VHS is good enough, why should I care about DVD?
VHS do encode surround sound. A 2 hour VHS tape is good quality, and in fact I’ve noticed dark areas in even commercial DVDs show posterization. Posterization is when you can see obvious changes in brightness and/or color. VHS tapes tend to show some less noticeable noise in dark areas, however it does worsen with age and wear. DVDs do degrade with age, lifetime of DVDs is a big issue. The layers may delaminate and corrode in commercial DVDs. The dyes in recordable DVDs have been known to break down or “rot”. VHS also degrade with age. However, DVDs are not worn by playing them, where VHS tapes -are- worn by playing. But, things never being that simple, DVDs are subject to damage because you must handle the bare DVD. They are -much- less tolerant of scratches than DVDs are, due to the nature of the design, and -much- less tolerant of bending than CDs. A DVD can fail due to invisible cracks caused by moderate bending. Caution!
The primary advantages of DVD are quality and extra features (see 1.2). DVD will not degrade with age or after many playings like videotape will (which is an advantage for parents with kids who watch Disney videos twice a week!). This is the “collectability” factor present with CDs vs. cassette tapes. If none of this matters to you, then VHS probably is good enough.
The primary advantages of DVD are video quality, surround sound, and extra features (see 1.2). In addition, DVD will not degrade with age or after many playings like videotape will (which is an advantage for parents with kids who watch Disney videos twice a week!). This is the same thing that makes CDs more collectable than cassette tapes. Did I mention video quality? The better your TV, the bigger the difference in picture quality between VHS and DVD. If none of this matters to you, then VHS probably is good enough.
The primary advantages of DVD are video quality, surround sound, and extra features. In addition, DVD will not degrade with age or after many playings like videotape will (which is an advantage for parents with kids who watch Disney videos twice a week!). This is the same thing that makes CDs more collectable than cassette tapes. Did I mention video quality? The better your TV, the bigger the difference in picture quality between VHS and DVD. If none of this matters to you, then VHS probably is good enough.
