I hate to admit it, but I'm something of a hoarder... I tend to collect things that I don't really need. Like movies and TV shows on DVD or VHS tape. Did I tell you I still have a VCR? Actually, I have a couple of them...
I had gotten cable, so I could also get broadband. Having cable service means I don't really need or use my DVD players or VCRs much. I usually find something to watch when I want to. Or, I can go online to occupy myself.
Here's the thing.... Back before the VCR, we were at the mercy of the media when it came to entertainment. You only got to watch what the television networks or independent channels deemed to program, and only at the times they programmed it for. Movie theaters only showed the movies that they booked, by renting them from the movie studios. Not many cinemas showed old movies, unless they were the (gasp!) Art House Cinemas, usually only in big cities and/or near colleges.
This arrangement meant that you weren't always likely to find something you wanted to see. And if you did, it might be a while, if at all, before you'd get to see it again. When you've heard about long lines to see first runs of Jaws or Star Wars, this was the reason why: repeat business.
The generations that grew up since the VCR and DVR came into existence have never knew what a major change recorded video meant to the average person. Suddenly, you could control view times. You could record shows while watching other shows. You could own and store videos.... The movie or TV show had become analogous to a book.
And if you had "books", you'd have to have a library.... Public libraries started to collect and loan video tapes the same way they had adopted audio recordings. Meanwhile, companies and entrepreneurs started private loaning libraries like Blockbuster Video. Pretty soon, video rental facilities sprouted everywhere viable. Convenience stores rented, motel offices rented....Videos were popular, never spoiled (though they eventually wore out, broke or jammed) and could be used and re-used.
Video sales were a boon to the Movie studios, as they had a treasure trove of properties that could be marketed, and were continuing to create more. But, of course, the fact that you could record on your own, and copy tapes from tapes, worried those studios. The panic of video piracy arrived. One boon, granted by video cameras being commercially available for all, was that home movie makers no longer had to await on films being processed to see results. Nor did they have to censor themselves out of embarrassment of content being seen by strangers. One industry that would never be the same was video pornography....
Now, all those movies and shows you only had heard about second hand, you could see... And there was so much that you choose from! Shows that you might have had only a glimpse of, that had been half-remembered memories, you could now hold in your hand...
So, why hoard them? Well... there's the fact that media formats were changing. Stuff got lost in transition from VHS to DVD. You couldn't always be sure that what you loved would make the transition. Of course, it helps if you could buy the technology to transfer the media yourself (and almost always, the technology would become available..). Then there's the signal to noise ratio. With so much material to choose from, some items might be deliberately left behind, no longer considered relevant or of sufficient quality.
My personal concern is with this new trend of streaming downloads. While it is a boon in regards to storage, you are now trusting others to provide you with what you wish. And the Media conglomerates and the RIAA continue to make noises about how unfair recording media is to them.... I believe they wish to eventually take back control and institute a "pay to play" system, where you no longer have the right to own any media at all.. I see the pay wall systems being installed, and think that all you receive for your money is the experience of the performance, with no rights as to it's use. This, to me, is the worst thing that could happen for the rest of us.....
I had gotten cable, so I could also get broadband. Having cable service means I don't really need or use my DVD players or VCRs much. I usually find something to watch when I want to. Or, I can go online to occupy myself.
Here's the thing.... Back before the VCR, we were at the mercy of the media when it came to entertainment. You only got to watch what the television networks or independent channels deemed to program, and only at the times they programmed it for. Movie theaters only showed the movies that they booked, by renting them from the movie studios. Not many cinemas showed old movies, unless they were the (gasp!) Art House Cinemas, usually only in big cities and/or near colleges.
This arrangement meant that you weren't always likely to find something you wanted to see. And if you did, it might be a while, if at all, before you'd get to see it again. When you've heard about long lines to see first runs of Jaws or Star Wars, this was the reason why: repeat business.
The generations that grew up since the VCR and DVR came into existence have never knew what a major change recorded video meant to the average person. Suddenly, you could control view times. You could record shows while watching other shows. You could own and store videos.... The movie or TV show had become analogous to a book.
And if you had "books", you'd have to have a library.... Public libraries started to collect and loan video tapes the same way they had adopted audio recordings. Meanwhile, companies and entrepreneurs started private loaning libraries like Blockbuster Video. Pretty soon, video rental facilities sprouted everywhere viable. Convenience stores rented, motel offices rented....Videos were popular, never spoiled (though they eventually wore out, broke or jammed) and could be used and re-used.
Video sales were a boon to the Movie studios, as they had a treasure trove of properties that could be marketed, and were continuing to create more. But, of course, the fact that you could record on your own, and copy tapes from tapes, worried those studios. The panic of video piracy arrived. One boon, granted by video cameras being commercially available for all, was that home movie makers no longer had to await on films being processed to see results. Nor did they have to censor themselves out of embarrassment of content being seen by strangers. One industry that would never be the same was video pornography....
Now, all those movies and shows you only had heard about second hand, you could see... And there was so much that you choose from! Shows that you might have had only a glimpse of, that had been half-remembered memories, you could now hold in your hand...
So, why hoard them? Well... there's the fact that media formats were changing. Stuff got lost in transition from VHS to DVD. You couldn't always be sure that what you loved would make the transition. Of course, it helps if you could buy the technology to transfer the media yourself (and almost always, the technology would become available..). Then there's the signal to noise ratio. With so much material to choose from, some items might be deliberately left behind, no longer considered relevant or of sufficient quality.
My personal concern is with this new trend of streaming downloads. While it is a boon in regards to storage, you are now trusting others to provide you with what you wish. And the Media conglomerates and the RIAA continue to make noises about how unfair recording media is to them.... I believe they wish to eventually take back control and institute a "pay to play" system, where you no longer have the right to own any media at all.. I see the pay wall systems being installed, and think that all you receive for your money is the experience of the performance, with no rights as to it's use. This, to me, is the worst thing that could happen for the rest of us.....
No comments:
Post a Comment