How Do You Own Disorder?

I really shouldn't have to tell you people this, but apparently my particular brand of common sense doesn't come so readily to everyone: Quit buying things you don't want or need. To be a little more clear, just because something is cool and trendy and popular doesn't mean you want it. That's something you should decide after thinking about this hot new item. Remember thinking? It's back, and it's groovier than ever. Try it. Remember, thinking should come before buying.

My beef (for today's blog post, at least) is with "High Definition." Let's start with HDTVs.

You don't need one. First of all, can you really tell the difference between standard definition and high definition? I'm not saying that there is no difference; just that most people are not sensitive enough to television picture quality to justify the added expense of an HDTV. As a freaky geek, I do notice such things quite readily, and, honestly, standard definition TVs look better in many cases. There are times when HD is undoubtedly better, but generally it either looks similar or worse. Your computer monitor is "HD." This is good because you sit right by it and need to be able to make out fine details like little words. This paragraph would be tough to read on a standard definition TV, but you know what? That's okay. Most people sit across the room from their TVs. The minor blur gives the picture a more organic look. Video games, especially, benefit from having their harsh digital edges smoothed out.

The other thing is that so many people who have HDTVs don't know how to use them. They don't buy the right cables, the don't set the TV up correctly, and they don't have access to HD content, all of which invariably mean the picture looks worse than it would if they would just use a regular TV. I love people watching low-resolution, stretched-out shows, remarking about how great their new LSD flat screen is. People buying things they don't need and that they don't understand. God bless capitalism.

Worse still are HD-DVDs and BluRay Discs. The progression from VHS to DVD was meaningful. While DVDs have their problems, compared to VHS cassettes they tend to have significantly superior picture and audio quality, they're cheap to produce, they take up less space, they don't wear out due to normal usage, and they have enough capacity to hold a full movie and an assortment of bonus features. When was the last time you saw a VHS with director's commentary?

HD-DVDs and BluRay Discs have... slightly better resolution than DVDs, which is unnecessary, since DVDs are pretty much the only things that look decent on an HDTV. Oh well, at least the discs and their players are more expensive than DVDs, and the selection of available movies is smaller. Hmm. Still, the great thing about HD and BluRay is that they have far more capacity than DVDs, so we can have... commentary on director's commentary? Really fancy interactive menus.

HD-DVDs aren't really around anymore. For a while, there was a lot of talk amongst people who care about such things over whether HD-DVDs would win, or BluRay. The manufacturer (I can't remember who it was) of HD-DVDs soon gave up the fight, and people started telling me that BluRay had won. I was confused. The only definitive conclusion I had reached was that HD-DVD had lost. BluRay, I argued, simply hadn't lost yet. If there was any winner, it was the DVD.

That was several years ago, and so far, I've been right. Do you know anyone who watches BluRays? What's the point? Sony keeps insisting, even now, that sales of the PlayStation 3 are going to explode any day now and surpass the Wii because the PlayStation 3 has a built in BluRay player, and that's what people really want.

In this case, BluRay provides us with a fine example of what we should continue doing - not buying inferior, worthless things that we don't want. For those of you who did get suckered into an HDTV, can I ask: Why?