DVD vs VHS

I have heard a few criticisms about DVDs in today’s tutorial and lecture. Problems such as, DVDs are not optimised for teaching; they either work or don’t when they are damaged, whereas VHS can still play some part of it; and DVD zone is inconvenient etc. were discussed. I have never thought about those problems before. I have to admit that a damaged DVD can be pretty useless. You either have to skip a whole scene or just give it up completely. However, I still have to say, I love DVDs!

Personally I prefer DVDs rather than VHS. The special features included in most DVDs make them so much better compare to VHS, especially those pixar animation films. They often include ‘behind the scenes’ which allow the audience to learn how the animation is made through CGI. They also include games which you can play by using your DVD remote control. Of course those games are mainly targeted at children. This shows how DVD is competing with theatrical releases. Children not only want to go and see the animation in the cinema, but also own it on DVD so they can play those games with their friends. People expect to see special features on DVD because that’s what makes it unique. I was so used to watching the behind the scenes and the directors’ commentaries on DVD that I got disappointed after watching Dead Man Walking as there was no special feature at all. Of course not all special features are useful. For example, that 360°C thing in Gangs of New York DVD was just lame.Overall I think DVDs are great in terms of offering us the opportunity to not only watch the film but also the making of the film. This is something that VHS can’t offer. And DVD remote controllers are great to use, you can skip between scenes which saves a lot of time from forwarding/rewinding. I never owned a VCR myself, and I really don’t like using them. Maybe I’m just technology determinant