Molly Olsen
05/20/97 11:08 AM
 
 
Don Larsson wrote:
 
>Should we throw away all our old TV sets and video projectors?  (I have
heard talk of >"converters", but what will they do--or not--with the new
technology?)
 
If you're talking about HDTV, the ones already in use in Japan accept both
regular TV signals and the new HDTV signals, and that should be the case
when they hit the States as well.  As for DVD, it doesn't matter whether
you show the image on a regular TV or a HDTV or a computer monitor or video
projector, all work fine.
 
>I also know there will be a bunch of new stuff--hardware and DVDs, et al.
to buy.  Will we still be >able to use old tapes and discs?
>Will this be like having both a tape deck and a CD player--or will it be
more like hanging on >vainly to the old turntable and praying that it
doesn't break down?
 
Bear in mind that there are two types of DVD players being created for
consumers -- the DVD-ROM, for your computer (mainly for games right now),
and the DVD player, a set-top box designed to hook up to your television
set.  The DVD technology is the same for both, it's just a matter of where
& how you want to use them.  You can actually use a DVD-ROM to play into
your TV set but you'd have to hook up a cable between them (a pain if
they're in separate rooms).
 
Between VCRs and DVD, my guess is it will be like having a tape deck and a
CD player, because recordable DVDs are not yet in development for the
average consumer.  There will probably be recordable DVDs (DVD-R) before
long, but they will be expensive, like the recordable CD players are now.
 
Laserdiscs, however, are another story -- since the laserdisc media is so
similar to DVD in quality and ease of use, yet DVDs will be less expensive
than laserdiscs (they are already on sale at Tower for ~$15-25), laserdiscs
and laserdisc players will likely go the way of the turntable as DVD
penetration increases.
 
Molly Olsen
Producer
Discovery Channel Multimedia
[log in to unmask]
 
----
Screen-L is sponsored by the Telecommunication & Film Dept., the 
University of Alabama.