Long Live Magnetic Tape!
Ever since CDs appeared on the scene there have been hardcore vinyl enthusiasts (snobs) who refuse to listen to any music that has been digitally encoded rather than scribed mechanically on a rotating chunk of plastic. The usual reason for this is that vinyl sounds warmer. On this point I do tend to agree; I like listening to records as much as the next guy, but they're very difficult to play in my car.
Recently I've been thinking about this concept of a 'warmer' sound, and I've decided to apply it to my movie collection. If an older recording technology can produce a warmer sound, then the same must be true for visual media.
I've decided to Switch back to VHS.
The first step will be to buy some really expensive VHS gear. I'm thinking of something with a billet aluminum chassis to give all the components stability. Of course it would have to have vibration eliminating dampers instead of the usual rubber feet. The traditional 4 head VCR won't be enough. I'll need a 9 head VCR, I'm not sure what the other 5 heads are for, but I'm sure the extra expense will be worth it. The play heads, of course, will be made of solid gold because of it's greater conductive properties.
The most difficult part will be finding copies of all my movies on VHS. I guess I'll have to scour garage sales and vintage stores to find everything. The VHS revival hasn't quite caught on like vinyl has, so it may be more difficult. For now I'll just have to make do watching my old copies of Home Alone and . . . Home Alone 2.
The old movies have more soul anyways.
posted by Junk in the Trunk at 11:11 PM
6 Comments:
HAHAHA...I'm with you dude. That warmer picture totally enhances the viewing experience.
You may be on to something here. I bet you the indie/emo crowd would buy into that one.
Just thinking of the carefree days of VHS and I'm getting that warm and fuzzy 'those were the days' feeling... Those stupid cold as ice DVD's, how can you improve warm visual perfection?
If you want REALLy warm movies go back to film. I can still remember how to thread a 16mm movie projector and get the film over the sound capstan properly so that the sound is in sync (Hmmmm is that where the band got its name??? I digress"
The projection bulb usually used 500 watts of power in order to shine through the transparent film and project an image on the screen set up in a darkened classroom.
A 500 watt bulb does make for a "warm" movie.
If want a real WARM movie you need to go back to film.
I can still remember how to thread a 16mm movie projector properly. The trick is to make sure you have the film wound around the sound capstan in such a way that the sound is in sync (Hmmm is that where the band got its name?? I digress) with the picture.
Usually the projector came with a 1000 watt bulb in order to shine through the transparent film and project an image on the screen of a darkened classroom.
A 1000 watt bulb does make for a 'warm' movie.
Why did my previous two posts come up twice.. Ahhhhh the joys of dial-up. I got a "timed out" message when I guess it really didn't "time out"
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