A little technology history lesson today!
I have three DVD players (if I count the one on my Playstation) and the one hooked up to the big screen became a little too fussy. It no longer liked the NetFlix discs - and you don't mess with my NetFlix! It needed to go anyway - it was a DIVX! (Remember that awful idea?)
So a new Samsung Blu-ray DVD came home with me on Thursday. It plays DVDs, CDs, and streams Pandora, YouTube, and NetFlix. Perfect!
What surprised me was the price - it was only $140.00. Wow! And how much were the first VCRs? I did a little research...
The first VCRs on the market came out in 1972. The Cartrivision system featured prerecorded tapes for sale and rental - the black ones were for sale and red ones for rental. The red ones could not be rewound except by a dealer, so they were viewable only once - sounds like the defunct DIVX, doesn't it? The whole system cost $1600.00
In 1976, the fist Betamax hit the market in the USA. Sony's unit sold for $1295.00.
1977 - the first VHS VCR hits the USA market! RCA promoted their new creation extensively, as it could record four hours as opposed to Beta's two hours. The unit cost $1000. Eventually this format won over the Betamax.
In 1979, the VideoDisc, or LaserDisc, becomes available. The Magnavox unit sold for $749.00.
1997 was the year that the DVD player went nationwide! Sony's model sold for $970.00 and by the end of the year, almost 350,000 units were sold. The following year, the ill-fated DIVX pay-per-view DVD came out - and lasted less than one year. (Damn, I had that stupid DIVX unit for almost twelve years?!)
In in the year 2000, technical research sparked what would become the rivalry between Blu-ray and HD DVD. Both forms were announced in 2002 and by 2008, Blu-ray emerged triumphant. Blu-ray players began around $800 in 2006.
And now, barely four years later, I own a $140.00 Blu-ray DVD player!
Don't you just love technology?
Everyone have a great weekend - I'm gonna go watch some movies!
