless you went on a first class, spare no expense vacation.

Using a home equity loan to buy a car may not be a great idea with today's 0% interest rates and no money down loans. There is no sense in risking losing your home to buy a new car with these type of loan programs that are available in todays market.

On the other hand, a home equity loan for home improvements may be a great idea. This will add value to your home as long as you can afford the higher loan payments.

A business that's doing great that you want to expand may be another good use of a home equity loan. As long as the business is already in profit and is not losing money.

Some solid investments can be a good idea if you have done your research before hand. The latest IPO may or may not be a great idea.

Consolidating high interest credit cards may be a great idea as long as you close the accounts and don't run them back up. You really only need one or two credit cards in case of an emergency.

Educational expenses may be a good reason to take a home equity loan to get your children started in the right direction. Someday this type of an investment can pay off.

These are just a few things you can do with home equity loans. It's very easy to borrow too much, only to find yourself having a tough time making the new payments.

The important thing to remember with home equity loans is to be logical and don't let your emotions get the best of you. Again, take the time to sit down and research all your options. This way you can rest well at night and not have to be concerned about losing your home. You can enjoy the things you do with your home equity loan knowing you've made a wise decision.

Copyright 2005 Dean Shainin