VHS to DVD: Why now?

[Supreme2k]

Seriously. Why so many people converting now? Was there some new iPhone app released that helps you track down old tapes or something?

Apparently, it's also a wave of illiteracy, as most of these people can't be bothered to even read the front page and see the twenty other topics on this subject.

It's not just here either. I write for a living, but lately I've been getting a bunch of "Do you still do video stuff?" people. Most of them have crappy videos that a $10 EZcap would more than adequately do the job of capture. Some of these tapes are horribly shot with worthless scenes of forgotten people mulling about, but they still pay me to do the transfer. I don't mind making the extra cash, but I still feel a little sorry for these people.

These people who want to transfer any- and everything from their tapes are like some of these dvd "pirates" that I know. They rent discs, spend tons of time copying them, then store them and never watch them again. They are just massive hoarders. That's the only time that i feel sorry for the pirates.

The most (ironic? sad? humorous?) part of all this is that sooner or later, these "one of a kind" concert clips, unreleased tv shows, etc. are going to be released on DVD or blu-ray. It happened to me when I got one of my first CD burners and spent loads of time converting one of my vinyl albums to CD, only to have it come out on CD less than a year later.

[yoda313]

Was there some new iPhone app released that helps you track down old tapes or something?

Yeah its called the iTAPE. Didn't you hear about it???

[Supreme2k]

I said "I want to convert all of my crappy, poorly maintained VHS tapes to 5760 x 4200 super HD without doing the slightest bit of research or having any equipment at all and *BAM*, I cross-posted in 7 threads!"

"Videohelp.com, that was my idea."

[vhelp]

High tech store and fast internet, they seem to be the indicator or clue for this, "why now" topic.

I think that we can blame the latest trend in video technologies today. Stores are full of cameras, including cheap digital video cams. I even picked up the sony bloggie, for the ease and convenience not to mention, HD aspects. Yep. Its that simple. People are now putting 2 plus 2 and thinking, "hmm.., i could make dvds out of my vhs collection" yep. Just look at all the best buy stores. They are full of inexpensive video cams, and easily affortable. People get ideas, i tell you.

The web is the other front. More and more people are connecting to fast internet and can do searches much quicker than they can (or used to) than on dialup, of which i am still on. Anyway. And that seems to be how they are finding out about vhs->dvd and so on, me thinks.

-vhelp 5383

[lordsmurf]

Most work I see is redo work. Their first attempt -- be it with some cheap crap device, or a cheap crap local service -- bombed. Now they want better archival quality DVDs. Those new HDTVs make their cheap DVD transfers look even crappier than they were before. That's my take on it.

[yoda313]

You know what I see coming in the not too distant future - HOW DO I MAKE MY VHS TAPES INTO BLURAY 3D???

That'll be a fun one to tackle...... 3d from a twenty year old low res analog source with consumer or freeware software that doesn't exist?

[Supreme2k]

We've kind of seen that already. People have been asking to turn their vcds into dvd quality for a while now.

I think Hollywood is partially (or mostly) to blame, too. People think that you can just yell "ENHANCE!" at the screen and make it better (hd). I've tried to fix the example from yoda, and actually had a guy say "Can't you just enhance it?"

I was fully expecting "I saw CSI, and they took some grainy, monochrome security camera footage taken in the dark and were able to extract a photo of a guy, which he was then able to use on his passport because it was so clear. And in color."

[lordsmurf]

CSI really pisses off people who work in media forensics.

It's damaging perceptions in trials now, because people see a grainy cam extraction that is submitted into evidence, but they are unimpressed because it's not "CSI quality" work. So now there's extra steps in trials to explain to dumbass jurors what is realistic and what is fictional, in terms of evidence expectations.

[vhelp]

Nah, I see these tv (shows, series) claims to put fear into the high-tech criminal minds of today. You see, we really can't do most of the ideas that are conveyed on tv, genetic forensic and what not. I think that they are playing us to believe they can find those criminals before they do it, that they decide not to. I guess in the end, it all works out and the criminal thinks of something less criminal to do, i guess.

-vhelp 5386