Death of the VCR

Colin Kearns took the leap in high school. He wanted more movies, better quality and the best technology on the market. His only option was to go digital.\n"I switched over to DVD a few years ago because I knew that eventually it was going to take over the video world, which it is slowly doing already," says Kearns, now a freshman in college. "I have had a deep interest in film for a couple years now, so I wanted to have access to the special features on DVD, like documentaries, deleted scenes and director's commentaries." \nKearns, like many students, believes the power of the DVD will ultimately outweigh the time-tested video cassette recorder, or VCR. Digital Video Disc, or DVD technology, has been creeping into consumers' lives and living rooms since its introduction to the American home entertainment market in 1997. The technology uses discs that have the appearance of a normal CD but 14 times the capacity. The discs can support video, audio and computer data, and DVD is quickly garnering support from electronics companies, movie and music studios and the computer hardware industry.\nSince both the player and the movies were so expensive when DVD came on the market, many students were hesitant to make the switch from VCR to DVD. But today more students are considering the benefits of buying into the digital age.\n"I got DVD because it is the next CD-ROM format," says junior telecommunications major Alex Balzano. "But more importantly, you can get movies that have more features, and you can capture audio or pictures from the movie. When you think about how much you get -- multiple languages, subtitles, cool extras -- DVDs can be worth the extra price."\nBalzano purchased his DVD player as part of his computer system, because it was cheaper than buying a stand-alone unit.\n"I like to do things with media," Balzano says. "Since I got a new computer, I was just going to get the DVD with it."\nMany students have taken a similar route. While most individual DVD units can run upwards of $400, computer manufacturers are installing them in PCs for around $200. Students, therefore, are opting to replace their CD-ROM drives with DVD technology, which can read both CDs and DVDs. \nKristen Davis, a freshman, loves the fact that she can watch movies on her computer.\n"I chose to have a DVD player because I thought it would be cool and also helpful," Davis says. "A DVD movie is easier to watch because you skip around to the various chapters in the movie. And you don't need to rewind." \nBut like most freshmen around the country, Davis still uses a VCR to watch movies on her television. \nA July poll of 500 incoming college freshmen revealed that, despite advancements in the digital field, the VCR remains the playback technology of choice among students. The poll, conducted as part of retailer Best Buy's Digital Decade Survey, showed 59 percent of freshmen would bring VCRs to college, compared with a mere 13 percent bringing DVD players. The margin of error for this poll was plus or minus 4.4 percent.\nThese national findings match what local retailers have discovered.\n"DVD is becoming more and more popular overall," says Circuit City sales associate Clinton McCoy. "But we still sell mainly VCRs to students."\nMcCoy cites cost as the major reason most collegians turn away from digital technology. Circuit City, for example, offers a low-end VCR for $54.99. The cheapest DVD player they sell is on clearance for $129.96.\nSenior Dave Bickel, a computer science major, has looked into buying digital but is waiting for prices to fall.\n"I would love a DVD player. The digital input can surpass the quality of analog, and I like the fact that I could integrate DVD with my computer at some point," Bickel says. "But the cost is still too high."\nFew students argue that the quality of a DVD movie is far superior to that of a traditional video cassette, but professionals and students alike argue this modern shift toward newer technologies has deeper roots. \nClinical associate professor of telecommunications Thom Gillespie believes the desire to move forward comes from the past. \n"I think you have to look at this historically, probably going back to smoke signals," Gillespie says. "Humans are highly social, and the essence of being social is being communicative."\nGillespie cites many technological developments, including DVD, as tools humans have developed to better communicate with each other.\n"If anything can be used to communicate anything, it will," Gillespie said. "It is easy to see constantly increasing connection, starting with the telegraph, through the phone, through radio, to conventional TV, to the Web and to games."\nWhile a desire for better communication is one cause, some students believe the motives behind this digital leap are more avaricious.\n"Technology items -- DVD players, MP3 players, computers, Palm Pilots -- are generally expensive," said junior computer science major Andy Jones. "They are a sign of wealth."\nJones argues that some people buy new technology because it lends them an image of intelligence and innovation. Mostly, though, he falls back on a theory that has been around since the first caveman tied a rock and stick together to make a hammer.\n"It's just plain cool to own new toys," Jones admits.