Do you TiVo? VCR? DVD-R/RW?

In article , net
says...
On 2006-11-18, krw wrote:


In article , net
says...
On 2006-11-17, krw wrote:
In article , net
says...
On 2006-11-17, krw wrote:
In article ,
lid says...
On Thu, 16 Nov 2006 20:16:41 GMT, "Travis M."
wrote:

"Mark Lloyd" wrote in message

On Thu, 16 Nov 2006 07:53:32 -0500, "Seth"
wrote:

"Bob Ward" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 15 Nov 2006 20:54:26 -0500, "Seth"
wrote:

"Vocalize" wrote in message
...

On 5/24/06 3:02 PM, in article
,
"Bob Ward" wrote:

what kind of dvr do you have? anyone have a DVR with
a hard drive?

All DVR's have hard drives.

No. No, they don't. But thanks for playing.

Digital Video Recorders?. . . The three I have and the
others I know about
have hard drives. I'm curious as to what you mean. If not
onto a hard disc.
. . What?

Some record straight to DVD and have no hard drive.

DVD R only with a tuner? Can you provide model numbers?

Doing a quick Google search...

RCA DRC8060N
Liteon LVW-5005
Samsung DVD-TR520
Pioneer DVR-RT500


It does seem strange to consider these DVRs.

What would you call them?

Those things are DVD recorders. That's what I'd cal them.

I call them DVDRs (sorta the same thing). I've had a LiteOn 5045
for over a year and love it.

These people are fixating on the storage medium when the
real issue is the recording features. Some of the more sophisticated
VHS players have features on part with PVR's. They just have a limited
storage medium. All the DVD orientation does is make things potentially
slightly less convenient.

I disagree. The DVD makes things more permanent for those who like
a library of shows. Both my DVRs (Cable box and the LiteOn) have

DVD's scratch if you look at them funny. Whereas data on
magnetic disk is as transient or as permanent as you want it to
be. It's also a simpler to copy.

You're on drugs. DVDs also cost less than a nickle a GB.

They may be cheap but that cheapness also requires you to
bother with 100x pieces of media for the same amount of storage as
an equivalent magnetic disk. That's 100x more the inconvenience.

No, it's not. It's actually more convenient in a cabinet next to
the TV, along with the purchased DVDs and CDs.

Being able to copy 100 DVD's with a single copy command
and without needing to go through a mastering cycle or swapping
media is a pretty handy thing.

Why would I want to do that.

There's a reason that the floppy disk is dead...

Yes, it's too small to hold a useful amount of data. DVDs aren't.

160GB HDs, the LiteOn also has a DVD recorder. This gives me all
the flexibility of a VCR and a lot more.

7.5G can be a lot of storage depending on your needs.

OTOH, 80G still may be entirely insuffucient.

I had both 160s full a while back. I've since moved a bunch off to
DVDs.

My Myth has 134 DVD's in it.

Whoopie? What a man!

...just the march of technology.

Nope. March of the super nerds.

750G disks are cheap and plentiful.

$380 is cheap?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148134

Multi Terabyte consumer RAID arrays are also cheap and plentiful.

Cheap?

Call me strange but I like having 1000+ hours of video
programming available at the touch of a button without the need
to go hunting and then fumble around for some disk that might get
scratched

Ok. You are strange.

--
Keith

On 2006-11-20, krw wrote:
In article , net
says...
On 2006-11-18, krw wrote:


In article , net
says...
On 2006-11-17, krw wrote:
In article , net
says...
On 2006-11-17, krw wrote:
In article ,
lid says...
On Thu, 16 Nov 2006 20:16:41 GMT, "Travis M."
wrote:

"Mark Lloyd" wrote in message

On Thu, 16 Nov 2006 07:53:32 -0500, "Seth"
wrote:

"Bob Ward" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 15 Nov 2006 20:54:26 -0500, "Seth"
wrote:

"Vocalize" wrote in message
...

On 5/24/06 3:02 PM, in article
,
"Bob Ward" wrote:

what kind of dvr do you have? anyone have a DVR with
a hard drive?

All DVR's have hard drives.

No. No, they don't. But thanks for playing.

Digital Video Recorders?. . . The three I have and the
others I know about
have hard drives. I'm curious as to what you mean. If not
onto a hard disc.
. . What?

Some record straight to DVD and have no hard drive.

DVD R only with a tuner? Can you provide model numbers?

Doing a quick Google search...

RCA DRC8060N
Liteon LVW-5005
Samsung DVD-TR520
Pioneer DVR-RT500


It does seem strange to consider these DVRs.

What would you call them?

Those things are DVD recorders. That's what I'd cal them.

I call them DVDRs (sorta the same thing). I've had a LiteOn 5045
for over a year and love it.

These people are fixating on the storage medium when the
real issue is the recording features. Some of the more sophisticated
VHS players have features on part with PVR's. They just have a limited
storage medium. All the DVD orientation does is make things potentially
slightly less convenient.

I disagree. The DVD makes things more permanent for those who like
a library of shows. Both my DVRs (Cable box and the LiteOn) have

DVD's scratch if you look at them funny. Whereas data on
magnetic disk is as transient or as permanent as you want it to
be. It's also a simpler to copy.

You're on drugs. DVDs also cost less than a nickle a GB.

They may be cheap but that cheapness also requires you to
bother with 100x pieces of media for the same amount of storage as
an equivalent magnetic disk. That's 100x more the inconvenience.

No, it's not. It's actually more convenient in a cabinet next to
the TV, along with the purchased DVDs and CDs.

You're basically trying to argue that nobody would want an ipod
and that a stack of CD's is not less convenient than just rolling the
wheel around in an ipod.


Being able to copy 100 DVD's with a single copy command
and without needing to go through a mastering cycle or swapping
media is a pretty handy thing.

Why would I want to do that.

That's kind of like asking why anyone would ever want a mobile
Tivo, or an ipod.


There's a reason that the floppy disk is dead...

Yes, it's too small to hold a useful amount of data. DVDs aren't.

The definition of useful is subject to revision.


160GB HDs, the LiteOn also has a DVD recorder. This gives me all
the flexibility of a VCR and a lot more.

7.5G can be a lot of storage depending on your needs.

OTOH, 80G still may be entirely insuffucient.

I had both 160s full a while back. I've since moved a bunch off to
DVDs.

My Myth has 134 DVD's in it.

Whoopie? What a man!

...just the march of technology.

Nope. March of the super nerds.

750G disks are cheap and plentiful.

$380 is cheap?

In a forum that's fixating on a device that generally debuts
a a kilobuck when released... certainly.

...and Seagate 750G's can be had for $300 if you wait for a sale.

Although the same drive will cost you double at weaknees.

Then there's the cost of media to consider. If you have 100 or 200
DVD's then $500 or $1000 for a storage medium or a media player is probably
not that extreme.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148134

Multi Terabyte consumer RAID arrays are also cheap and plentiful.

Cheap?

For a multi-terabyte array it's cheap.


Call me strange but I like having 1000+ hours of video
programming available at the touch of a button without the need
to go hunting and then fumble around for some disk that might get
scratched

Ok. You are strange.


No, you're just a fanboy for a dinosaur.

--

Truth is irrelevant as long as the predictions are good. |||
/ | \

Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
----------------------------------------------------------
** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usenet.com

In article , net
says...
On 2006-11-20, krw wrote:
In article , net
says...
On 2006-11-18, krw wrote:


In article , net
says...
On 2006-11-17, krw wrote:
In article , net
says...
On 2006-11-17, krw wrote:
In article ,
lid says...
On Thu, 16 Nov 2006 20:16:41 GMT, "Travis M."
wrote:

"Mark Lloyd" wrote in message

On Thu, 16 Nov 2006 07:53:32 -0500, "Seth"
wrote:

"Bob Ward" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 15 Nov 2006 20:54:26 -0500, "Seth"
wrote:

"Vocalize" wrote in message
...

On 5/24/06 3:02 PM, in article
,
"Bob Ward" wrote:

what kind of dvr do you have? anyone have a DVR with
a hard drive?

All DVR's have hard drives.

No. No, they don't. But thanks for playing.

Digital Video Recorders?. . . The three I have and the
others I know about
have hard drives. I'm curious as to what you mean. If not
onto a hard disc.
. . What?

Some record straight to DVD and have no hard drive.

DVD R only with a tuner? Can you provide model numbers?

Doing a quick Google search...

RCA DRC8060N
Liteon LVW-5005
Samsung DVD-TR520
Pioneer DVR-RT500


It does seem strange to consider these DVRs.

What would you call them?

Those things are DVD recorders. That's what I'd cal them.

I call them DVDRs (sorta the same thing). I've had a LiteOn 5045
for over a year and love it.

These people are fixating on the storage medium when the
real issue is the recording features. Some of the more sophisticated
VHS players have features on part with PVR's. They just have a limited
storage medium. All the DVD orientation does is make things potentially
slightly less convenient.

I disagree. The DVD makes things more permanent for those who like
a library of shows. Both my DVRs (Cable box and the LiteOn) have

DVD's scratch if you look at them funny. Whereas data on
magnetic disk is as transient or as permanent as you want it to
be. It's also a simpler to copy.

You're on drugs. DVDs also cost less than a nickle a GB.

They may be cheap but that cheapness also requires you to
bother with 100x pieces of media for the same amount of storage as
an equivalent magnetic disk. That's 100x more the inconvenience.

No, it's not. It's actually more convenient in a cabinet next to
the TV, along with the purchased DVDs and CDs.

You're basically trying to argue that nobody would want an ipod
and that a stack of CD's is not less convenient than just rolling the
wheel around in an ipod.

Now you're being stupid. Your MythTV isn't a portable device.

Being able to copy 100 DVD's with a single copy command
and without needing to go through a mastering cycle or swapping
media is a pretty handy thing.

Why would I want to do that.

That's kind of like asking why anyone would ever want a mobile
Tivo, or an ipod.

No it isn't. Start thinking.

There's a reason that the floppy disk is dead...

Yes, it's too small to hold a useful amount of data. DVDs aren't.

The definition of useful is subject to revision.

Yes, and 4.7GB will be useful for some time. 1.44MB hasn't been
for a *long* time.

160GB HDs, the LiteOn also has a DVD recorder. This gives me all
the flexibility of a VCR and a lot more.

7.5G can be a lot of storage depending on your needs.

OTOH, 80G still may be entirely insuffucient.

I had both 160s full a while back. I've since moved a bunch off to
DVDs.

My Myth has 134 DVD's in it.

Whoopie? What a man!

...just the march of technology.

Nope. March of the super nerds.

750G disks are cheap and plentiful.

$380 is cheap?

In a forum that's fixating on a device that generally debuts
a a kilobuck when released... certainly.

What does what it's original cost have to do with anything? The
original 5MB PC drives were a few $thousand. The original disk
drives a lot smaller and more expensive, but this has nothing to do
with the price of oats in China either.

...and Seagate 750G's can be had for $300 if you wait for a sale.

50 x 4.77GB can be had for less than $15 too.

Although the same drive will cost you double at weaknees.

Then there's the cost of media to consider. If you have 100 or 200
DVD's then $500 or $1000 for a storage medium or a media player is probably
not that extreme.

What are you yammering about? I just bought a stack of 50 HP 16x
discs for $15 (not the best deal I've gotten either). Your number
is at least 30x high. You're simply lying to yourself to
"justify" your toys.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148134

Multi Terabyte consumer RAID arrays are also cheap and plentiful.

Cheap?

For a multi-terabyte array it's cheap.

I suppose you think a Ferrari is cheap too. ...for a Ferrari.

Call me strange but I like having 1000+ hours of video
programming available at the touch of a button without the need
to go hunting and then fumble around for some disk that might get
scratched

Ok. You are strange.


No, you're just a fanboy for a dinosaur.

Nope, you don't know much.

--
Keith

On Mon, 20 Nov 2006 09:47:08 -0500, krw wrote:


There's a reason that the floppy disk is dead...

Yes, it's too small to hold a useful amount of data. DVDs aren't.

DVD's aren't a satisfactory replacement for a floppy, either. The
technology that killed the floppy is the USB flash drive. Quick,
portable, and re useable.

"Bob Ward" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 20 Nov 2006 09:47:08 -0500, krw wrote:


There's a reason that the floppy disk is dead...

Yes, it's too small to hold a useful amount of data. DVDs aren't.

DVD's aren't a satisfactory replacement for a floppy, either. The
technology that killed the floppy is the USB flash drive. Quick,
portable, and re useable.

Yeah, but the unit cost is still too high to give it away- and I hate
using up a 700mb CD blank for a 1mb file, no matter how cheap they are. Yes,
I'm a luddite, but I won't have a PC without a floppy. I even have a box in
the corner that still speaks 5 1/4, for the odd old disk that turns up.
There are still some things a floppy does better than anything else.

aem sends...

krw shaped the electrons to say:
In article , net
Then there's the cost of media to consider. If you have 100 or 200
DVD's then $500 or $1000 for a storage medium or a media player is probably
not that extreme.

What are you yammering about? I just bought a stack of 50 HP 16x
discs for $15 (not the best deal I've gotten either). Your number
is at least 30x high. You're simply lying to yourself to
"justify" your toys.

I believe he meant if you own 100 or 200 commercial DVDs - movies,
etc. Then the cost of a drive to back them up and store them
digitally isn't that high.

And he's right. Sure, it'll cost more than DVD-Rs, but to backup most
commercial DVDs you need dual-layer DVD-Rs, or two single-layer discs,
or sacrifice quality by using things like DVD Shrink to squeeze it
onto one disc. Since nearly all commerical releases are 8.5GB
dual-layer discs, and even though they may not use the full 8.5GB,
they're almost always larger than 4.7GB.

Personally the costs are still a bit too high, but they're coming
down. I own over 750 CDs, a couple of years ago drive prices were low
enough, and iPods got large and cheap enough, that I decided it was
finally time to rip my collection. I ripped everything as 128kbps
AAC, and since then I've purchased another 1,000+ tracks from ITMS,
for a total of over 13,500. That's a bit shy of 50GB - which fits
nicely on my 60GB iPod. Now I have my entire music collection, which
fills many shelves in CD form, in my pocket. I listen to a lot more
of the tracks now that I can access them in an instant.

Eventually I can see myself doing the same thing with my DVDs. I'll
need terrabytes of storage to do it, even ripping them to MPEG4/H.264
for better compression, but I just have to wait and the technology
curve will make it affordable.

I remember $1 per MB as a major price point. Then $1 per GB. We're
already up to 3-4GB per $1. I don't expect to see $1 per TB real soon
now or anything, but I don't think it will be too long before a TB is
$100. Right now the sweet spot is 300-320GB drives. Past that point
the cost per GB goes up. But the curve keeps moving forwards - not
long ago that sweet spot was around 200GB, and not long before that
it ws 100GB.

Pretty soon 1TB drives will be out, and the pricing will shift and 400
or 500GB drives will probably be at the inflection point in the curve.

It would be nice to take all my old DVDs, and even VHS and LD, and
have them readily accessible just like my music. No need to look for
the right media, etc. Sure, I'm not going to have a multi-TB PMP in
my pocket any time soon, but 100GB or more is available today and if
everything is already digitized, you just pop the titles you want on
the PMP without any effort.

I believe that Blu-ray and HD DVD are the last generations of physical
media for video. They both have enough capacity to handle the needs
of video formats for the foreseeable future. We're unlikely to see
home content at resolutions higher than 1080p for a long time, since
content producers are making major investments in digital video
systems which max out at 1080p. They're not going to upgrade again
soon. And the is little incentive for higher resolution for home
viewing.

The future will be in digital delivery. If you even store the file at
home and don't simply access it from 'the cloud' when you want to
watch something. And that could be on your TV, phone, PMP, etc.

-MZ
--
URL:mailto:megazoneatmegazone.org Gweep, Discordian, Author, Engineer, me.
"A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men" 508-852-2171
URL:http://www.megazone.org/ URL:http://www.eyrie-productions.com/ Eris

In article ,
says...
krw shaped the electrons to say:
In article , net
Then there's the cost of media to consider. If you have 100 or 200
DVD's then $500 or $1000 for a storage medium or a media player is probably
not that extreme.

What are you yammering about? I just bought a stack of 50 HP 16x
discs for $15 (not the best deal I've gotten either). Your number
is at least 30x high. You're simply lying to yourself to
"justify" your toys.

I believe he meant if you own 100 or 200 commercial DVDs - movies,
etc. Then the cost of a drive to back them up and store them
digitally isn't that high.

I don't (believe that's what he meant).

And he's right. Sure, it'll cost more than DVD-Rs, but to backup most
commercial DVDs you need dual-layer DVD-Rs, or two single-layer discs,
or sacrifice quality by using things like DVD Shrink to squeeze it
onto one disc. Since nearly all commerical releases are 8.5GB
dual-layer discs, and even though they may not use the full 8.5GB,
they're almost always larger than 4.7GB.

No, he's a super-nerd that believes his MythTV is the end-all.
Note he believes a 750GB disk is *cheap*.

Personally the costs are still a bit too high, but they're coming
down. I own over 750 CDs, a couple of years ago drive prices were low
enough, and iPods got large and cheap enough, that I decided it was
finally time to rip my collection. I ripped everything as 128kbps
AAC, and since then I've purchased another 1,000+ tracks from ITMS,
for a total of over 13,500. That's a bit shy of 50GB - which fits
nicely on my 60GB iPod. Now I have my entire music collection, which
fills many shelves in CD form, in my pocket. I listen to a lot more
of the tracks now that I can access them in an instant.

I understand. An IPod is intended to be portable. MythTV isn't
and cannot be compared.

Eventually I can see myself doing the same thing with my DVDs. I'll
need terrabytes of storage to do it, even ripping them to MPEG4/H.264
for better compression, but I just have to wait and the technology
curve will make it affordable.

I'm sure it'll come, but really why do you need your videos with
you? Music I can understand. They aren't comparable.

I remember $1 per MB as a major price point. Then $1 per GB. We're
already up to 3-4GB per $1. I don't expect to see $1 per TB real soon
now or anything, but I don't think it will be too long before a TB is
$100. Right now the sweet spot is 300-320GB drives. Past that point
the cost per GB goes up. But the curve keeps moving forwards - not
long ago that sweet spot was around 200GB, and not long before that
it ws 100GB.

Maybe. Last year I bought a black-friday 200GB disk for $30.
Perhaps a 300GN in four days? I don't see things sliding down the
slope as fast anymore.

Pretty soon 1TB drives will be out, and the pricing will shift and 400
or 500GB drives will probably be at the inflection point in the curve.

I don't think it'll be all that soon. But that's not my point.
Who cares when I can buy DVD-Rs for $.30 each on a bad day? They
work equally well in my DVD player or my PeeCee.

It would be nice to take all my old DVDs, and even VHS and LD, and
have them readily accessible just like my music. No need to look for
the right media, etc. Sure, I'm not going to have a multi-TB PMP in
my pocket any time soon, but 100GB or more is available today and if
everything is already digitized, you just pop the titles you want on
the PMP without any effort.

Ok, I'm not terribly interested in a huge spinning directory I'm
not using. It's easier to slip in the DVD I want to watch.

I believe that Blu-ray and HD DVD are the last generations of physical
media for video. They both have enough capacity to handle the needs
of video formats for the foreseeable future. We're unlikely to see
home content at resolutions higher than 1080p for a long time, since
content producers are making major investments in digital video
systems which max out at 1080p. They're not going to upgrade again
soon. And the is little incentive for higher resolution for home
viewing.

Kinda a narrow view, eh? 70mm film is far better than 1080. What
about iMax? You think 1080i is all there is?

The future will be in digital delivery. If you even store the file at
home and don't simply access it from 'the cloud' when you want to
watch something. And that could be on your TV, phone, PMP, etc.

Unfortunately, you won't be storing it at home. Hollywood hates
that!

--
Keith

In article [email protected]
news.ops.worldnet.att.net, says...

"Bob Ward" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 20 Nov 2006 09:47:08 -0500, krw wrote:


There's a reason that the floppy disk is dead...

Yes, it's too small to hold a useful amount of data. DVDs aren't.

DVD's aren't a satisfactory replacement for a floppy, either. The
technology that killed the floppy is the USB flash drive. Quick,
portable, and re useable.

Yeah, but the unit cost is still too high to give it away- and I hate
using up a 700mb CD blank for a 1mb file, no matter how cheap they are. Yes,
I'm a luddite, but I won't have a PC without a floppy. I even have a box in
the corner that still speaks 5 1/4, for the odd old disk that turns up.
There are still some things a floppy does better than anything else.

Send it via email!

I haven't use a floppy for anything other than a flash update for
at least five years (and that can now be done on a USB stick).
Floppys suck bilge water!

--
Keith

krw shaped the electrons to say:
Kinda a narrow view, eh? 70mm film is far better than 1080. What
about iMax? You think 1080i is all there is?

1080p, not i, and yes - for the home, that's all we'll see for quite a
while.

Home displays have only just moved beyond what is effectively 480i -
or NTSC - which they've been at for the past 50+ years. For only the
past couple of years have more people purchased HD displays than SD,
and that's only new purchases - the overwhelming installed base is
still SD.

Manufacturers have no plans for anything beyond 1080p at this time for
home displays (computer monitors aside). There is no effective
delivery to the home for content beyond 1080p. ATSC is effectively
limited to 1080i. It actually allows for 1080p, but at reduced frame
rates. Satellite and cable are highly unlikely to move to 1080p
because of the bandwidth requirements. They're more interested in
putting more channels, and premium services, on their pipes. Why send
1080p at twice the bandwidth when 1080i will do? Or even 720p?

So the best the home user will see is 1080p - if they buy BD or HD DVD
systems.

More and more TV content is being shot on video instead of film, using
1080p max as the recording resolution.

Most films are show on 35mm, 70mm or IMAX is just a drop in the
bucket. IMAX is a nice format, but it will probably remain a niche
format because of the business realities. IMAX doesn't lend itself to
a megaplex setting. 35mm/70mm will fade, replaced by digital. An
increasing number of directors are switching to digital for their
films now.

But that doesn't really help the home user. They'd need higher
resolution displays and higher resolution media - and the new players
for it - to go beyond 1080p. And the industry would have to overhaul
their video production systems - again. They're still busy upgrading
systems from 480i/p to 720p/1080i/p capable systems. They wouldn't be
eager to spend money on some new update.

So, yeah, 1080p is all there is outside of the cinema.

-MZ
--
URL:mailto:megazoneatmegazone.org Gweep, Discordian, Author, Engineer, me.
"A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men" 508-852-2171
URL:http://www.megazone.org/ URL:http://www.eyrie-productions.com/ Eris

) writes:
"Bob Ward" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 20 Nov 2006 09:47:08 -0500, krw wrote:


There's a reason that the floppy disk is dead...

Yes, it's too small to hold a useful amount of data. DVDs aren't.

DVD's aren't a satisfactory replacement for a floppy, either. The
technology that killed the floppy is the USB flash drive. Quick,
portable, and re useable.

Yeah, but the unit cost is still too high to give it away- and I hate
using up a 700mb CD blank for a 1mb file, no matter how cheap they are. Yes,
I'm a luddite, but I won't have a PC without a floppy. I even have a box in
the corner that still speaks 5 1/4, for the odd old disk that turns up.
There are still some things a floppy does better than anything else.

I think the fuss over the cost of CDROMs is more perception than
reality.

When I got my first floppy drive in 1984, I turned around and spent
another fifty dollars on a box of name brand floppy disks. Obviously
the price dropped, and I can't remember what the cost per floppy was
the last time I bought a box (because it's been long enouhg).

But I can buy a pack of fifty blank CDROMs for twenty dollars here in
Canada, that's without looking for a bargain, so it's forty cents
per blank. That isn't very much. Find a bargain, and you pay less.

Oddly, I'm noticing blank DVDs are coming down faster in price, with
packages of 100 costing less on sale than a pack of 100 CDROMs.

Thus one can get blank DVDs for less than the price of a VHS videotape
(I don't see them selling here for under a dollar).

People never griped about giving floppy disks away, at least not
after they reached a reasonable price per floppy. They also didn't
lament the cost of putting a filled one on the shelf to be part of
an archive. There is little I can buy for forty cents at this point.

So my take is the fuss over the cost of the medium is more perception.
Unlike those floppies, they can be used only once, so there's never
the option of "well I can keep this tape now, and if I really need
a blank, I can tape over it". Even giving away a floppy meant
someone could reuse it, as we recall from the days when AOL gave
their software away on floppy disk.

But DVDs have the advantage of not taking nearly as much space up
as those VHS tapes. So unlike videocassettes, there's not the
issue of space to cause the occasional pruning of the collection.

Now, you can keep things on DVD no matter how unlikely you are to
want to see it again, because the cost of the blank is next to nothing,
and the space is close to nothing.

Michael