When Technology Takes Over By Steve Rudd

Am I the only person left in Britain not to own a DVD player? For sure, I must be one of only a select number of people to be currently flogging the life out of their vintage VHS video recorders.. but I'm not all that bothered. At the end of the day, a movie is no different whether it is played in DVD or VHS. Or is it? Well yes, I suppose DVDs do provide much better sound and vision quality, and then there are countless enticing 'extras' that you never seem to get on video, so I suppose - deep down - I do understand all the fuss surrounding DVDs.

It just makes me mad that the entire population is seemingly being forced into buying DVD players whether they like it or not, as though VHS is really a strain of some nasty virus or other that should - from this day forth - be avoided at all costs. Go into any high street retailer in town tomorrow and you will see that DVD-affiliated marketing strategies have totally taken over in most shops, almost to the entire exclusion of good old video recorders and videotapes.

The top floor of the Virgin entertainment Megastore in Hull, for example, is almost totally overrun with DVDs, leaving the tiniest of flimsy fixtures for sad old videos. Perhaps the main reason that I'm still somewhat reluctant to go all out and buy a DVD player is simply because that I know to a large degree it would take over my life. I'll be honest. When I was twelve years old and got my first video recorder, I suddenly transformed into an obsessive compulsive movie buff, spending every last penny of pocket money on new movies. My love for movies has only got stronger over the years, although I don't buy as many new movies as I used to.

A new DVD player in the house, I'm sure, would soon see to that. So I'm going to resist buying one as long as I can (purely for financial reasons.. BUT even DVDs and DVD players are already scandalously cheap), all the while realising full well that such resistance is really rather futile. Ok, I'll admit it - I need to get up to speed and change with the times.

I just feel really sorry for the all those movies presented via VHS format which are now being chucked on the scrap-heap in favour of the all new and improved DVD equivalents. Clearly, gross sentimentality could very well be the death of me, but then that's life.

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