Why DVD over VHS?

When compared to VHS or any other forms of Analogue Video, DVD is far superior in both Functionality and Quality.

Functionality

The first thing that comes to mind when we think about the functionality of these two media formats is the fact that one is in the form of an optical disk and the other is a cassette containing a spool of magnetic tape. What this really means is that in order to watch something at the end of a video tape it is necessary to wind the tape on until you find the point that you wish to watch. Not only is this process time consuming and difficult to accurately find a specific point on the tape, it also damages the tape each time it is played and wound by stretching and degrading as the tape runs over the heads of the video deck.

A DVD on the other hand is an optical disk that holds digital data and therefore is not subjected to the same restraints as a video tape. This means that it is possible to skip from one part of a DVD disk to another almost instantly as it is only necessary for the laser that is reading the disk to move to the part of the disk that you wish to watch. What this also means is that there is no physical parts actually touching the disk, aside from the spindle that spins it, which means that there is absolutely no degradation due to wear.

The functionality of this near instantaneous jumping between parts of the disk has made it possible to create sophisticated menu systems on the disk that allow us to instantly access any part of the disk. This also means that it is possible to put several titles onto the one disk so that the viewer is then able to select what they wish to watch via the menu system

As the Data on a DVD disk is stored in a digital format it is also possible to create exact copies of the disk with no degradation. VHS on the other hand looses quite a lot of quality each time it is copied due to the fact that it is not a direct copy but a reproduction of the data through several electronic conversion components.

Quality

DVD is a much superior quality to VHS. This is mostly due to the fact that it is a digital format and is not subjected to the same restrictions as video tape. DVD video is a compressed format that is put through a very sophisticated algorithm to maintain as much quality as the original footage. The image that comes out the other side of this compression stage is a much higher quality than VHS with more vivid colours and much higher level of detail.

Audio is also a much higher quality than VHS as it is also in a digital format. It is possible to have selectable audio tracks that can be spread over several audio channels and even a subwoofer channel for the bass rumble that is now associated with surround sound DVD’s. There are 3 types of audio formats on a DVD that all have their different qualities. These audio formats are Dolby Digital, DTS, and uncompressed PCM. Both Dolby Digital and DTS are highly compressed but they have the ability to carry surround sound. PCM on the other hand is a much higher quality than the other two as it is an uncompressed format. Unfortunately PCM is limited to stereo sound only.

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This article was written by Darren Wilkins
Last updated 30th May 2006