I was in the downtown San Francisco store not too long ago. The place has always impressed me as being somewhat Kafka-esque; underground, sort of snaking through various rectangular shapes, weirdly diagonally-positioned shelving that is almost guaranteed to make you feel lost, unpleasantly dark lighting. But at this last visit, the place downright gave me the creeps; it seemed almost funereal. The staff was apathetic, more interested in muttering amongst themselves than helping customers. At the same time the same prison-like security routines were in place. After leaving with my tiny purchase (a USB keypad for a laptop) I decided that I would never go there again, not that I went very often anyway. Sometimes I'd drive all the way down to San Bruno just to avoid that creepy downtown store with its dungeon-like decor, hyped-up security, and confusing layout.
I have always been an "early adopter" type, and I've had 1) VHS tapes, 2) an RCA capacitance-style video disk player, 3) a laser disc player, and eventually 4) a DVD player.
Comparing a movie on DVD to one on a laser disc is quite an experience. While it's true that the laser disc was miles ahead of VHS in picture quality, it was miles behind DVD. It looks fuzzy and wiggly in comparison. (However, the sound is similar given that they're both digital.)
The capacitance-style video disc (which used a real needle in a real groove) had only one real advantage, which was that the media themselves were much cheaper than laser discs, and in fact were usually cheaper than prerecorded VHS tapes. However, the picture quality was dismal (it tended to shimmy as the scan lines weren't always aligned properly) and the sound quality was closer to something you'd expect from an old Victrola, with surprising amounts of surface noise. They were prone to skips and clicks; it was a physical analog media revolving at a very high speed. Amazingly retro, really, when you get right down to it.
In terms of video, it seems to me that the DVD has deserved its success, although we'll of course have to stay tuned and see what happens with the high-def formats, which have much better picture and sound quality as long as your TV and sound system can take advantage of the improvements.
Slashdot Mirror
I was in the downtown San Francisco store not too long ago. The place has always impressed me as being somewhat Kafka-esque; underground, sort of snaking through various rectangular shapes, weirdly diagonally-positioned shelving that is almost guaranteed to make you feel lost, unpleasantly dark lighting. But at this last visit, the place downright gave me the creeps; it seemed almost funereal. The staff was apathetic, more interested in muttering amongst themselves than helping customers. At the same time the same prison-like security routines were in place. After leaving with my tiny purchase (a USB keypad for a laptop) I decided that I would never go there again, not that I went very often anyway. Sometimes I'd drive all the way down to San Bruno just to avoid that creepy downtown store with its dungeon-like decor, hyped-up security, and confusing layout.
I have always been an "early adopter" type, and I've had 1) VHS tapes, 2) an RCA capacitance-style video disk player, 3) a laser disc player, and eventually 4) a DVD player. Comparing a movie on DVD to one on a laser disc is quite an experience. While it's true that the laser disc was miles ahead of VHS in picture quality, it was miles behind DVD. It looks fuzzy and wiggly in comparison. (However, the sound is similar given that they're both digital.) The capacitance-style video disc (which used a real needle in a real groove) had only one real advantage, which was that the media themselves were much cheaper than laser discs, and in fact were usually cheaper than prerecorded VHS tapes. However, the picture quality was dismal (it tended to shimmy as the scan lines weren't always aligned properly) and the sound quality was closer to something you'd expect from an old Victrola, with surprising amounts of surface noise. They were prone to skips and clicks; it was a physical analog media revolving at a very high speed. Amazingly retro, really, when you get right down to it. In terms of video, it seems to me that the DVD has deserved its success, although we'll of course have to stay tuned and see what happens with the high-def formats, which have much better picture and sound quality as long as your TV and sound system can take advantage of the improvements.